Here’s one from Madison Moore that involves one of life’s major events.
I was married quite young to a man who was tall and thin with a head full of thick wavy hair and a mouth full of beautiful teeth. We did it mostly as a way to keep him from being drafted into the front lines of the Vietnam war. A few weeks later, he enlisted in the Air Force and left for basic training. I joined him in Colorado during his technical training and when he got his first assignment, I stayed with his parents in a small town in Oklahoma.
When he returned a year later, we were very different people. We were clashing and had different interests. Before he got news of his next duty assignment, I decided to move to Florida. We agreed that we would write to each other through our parents. I didn’t write. His parents moved anyway. And mine didn’t receive any mail from him. We completely lost touch with each other.
A couple years later, I investigated the possibility of divorce with an attorney. He informed me that my husband would be protected by a soldier’s and sailor’s act and that unless I actually found him, I’d have to go through a lengthy and costly process. Time marched on.
Ten years later, without a clue as to where he might be, I began to feel a strong need to complete the marriage. I thought about it frequently for a few months and finally resolved that I would make an appointment with an attorney or private investigator right after the holidays. I flew to Maryland to spend Christmas with my family. I was due to leave just before the 1st of January but my brother urged me to stay. He had a part-time job as a bouncer at a fabulous nightclub and they were having a New Year’s Eve party. My little sister was going. I changed my travel plans to join them.
As the evening wore on, the cigarette smoke began to sting my eyes. It eventually got so uncomfortable that I removed my contact lenses. Although my vision is considered “legally blind” without correction, my sister was driving and midnight was only a few minutes away. We both moved close to the door and fresh air. Three men entered the club, sweeping past us. One stopped right in front of me and looked at my face, then at my feet, then at my face. I looked down but couldn’t tell what he was looking at. He bent over slowly and appeared to pick up something not far from my shoes. When he rose, his buddies had returned to his side. He stretched out a ten-dollar bill and said “Look what I just found.”
I took in their surprised and happy faces – they were close enough for me to actually see them. I wondered if I had dropped the money and if I would have found it if I hadn’t removed my contacts. And then it hit me! The heavy-set man with the bald head had a mouth full of beautiful teeth. He was my husband!
After the shock wore off, my little sister went over and tapped him on the shoulder. “See that woman standing over there?” she asked; “That’s your wife.” Although he was looking right at me, he didn’t recognize me. I no longer wore the round, Lenonesk wire-rim glasses, the insanely short mini skirt, or the long straight hair that identified me as a flower child of the 60’s. We had some respectful conversation. He was no longer in the military. He gave me his address. We parted like two strangers having a chance encounter. I returned to Florida, filed papers with the clerk of the court, went before a judge with a witness, and got a judicial declaration of divorce.
