Wednesday, April 14, 2010

April 15, 1985: The Meeting

The date: April 15, 1985. At 10 a.m. my graphic designer and I met with the company that did the typesetting for our college's alumni tabloid. We had gotten our first computer at the office, and sent files of all the stories to the typesetter. The process should have been faster and cheaper than the old system, when typesetters had to retype everything into their machines. But they had messed it up, needlessly keyboarding a lot of stuff, introducing errors, and then charging us to correct their mistakes.

On this morning, the company's sales manager and account rep introduced us to a third person--a man who had joined the company less than an hour earlier. "He knows a lot about this process," they said. "He is taking over this department." He looked through the file, including my letter of complaint. "You're right, we messed up your job," he said. "We'll give you a five-hundred-dollar discount. And I promise that if you give us another chance, you won't regret it."

Okay, I said.

With that, the new guy asked the sales manager to take us on a tour of the plant. The first stop was called "the service center." It was a table on which incoming jobs were dumped. "When a guy--and they're all guys--oh, we had a lady once but she quit--is ready for more work he comes to this table and grabs a job." I rolled my eyes. So did the man who had just joined the company. We were both thinking, What, there are no women qualified to type? And wasn't that guy just a little defensive? Followed by Wow, they just pick up whatever job they like? What about priorities? Scheduling? (We know we were both thinking this because we compared notes later.)  

The tour ended and the new guy offered to take us to lunch, to make up for our inconvenience on the job that had gone wrong. The designer and I accepted, and the account rep joined us. We went to a restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, the temperature got up to an unseasonable 81 degrees that day, and I was wearing my short-sleeved turquoise belted polyester dress.

We ate and talked, and eventually the designer and the account rep headed for the ladies' room. The guy and I continued to talk, talk, talk. He and his daughter had season tickets to the Children's Theater. I had season tickets to the ballet. He had been at Woodstock. I had beaten Bob Dylan in a talent contest. He'd been a hippie. I'd fancied myself a radical and voted for Eldredge Cleaver for president in 1968.

The designer and account rep finally came back to the table, and it was time to leave. I found out later they were wondering just what was going on between the two of us--the conversation was of no interest to them, and yet we were totally engrossed.

We've been celebrating the anniversary of our first meeting for 25 years now.

24 comments:

Leah Rubin said...

Now that is absolutely the coolest thing I've read in quite a while! Congratulations to you two!

Now-- when do you dish the story of beating Bob Dylan in a talent contest?????? Gotta hear that one!

L.

SurferWife said...

First computer? Typesetters? Polyester? You should have had us guess what decade this was from!!

Happy Happy 25 years to you!!

Captain Dumbass said...

That was a fantastic story.

Chantel said...

Oh Bliss--I adored this! What a smashing story...I love the tangled spiderweb of joy and conincidence and fate that we live in...

Cheryl said...

You have been reading my mind. Today is our 21st anniversay of the legal deal but I've been thinking about the 25th anniversary of the day we met.

Great story.

Marion Williams-Bennett said...

What a trip through time - typesetters, only men in a department, and the glory of polyester on a hot day!

That love can endure through that span of time is such a testament to you both, to love!

Congratulations!

Kat said...

Happy Anniversary, and thank you for sharing that wonderful love story with us!

Jeanie said...

A very fun telling of the story of how you met your husband. Happy anniversary of your first meeting.

DJan said...

That was a great story, and one with a really happy ending, too! Happy anniversary to both of you. I am on my fourth (and final) marriage and I think we will make it to 25 on this one, but if you added them all up, I could almost be at 30! :-)

Emma said...

Great story! And congrats on 25 years. That's quite an accomplishment. :-)

Golden To Silver Val said...

What a wonderful story! Congratulations....and here's to another 25!

Ms Sparrow said...

I love "How we met" stories--expecially when they end with major wedding anniversarys. Congratulations to you both!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Happy Anniversary of the day you met..a wonderful story of two people who just click!! :)

Allyson said...

25 years!! That's amazing. And that's saying something because I have people all around me who haven't made it even close to that. I think it's the polyester that's kept you together! Happy 25 years...here's to another 25!

Anonymous said...

I wish more people would reveal their before I dos. It is interesting.

Ellen said...

Fantastic post! I love it, but I must admit I was so engrossed in it I didn't notice the obvious signs that this took place 25 years ago. Happy Anniversary to you both!

Pam said...

What a great "how I met my other half" story. Congrats on 25 years!

Indigo Roth said...

Hey Blissed-Out! That's way cooler than anything I can offer. And congratulations, 25 years is an awesome anniversary! Indigo

gayle said...

That is so sweet!! Congrats to you both!! I so love hearing stories like that!

The mad woman behind the blog said...

So sorry I didn't read this sooner! How wonderful. I love these kind of stories. And congratulations!

Kitty Moore said...

Congratulations on 25 years! x

Anonymous said...

I loved your story. The description of 1985 was right on! I knew a guy who worked in a print shop around that time, and it sounds very similar to his shop.
What a great "when we met" story!

Anonymous said...

I loved your story. The description of 1985 was right on! I knew a guy who worked in a print shop around that time, and it sounds very similar to his shop.
What a great "when we met" story!

Everyday Kathy said...

I always love reading your life story posts! Fabulous!! Thanks for sharing and happy anniversary!

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