An amazing milestone

Fifty years ago today, Hawaii became a state. And my parents got married. My parents have been married for half a century! What an amazing accomplishment in this day and time.

If I'm doing the math right, my Dad was 25 and my Mom was 21. They had only met the previous May - at a funeral wake for my Mom's granddad, of all places. It must have been love at first sight because they only knew each other for three months before taking the big plunge. 

Both of them were high school teachers at the time . . . actually, Mom was just finishing her last summer school class and was about to start her first teaching job. They just sort of spontaneously decided (so I'm told) to go across the state line and get married. This is because you can get married in South Carolina on demand, rather than having to wait three days in North Carolina. 

So they went over to SC on a Friday night, and as was the custom back then (can't imagine doing this now) they found out where the judge lived and went to his house. Only when they arrived, they were met at the door by a woman with curlers in her hair. This woman performed the ceremony for them: now, was she the judge? Hey, I don't know. That's the story they tell me. For all I know my parents could be common law married!

If that were the case I think that, after 50 years it would be legal. Regardless.

Anyway, I'm thinking of them tonight, and feeling proud. And very, very lucky to have them as my parents.