Scariest Halloween E v e r

There I was, in Waynesville Missouri, only one month into post-teenagerdom, and any family I had was five states away. It was Halloween and I was alone in a motel room and there was a knock on my door.
I knew there was a strange man on the other side and I knew I had to answer it.  I gathered my courage, checked my hair, and opened the door. There before me stood a beefy man who looked like he didn’t smile often.

 I’m still amazed that I survived that night. He ushered me to his car and I remember wondering if I was being really stupid. Even at that age I knew that getting into a car with a complete stranger in a completely strange town in a remote area was risky. It had been documented – I mean just look at 75% of all horror movies.

My guy and a favorite tank.

My sweetheart was ten miles away in a tent somewhere at Fort Leonard Wood. My guy’s weekend leave wouldn’t begin until the next day and his drill sergeant had kindly offered to take me out to dinner when he learned that I had flown in and would be alone that night.

Once I decided that he wasn’t going to whisk me away to some inaccessible cabin in the woods, I had a new worry. This was my guy’s drill sergeant after all; my behavior might determine whether my fella had latrine duty for thirty-six hours straight. I needed to be nice. . . .but not too nice.

We went to some restaurant – I remember nothing about it except my quaking knees – and ate something – I have no idea what. I think we made conversation. It was probably the dullest Friday night this man had ever experienced.

Afterwards he walked me to my door, kissed me on the cheek, and gave me his very best wishes. 

The next day my husband and I were married in the Waynesville U.S.O. club. 

That was November 1^st, 1969 and we’ve now been married for 45 years.