A Kiss Remembered

This is a story you would tell around a campfire, it’s not technical writing. It’s just plain storytelling.

Peggy was 14 years old when she had her first kiss. It was from a neighbor boy that she was prohibited from seeing because he is Mexican. Her mother, Celeste, who Peggy refers to as Sister Mary pain and punishment, would have none of it. Her mother, raised in Albuquerque New Mexico, professed Mexicans were beneath her and her daughter’s stature. This made no sense to Peggy. To her people are just people, this unfathomable injustice required thought and action. Peggy thought her mother‘s views were unfair, she recalled a book that was selling like hotcakes and earned the money to purchase it. The title is Black Like Me, an empathetic book written and photographed to address unjustified prejudice.

Peggy and Russ are standing behind the Tom Dooley, in Peggy’s driveway. The Tom Dooley is Peggy’s parent’s power boat. Russ looks at Peggy with a dimpled wide grin, and kisses her. This is new to Peggy, she hopes her mother stays in the house, and the neighbors are no where to be found. This is: The kiss, a first, she likes it.

Russ has a smile like no other boy in Junior High school. Peggy is pretty, and funny. These teens have a major crush on each other. How can they overcome this sad injustice?

Luckily, Peggy and Russ have a large group of friends that like to hang out together. This acts as a good cover and they continue seeing one another at school.

Russ and Peggy love Friday night dances in the junior high gym and have umpteen bazillion 45’s of Roll Over Beethoven by the Beatles. They have been dancing with their group of friends for months, Russ and Peggy are one of the hottest numbers on the dance floor.

The Tom Dooley boat is turquoise blue, with white lettering. She sports twin Chevy motors. The boys love the loud rumble she makes when being launched at the lake.

Most everyone in Peggy’s neighborhood admired this boat. It resembled a ‘56 Chevy with its white tuck and roll seat interior. Some neighbors were just jealous and others wanted to try skiing on the local lake.

Peggy’s father was pretty cool about letting everyone have a chance at skiing via the Tom Dooley.

Bud, Peggy’s father, didn’t care if you were black, Mexican, white or Japanese he just wanted to see everybody having a good time. This opinion made sense to Peggy, she let this attitude be her guide.

Peggy’s father works at the local film studios in Burbank, California. He is a very outgoing man that has the looks of a handsome major movie star. He works as a film editor in the newsroom. Sometimes the studio requests him to be an extra on the Set. Peggy is very proud of her father, he, like many girls her age, is her hero.

Bud’s wife Celeste is a computer nerd. She originally worked on Cobalt, and Fortran for computer programs. Raised in New Mexico and brought up strict by Catholic parents her household rules are unbending. Peggy uses her excellent sense of humor to keep her mother’s temper, and personality at bay.

Peggy prefers her father’s view of the world. It seems more reasonable, fun loving and correct.

Peggy is frequently under the gun when it comes to her mother. Homework had to be done and chores had to be performed as scheduled.

Unfortunately, Celeste’s efforts to have Russ move along down the road eventually succeeded. High School brought new friends, and new circumstances.

Damn!

In the early eighties Russ went on a business trip in Las Vegas, his career is in computer engineering. Ironic!

Russ while at The Rivera on the strip he

overhears a conversation at a close by dinner table. The name Peggy Richards came up along with his junior high school name. Was this a coincidence?

Russ introduced himself to the people sitting at the table. It turns out it was Peggy‘s aunt and uncle. He gave them his business card and requested a call back from Peggy if at all possible. He learned she was married with a son. He did not want to come off as too pushy, so he downplayed the fact that he was dancing inside. This single event started the ball rolling for their reacquaintance. Karma.

Russ and Peggy were in their late twenties when they reconnected. They enjoyed several phone calls and eventually caught up with one another in Peggy‘s hometown. In her middle 30s, Peggy was going through a divorce, and Russ was available. Normally, that could be a promising situation. However, it didn’t work out for either one of them because Peggy had only been with her husband since high school and she wanted to grow as an adult. She wanted to see what was out in the world of singles. Russ, disappointed, wished her the best. What a disaster for Peggy, there was plenty of single men out in the world, and it was all very confusing and difficult for her. Peggy had no adult dating experience. One disaster lead to the next until she married the wrong guy. Both of her marriages lasted seventeen years.

Russ and Peggy remained good friends. Peggy shared her emotional relationships with men with Russ. The constant ups and downs with these characters wore her down. The struggles of single parenthood during some rough times entered the conversation as well. Russ, still interested in Peggy thought being a gentleman, and listening with a kind ear, would keep their friendship relationship in tact, not to mention he was married at the time.

Whether one was married or the other was married they remained friends. They saw each other at least once a year to go to dinner. They even attended their 40th High School Reunion together. Peggy while married, asked her second husband‘s permission to go with Russ. He knew Russ and said that would be fine.

Peggy’s husband Gary passed away one day after Christmas in 2011. She was again available, the dating world, yikes! This time Russ was married, but unhappily. He had a separate bedroom in his home and wanted to move to Arizona to retire. His wife, Brenda, did not want to move away to Arizona with him. They filed for divorce and Russ pursued Peggy.

Peggy had been through so many insane relationships, she was weary. She just didn’t know what to make of this situation and decided to let her guard down. She and Russ went out on several dates together had wonderful times. Their personalities meshed as they once did as teens, and the attraction was still there.

They enjoyed each other‘s company for a good six months and found several things to do together, including a few overnight trips. Yes, one thing did lead to another, and Peggy said, yes!

Russ and Peggy were in their early 60s, they married in her nieces beach backyard in San Francisco, California. It was the same day that Prince Harry married Meghan Markle. Russ thought this was really cool because that way he would never forget their anniversary.

Russ and Peggy spent three beautiful years together before he passed away from Agent Orange. A souvenir from the Vietnam war. It was kidney failure. Russ being on a short time clock Peggy knew to make the best of it. She never let the kidney dialysis machine win. She packed it up and took it with them wherever they went for an overnight stay. A convertible ride along the coast always brought on good times together.

Reality check. Then and Now

Looking back, we had so many happy times and enjoyed each other’s company so much. Russ used to mimic Lucy, from the I Love Lucy Show-and say “Lucy I’m home.” When he was returning from a shopping spree. It always made me smile.

We often visited my mother‘s grave, along with his parents’s graves, they were just a few feet apart, and we would laugh and tell mom it just didn’t work out in her favor.

Sitting by his bedside while he was fading away, I asked, what do you want me to do?

Russ‘s reply, “have fun, but stay married to me”. I looked deeply into Russ’ eyes, I was not sure what he might be feeling, It was getting close to Russ’s early departure.

More than anything I wanted Russ to feel loved, I told him in a close ear whisper “love is stronger than time, I love you. Thank you for making me so happy. I’ll see you on the other side, I kissed him good bye.

Peggy (meaning me) is 75 now and she has a hibiscus tattooed on her wedding finger, this is Russ’ favorite flower it represents Hawaii to him. We never made it to Hawaii together, but I did leave a few of his ashes at the Pearl Harbor visitors site. The tattoo is to remind me of the wonderful times we had together, if only for three years.

This is a true story, I would say your first love is one that is never forgotten, but in this case, it was the kiss that was never forgotten.

Russ often said that I appreciated his Mexican culture more than he did. I am still close with his family and the friends that we both enjoyed. I remain single and I have no desire to be romantically involved anymore.

Russ’s love for me was and is the best love I have ever experienced. That grin, and that Kiss, still makes me smile.

PS (I did give my mother a copy of the book Black Like Me for Christmas when I was 14. She eventually did change her outlook, but never wholeheartedly).