A Love Story

I'm going to tell you a love story for Valentine's Day. This is a true story. I know my son reads my blog so let me say for his benefit that this is how I remember it.

When he was a much younger man, we were very close, like really really good friends. We're still close and love each other to bits and we're still friends but busy lives and distance have cut into our time together. We had always been close but as he grew up the "parental authority" (me) became more of a friend. He was living in Nashville, I was in Las Vegas, and we talked on the phone at least once a week. One day, along about the first week of February, in about 1989, (the year may not be exact because I am not taking the time to look it up) he called and said, "Mom, Valentine's Day is coming up and this is the first year in many years that I don't have a girl in my life to buy a Valentine card for ... and I miss that. I suggested that I am a girl and he could buy me a card. He said, "Oh Mom, you know what I mean." I suggested he go out and find a sweetheart. He worked at Opryland Hotel which is a big hotel (and back then also a theme park) in Nashville. There were many departments. Doug was head of water works or something. He was in charge of all pools, ponds, waterfalls, etc. I don't remember just how the plan came about but ultimately, on February 14, he took a dozen long stem red roses and a dozen long stem red carnations to work. He went into every department and asked, "Who is single?" If they were single and young he gave them a red rose and said, "Happy Valentine's Day from me, Doug Bundy." If they were middle age or older, they received a carnation and the same message. What a great idea! Can't you just hear the grapevine buzzing about that nice young man, Doug Bundy who works in the such and such department, delivering flowers to all the single girls. With his last red rose, he met Amanda Jane, a petite beautiful red head who worked in the finance department. His heart went pitter patter. I'm not exactly sure how the courtship went but they were married within the year and have been living happily ever after since. How's that for a love story?