1. How your parents met.
My parents met at Dairy Queen. My Mom worked at the local restaurant when she was a teenager and my Dad frequented the hot spot. I don’t know when burger joints and diners and seeing everyone you knew when you popped in for a milkshake stopped being a common occurrence, but I have to say I feel like I missed something special. I imagine it was exactly like the movie Grease…letterman jackets, fancy glasses, sideburns, and a jukebox. What more could you ask for?
While my Mom was working one evening my Dad approached her about a sign they had hanging in the window. He had a girlfriend who collected posters (of ice cream cones apparently) and he wanted to surprise her with one. I imagine it looked something like this:
Mom drove a hard bargain and sold the sign to the young fellow for 25 cents.
When Dad returned the following day he overheard the day manager complaining about the missing poster. The manager was upset that someone would just give the poster away and said when he found out who did it, he would fire her. Dad was not about to cost this (striking) young lady her job! When he saw my Grandma pull into the parking lot to drop my Mom off for work, he rushed out to meet her and WARN her!
Mom wrote up a receipt for the poster proving she did not simply GIVE the poster away, but that she sold it for an incredible profit and therefore was able to keep her job.
Dad began spending his evenings at Dairy Queen making sure my Mom still had her job. He was deeply concerned and felt terrible for the trouble he had caused and I guess double checking that everything was okay…every night…was just the reassurance he needed to know that everything was going to be okay.
And then he broke up with his poster-loving-girlfriend.
One night he overheard Mom arranging a ride home with a co-worker so he piped right in and offered to take her home. Mom must have been quite comfortable with him at this point (what with all the burger eating and poster buying), so she happily accepted. One ride turned into two and two into three and before you knew it, Dad was driving Mom home fairly frequently.
On one particular ride home he pretended to run out of gas, Mom suggested they walk to a home nearby where they could see a man working in his garage, but Dad insisted they stayed put. Perhaps if they waited awhile (alone in the dark), the gas that had evaporated to the sides of his tank would somehow collect back into the tank and allow his car to run. Sure enough, after a bit of talking Dad was able to get his car moving down the dark street a bit (away from the man tinkering in the garage), but only managed to get a few blocks before he ran out of gas again.
It was here that he was finally able to sweet talk a first kiss out of my composed (but giddy) mother and the rest is history.
His poster loving ex-girlfriend walked away with a 25 cent sign, but my Mom got the guy!
12 years later they had six kids and boy are we glad he picked her. God knows what kind of home decor we would have been exposed to with the poster-loving girlfriend as our mother.
kelley says
Mr. J and I knew each other most of our lives but while we dated he came in to the burger joint where I worked about a half hour before my shift ended and ordered two corndogs. Then he would wait for me and take me home. I’m glad your dad had sense and gave up the poster collecting girl-friend for your mother. Fun story.
Mama Kat says
There’s just something about those burger joints. What a gentleman to take you home after your shift!
Damien says
Kat, that is a wonderful story. I especially liked the “Big Fish” part about the gas evaporating back … priceless. Thanks for sharing, the images add a lot as well.
Mama Kat says
My Dad was always so full of it in the most believable way. This was a fun one!
Natalie says
Best story ever. I totally pictured Grease too!
Mama Kat says
I wonder what our kids will grow up envisioning our childhoods were like.
Vanessa says
Maiden in distress ✓
Unavailable boy ✓
Milkshake/Burger joint ✓
The “I ran out of gas” story ✓
Your parents actually met in a real life 60’s type movie, didn’t they? That’s amazing
Mama Kat says
Someone send this to Spielberg IMMEDIATELY! ;)
Jerralea says
Loved this story! My dad met my mom at a cafe where she was a waitress. Today’s fast food drive ins might be ruining a lot of potential marriages!
Mama Kat says
You’re right! We need to bring back the 50’s diners!
Carissa says
My mom worked at a Dairy Queen as well. Didn’t meet my dad there, but I like to envision it the way you describe as well!
Mama Kat says
Sounds like Dairy Queen was the happenin’ place!
Lori says
Oh, what a sweet story! I loved all the GIFs too, especially the first one. What a charming era the 50’s were.
Mama Kat says
It really was charming wasn’t it? I kind of want to step back in time with a pair of roller skates and a burger. Is that too much to ask?
Crystal says
This story is ADORABLE, but the GIFs are what totally make it for me. Also, “poster loving giirlfriend” made me LOL.