Friday May 18th 2007 was an important day in history. OK, maybe not as important as the signing of the Declaration of Independence, D-Day, or even man landing on the moon. It was a significant day in my life. I had tickets to that evening's Indians-Reds baseball game and I was taking Susan out on our first date. I was equal parts nervous and excited. On one hand I was worried I would come across as an idiot. OK, let's be honest that was the only thing going through my head.
The first date started with meeting Susan in a safe location so I wouldn't know where she lived in case I was a stalker. The game went as most Indians games tend to go, that is to say we lost. We had a group of teenagers dancing behind us shirtless (all boys) with the word Datz's disciples written on their chests. Datz was the third base coach at the time. So, I guarantee our first date was seen on the bleacher scoreboard several times during the game due to their antics. Now, when I am nervous, I become very talkative. I get worried about awkward pauses and tend to try and fill them up by talking. So I talked, and talked, and talked some more. Her critique for the evening was "wordy and nervous" (that also has been a critique of my interviewing abilities, but I digress).
After hearing all about me, and me getting her name, maybe her number, and possibly her age - the date was over. I immediately asked for a second date (not giving her the time to rethink the folly of her ways). She accepted. To end the night, I SHOOK HER HAND!!! That's right I shook her hand (let that sink in). How she didn't immediately bail out of the second date, change her phone number, and enter witness protection is a question for the ages.
We proceeded to do the requisite dating things. We went out to the movies, had dinner together, and went for long walks. We also went to other baseball games as well. After one game, a gentleman ran up to us on our walk back to tell us that his car had run out of gas with his wife and newborn stranded. I looked at Susan and trying to impress her I agreed to help him out. He was insistent on proving his story that we followed him to the Salvation Army building in downtown Cleveland. There were two really big guys standing at the entrance and my exact words to Susan was "run". Nothing happened and those guys were actually very friendly. Having avoided calamity, we gave the guy twenty bucks and prayed with him out on the streets of Cleveland. I'm fairly certain that he pulled a scam on me, but I wanted to impress Susan with my generosity and care for my fellow man. I was so impressed with myself, I related that story to Susan's mom the first time I met her. I'm fairly certain her mom was impressed how I nearly got her daughter murdered.
During this time period, my nephew had started coming to church with me each week.
One day, Susan called me to say she was going to get tickets for game 4 of the NBA finals as the Cavaliers were playing the Spurs. I told her it seemed expensive, and with LeBron James on our team we'd have many more championship games to see in the future. Susan, anointed with a prophetic spirit that day, said "There are no guarantees this will ever happen again".
Growing up in Cleveland, I always hoped to live long enough to see a championship celebrated in Cleveland. I had prayed to God that it would happen in my lifetime. And it happened. I got to see the Spurs celebrate winning the NBA championship in Cleveland. Next time, I will be more specific and ask for it to be a Cleveland team.
On our way home on the rapid, we discussed the baseball game we were going to on that Sunday. We had two tickets and my nephew was coming to church. It put me in a quandary, because we wouldn't have time to drop him off at home and get to the game for the free giveaway. Currently, the only way the Indians get me in their ballpark is to give me free stuff. I joked that we would go to the game and leave my nephew outside. Susan looked at me and said "We are not getting in the way of what God is working in him". I had been rebuked. I knew then and there that she was the one I wanted to marry. Susan would take a little longer to come to the conclusion to marry me.
It was around this time that Susan was contemplating breaking off this relationship. I found this out three years into our marriage and handled it with my normal grace and aplomb. Unaware of my potential fate, we went to Blossom Music Center for a Cleveland Orchestra concert. It was the first time we hung out with church friends as a couple.
The Sunday before this Susan had dropped a table on her foot which cut her toes and required stitches. She was under doctor's orders not to walk too much on it. After the concert was over, we walked back to my car and couldn't find it. We were lost and so we walked and walked and walked. I offered to carry her on my back but she refused. We found one of those trains to drive us out to parking and help us out. Funny story - he tried to key and it didn't work.
We finally found my car and saw that the stitches had come out. I figured the relationship was over as she called her doctor to tell him about the stitches. He wasn't happy and I took the blame for the situation. It was at this point I assumed there would be a fair amount of begging and groveling on my part to happen if I were to salvage this relationship.
We sat in my car quietly and I offered to pray for her. We prayed that her foot would heal correctly and that she would have peace in that situation. I knew it was the right thing to do regardless of how our relationship turned out. I had never prayed for anyone I had dated in the past so this was a new thing. She told me later then that she realized I was the one. As I said before, Divine Intervention.
Now we were on the fast track to get engaged in the future (at least that was my plan). However, that story will have to be told later.
The first date started with meeting Susan in a safe location so I wouldn't know where she lived in case I was a stalker. The game went as most Indians games tend to go, that is to say we lost. We had a group of teenagers dancing behind us shirtless (all boys) with the word Datz's disciples written on their chests. Datz was the third base coach at the time. So, I guarantee our first date was seen on the bleacher scoreboard several times during the game due to their antics. Now, when I am nervous, I become very talkative. I get worried about awkward pauses and tend to try and fill them up by talking. So I talked, and talked, and talked some more. Her critique for the evening was "wordy and nervous" (that also has been a critique of my interviewing abilities, but I digress).
After hearing all about me, and me getting her name, maybe her number, and possibly her age - the date was over. I immediately asked for a second date (not giving her the time to rethink the folly of her ways). She accepted. To end the night, I SHOOK HER HAND!!! That's right I shook her hand (let that sink in). How she didn't immediately bail out of the second date, change her phone number, and enter witness protection is a question for the ages.
We proceeded to do the requisite dating things. We went out to the movies, had dinner together, and went for long walks. We also went to other baseball games as well. After one game, a gentleman ran up to us on our walk back to tell us that his car had run out of gas with his wife and newborn stranded. I looked at Susan and trying to impress her I agreed to help him out. He was insistent on proving his story that we followed him to the Salvation Army building in downtown Cleveland. There were two really big guys standing at the entrance and my exact words to Susan was "run". Nothing happened and those guys were actually very friendly. Having avoided calamity, we gave the guy twenty bucks and prayed with him out on the streets of Cleveland. I'm fairly certain that he pulled a scam on me, but I wanted to impress Susan with my generosity and care for my fellow man. I was so impressed with myself, I related that story to Susan's mom the first time I met her. I'm fairly certain her mom was impressed how I nearly got her daughter murdered.
During this time period, my nephew had started coming to church with me each week.
One day, Susan called me to say she was going to get tickets for game 4 of the NBA finals as the Cavaliers were playing the Spurs. I told her it seemed expensive, and with LeBron James on our team we'd have many more championship games to see in the future. Susan, anointed with a prophetic spirit that day, said "There are no guarantees this will ever happen again".
Growing up in Cleveland, I always hoped to live long enough to see a championship celebrated in Cleveland. I had prayed to God that it would happen in my lifetime. And it happened. I got to see the Spurs celebrate winning the NBA championship in Cleveland. Next time, I will be more specific and ask for it to be a Cleveland team.
On our way home on the rapid, we discussed the baseball game we were going to on that Sunday. We had two tickets and my nephew was coming to church. It put me in a quandary, because we wouldn't have time to drop him off at home and get to the game for the free giveaway. Currently, the only way the Indians get me in their ballpark is to give me free stuff. I joked that we would go to the game and leave my nephew outside. Susan looked at me and said "We are not getting in the way of what God is working in him". I had been rebuked. I knew then and there that she was the one I wanted to marry. Susan would take a little longer to come to the conclusion to marry me.
It was around this time that Susan was contemplating breaking off this relationship. I found this out three years into our marriage and handled it with my normal grace and aplomb. Unaware of my potential fate, we went to Blossom Music Center for a Cleveland Orchestra concert. It was the first time we hung out with church friends as a couple.
The Sunday before this Susan had dropped a table on her foot which cut her toes and required stitches. She was under doctor's orders not to walk too much on it. After the concert was over, we walked back to my car and couldn't find it. We were lost and so we walked and walked and walked. I offered to carry her on my back but she refused. We found one of those trains to drive us out to parking and help us out. Funny story - he tried to key and it didn't work.
We finally found my car and saw that the stitches had come out. I figured the relationship was over as she called her doctor to tell him about the stitches. He wasn't happy and I took the blame for the situation. It was at this point I assumed there would be a fair amount of begging and groveling on my part to happen if I were to salvage this relationship.
We sat in my car quietly and I offered to pray for her. We prayed that her foot would heal correctly and that she would have peace in that situation. I knew it was the right thing to do regardless of how our relationship turned out. I had never prayed for anyone I had dated in the past so this was a new thing. She told me later then that she realized I was the one. As I said before, Divine Intervention.
Now we were on the fast track to get engaged in the future (at least that was my plan). However, that story will have to be told later.
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