That's the last blind date I ever went on....

Have you ever been on a blind date?  Did you like it?  Was it awkward like they usually are?  

Well let me tell you about the LAST blind date I ever went on. 

It was 36 years ago today - on December 8th, 1977. 

I lived in Mesa, Arizona and was actively involved in the young adult program.  For a stake activity, the young adults had planned a "Date Auction".  The money they received from the auction was going to go to a charity for Christmas.

The way it was supposed to work was that the girls would submit a "creative date"  and the boys would bid on the dates. Two girls and I got together and submitted a "triple date".  The auction began rather awkwardly, and no one was really bidding, so Gary, the YA President bid on the first date which happened to be ours.  I think our date only went for $7.00, which was the lowest of the night, but at least it got the auction started.

The guys paid the night of the auction, but it was up to everyone to follow through with each other by going on the actual date.  I knew that I would be going out of town later in December, so I put down December 8th as the actual date that we would  meet to go on this triple date.  It turns out that we were the only date that followed through by actually going on the date.  My eternities would have been very different if that blind date never happened!

The day of the "Blind Date" finally arrived.  It was Wednesday, Dec. 8th, 1977 and I had had a very busy day at school.  I heard from one of my girl friends  that two of the three guys that were supposed to go on the date had cancelled.  I was bummed and immediately wanted to just get this date over with.  Gary Jones was the president of the Stake Young Adults and so he recruited two of his friends.  One was Craig Garvin and the other was Keith Horne.  I came home late from school and didn't even take time to change my clothes.  I quickly brushed my hair and left for the date.  Little did I know that I would be instantly attracted to one of the guys on the blind date.

When they came and picked me up, there were two guys and a girl in the back seat, and then Gary was driving and another girl and I sat up front.  I remember looking into the back seat and immediately feeling drawn to Craig.  We all got into the car and drove to the ice skating rink.  As we were driving, we all introduced ourselves and told something about ourselves.  That's when I, for some strange reason, blurted out that I was a return missionary from Madrid, Spain.  Everyone seemed sufficiently impressed for a moment, until Craig started speaking something to me in Spanish.  I mumbled out some very badly pronounced Spanish words back to him that I happened to remember from my high school Spanish class.  It wasn't long before everyone in the car knew that I had NOT served a mission to Spain or anywhere else for a matter of fact! We all had a good laugh and it seemed to lighten the mood in the car and started some playful teasing between Craig and me.

We arrived at the ice skating rink and Craig said that as we walked in, the thought came into his mind as clear as day, "I'm going to marry that girl."  He never told me that until after we were engaged.  He did however lean over to his friend Gary and say, "She's going to ask me to go skate with her."  And right he was.  It was a snowball dance on the rink and someone came and asked me to skate with him.  Then the music stopped and we both went and asked someone else.  I immediately went over and asked Craig to skate with me.  I think we held hands and skated around the rink.  I can't remember exactly what I was feeling, other than attraction.  We kept teasing each other and I loved the thrill of the challenge.

After the skating rink, we stopped by my apartment to get some of the ice cream toppings for our ice cream sundaes at Carol's house.  However, at this point I realized that I was starting to fall for Craig and I didn't feel very pretty.  So.... since I stopped by my apartment to get the food, I just thought I would quickly change my clothes without anyone noticing.  What was I thinking?  Craig notices EVERYTHING!!!! And he did notice.  I took off my frumpy clothes I had worn all day, and put on my brand new pink sweater that I had just worn on a date with a dreamy guy named Dallas.  This picture (see below) of this beautiful pink sweater is what I wore on our blind date ...and I can still wear it 36 years later! (Now a family relic!)

 

After we had ice cream sundaes, we went to the Wednesday night dance for the Young Adults at the LDS ASU Institute.  This dance was where I frequented often.  I had made it a rule to never hold any guys hand, so that I could be "available" to dance with all of the good dancers.  So as we walked in, I felt the same way.  I think it is interesting to note that as we were putting the "blind date" together, and the three of us girls were talking, I think I was the one who suggested that we not set up any one girl with any one boy, just IN CASE, someone hits it off with someone in the date that night.  ha ha.  Little did I know that it would be me!

As Craig and I danced at the dance, I could "feel" something and I am pretty sure that he could too.  I remember we danced the last slow dance and I could definitely feel myself falling for him.  I'm pretty sure that even though I was feeling something for him, that I didn't let him hold my hand at the dance.  How crazy was that!

After the dance, we all got in the car and headed to Denny's for Hot Chocolate and enjoyed visiting more with everyone.  We drove home and Craig offered to walk me to my door.  I was grateful for that, because I was hoping that he would ask me out again, or ask for my phone number, but he didn't.  I told him that I had had a really good time and he agreed that he had too.  He said goodnight and as he turned to walk down my stairs he stopped and said, "Hey, I have a basketball game this Thursday and thought you might want to come."  I don't remember the rest of the conversation, but I found out what time and where.  Then he walked out of my life.  I remember feeling my heart drop a little as he left.  I never thought that anything would come out of this blind date.

Now that I look back, I realize that if I hadn't don't something, we would have never gotten together.  So, I guess you could say that I was like Eve - and my one decision caused a chain of reaction.  haha!  I didn't want to appear too aggressive, so I decided that I would go to his game, but that I would be "fashionably" late.  Thursday came....and I dropped by the church where he was playing basketball.  I was so late, that as I walked in the gym the lights flickered off a moment later.  Then all of a sudden the lights flipped back on and there stood Craig in a burgundy sweat suit that said ASU on it.  He came walking over to me and the light from the exit sign, shined down on him as he stood next to me.  It was then that I realized how tall he was and how much I was attracted to him.  We walked out of the church talking together and then he told me that he and his friends were going to the "Big Apple" restaurant on Main Street in Mesa, Arizona and wanted to know if I wanted to go "with?"

I rode with him in his car to the restaurant and I left my car at the parking lot.   I remember that I ordered apple pie and there was a long table with all of his friends there.  It seemed a bit awkward to me, being there with all of his friends that I didn't know, but he seemed very comfortable with me sitting next to him.  After that was over, he took me back to my car and we stood in the parking lot and talked forever. After that, we met at the young adult dance the following week and then he followed me to my place where we played pool. 

Yes, that was the best and last blind date I ever went on!  However, it felt like forever before Craig finally asked me out on a "real date." Looking back now, I guess you could say that I was a little impatient and Craig wasn't as slow as I thought.  We met for the first time on December 8th, 1977 and he proposed on January 26th, 1978 and we were married on March 18th, 1978!  This coming March we will celebrate 36 wonderful years of being together!

And it all started on a blind date.....