ASU has changed immensely over the past thirty years, but one fact has remained the same – this is where I met my one true love. We moved in parallel universes - I was an English major; Jeff studied Industrial Design - but mutual friends formed a bridge to our meeting.
I heard Jeff’s voice long before I saw his face. In the days before cell phones and email, he would call our apartment phone to talk to my roommates Barb and Lisa about class assignments. Our first face-to-face encounter was when he picked Lisa up for a date.
Our second was at the wedding of another mutual friend. Family and friends packed the pews of the All Saints Catholic Newman Center in May 1976 to witness Mike and Melanie’s vows. Jeff spied Barb and Lisa in the crowd and sat with us – next to me. When the priest asked guests to give their neighbors the Sign of Peace, Jeff kissed me. I was bewildered, but secretly pleased at the same time. Later, I was full of anticipation when he sat at our table. But my hopes were quickly shattered when Jeff suddenly left the reception for a date with another girl (I later discovered).
Our first date was two weeks later. We were married in July 1977 and left Tempe after graduation in1978 to begin our careers in Orange County, California. Since then, we have lived in Miami and the Chicago.
As our first winter back in Phoenix draws to an end, we feel blessed that our life has come full circle and we’re still young and healthy enough to enjoy it.
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