The first 50 years
He didn’t come riding up all dressed like a knight in shining armor on a mighty black stallion, but he did drive up to my little blue and white trailer in a white 1968 Corvette. I had a penchant for Corvettes. The car could have been any color and I would have itched to drive it.
We had our first date on Feb. 20, 1970. I had never met this man in this white Corvette but I had seen him from a far, and my boss at the time, Mrs. Mattie Lou Strain, filled me in on him and his whole family. She knew their history and was very complimentary of them. They were good people.
She related that the matriarch had been married to a doctor who passed away suddenly in Monticello, Utah. After his death, she and the five children moved back to Calhoun, Georgia. She would later marry Troy Causby, a gentleman farmer and state representative from Calhoun.
On that fateful late winter night, I heard the knock on the door and was greeted by just the most adorable guy. He had jet black curls, black eyes and a killer smile. That was what I noticed most about him. His teeth were even and so white. I think my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
His first words to me were, “I have $10 and a full tank of gas. Where do you want to go?” I remember that I laughed and said, “You choose.” We went to the original Underground Atlanta. I’d never been there. In fact, I had never heard of it.
What a fun place. We did some bar hopping and listened to some great jazz. Now, understand that I was not a drinker. Oh, I had had a few drinks in my young life, but I was pretty naïve about alcoholic drinks. He ordered me something called a Singapore Sling. It was fruity and sweet and as I drank it through a straw, he stopped me and warned that drinking alcohol through a straw might have adverse effects on my sobriety.
It did. He complimented me on my hair and I remember giggling ... I wasn’t much of a giggler ... and said, “Oh thank you. It glows in the dark.”
Can you imagine? I was horrified at what I had said, but he laughed and slid the drink away from me. This is the thing that impressed me. He was a gentleman. He told me later that he had me figured out in the first 10 minutes we were together. I may have had long blond hair and a short miniskirt on, but I was not a pushover.
From the very beginning, we were together. Oh no! He didn’t stay with me. That would not do. I had moved to Jim Lay’s apartments in an older home right down from First Baptist Church. I was a young teacher, and gossipers loved to make up stories. No, I never entertained men at all hours of the night, a rumor started by a neighbor.
I knew Bill Brooks was “the one.” Let’s face it. Dating had become my hobby in college. I was even engaged a couple of times, but for me, I would not settle. No one had “rung my chimes” as the old saying goes. Then this compact, extremely handsome man came into my life, and that was it. The truth is, I was not looking to get married, but here he was.
On June 6, 1970, we were married in the chapel at First Methodist in Calhoun. Willie Mack Tribble performed the ceremony. It was a very small wedding. My wedding dress was purchased for $11 from a small dress shop called The Three Sisters. I promised my dad it would not be too short. It wasn’t, but Daddy took one look at me and said, “My god, Coleen. Couldn’t you just let it come to your knees?” Absolutely not. I would not look frumpy on my wedding day!
In the 50 years we’ve been together, we have had four marvelous children who have married well themselves. We also have six precocious and beautiful grandchildren.
I’ve been trying to remember marvelous moments in our lives and some not so marvelous. Let’s face it, a perfect marriage must not be perfect all the time. Perfection is boring. In our young, more tempestuous days, we camped in Cloudland Canyon and had a memorable experience on a big boulder. We dealt with Bill’s PTSD stemming from Vietnam. We’ve watched our kids grow up to be successful and decent people. Our six grandchildren are extensions of our souls.
We have lived a life together and have loved each other a long time. What more could we ask? Maybe 50 more years?