Happy Birthday Jilda

Jilda and I first met when she was in eighth grade. She had on an antique dress and playing the pump organ at a history fair. She must have been 13 years old. She had long blonde hair and blue eyes the color of the 1956 Thunderbird that I loved. We didn't chat much, but I remembered eyes.

My senior year in high school, I dated one of Jilda's best friends. Just before my big day, she broke it off with me, leaving me dateless on graduation.

I asked her if she would consider going to graduation with me. Actually, I think something suave and debonaire like, "You wuddn wanna go to graduation wid me wud you? She said yes, and it started there.

I was drafted in 1971, during Vietnam. We ended up parting while I was away. But not long after I returned in 1973, we got back together. A year later, in 1974 we married on the front porch of a house trailer in Brewton, Alabama. The preacher who lived in the trailer was once the minister at the church where Jilda and her folks attended.

That was May 5, 1974. The day was warm. I had a Canon camera that cost more than the car we drove. It was a fully manual film camera. The preacher's wife shot a ton of pictures during the ceremony, none of which were in focus. To say our ceremony was a blur is an understatement.

Today, Jilda celebrates her 65 birthday. I've helped her celebrate almost fifty of them. It's been an amazing journey. 

I am so thankful her friend dropped me on the eve of my graduation. 

Happy Birthday to Jilda.