Photo by Mike Olbinski
My Real Memoir
I should have been thrilled. I was 17, had just had a three-day fling with a Texas blonde named Lynn who had curves till the cows came home, and had fallen madly in lust. So within days after she left I’d arranged to visit her in Lubbock. It would be the greatest summer ever!
But then I rediscovered Martha. Our sole previous date had been a bust. But on the way back from a day-cruise to Catalina Island, we’d talked and kissed…and talked and kissed…and felt something neither of us had ever felt before. Dare we give it a name? No, because I was about to fly to Lubbock to visit my Texas-fling!
The day before the flight, I did two things to prepare: 1) packed my bags, and 2) broke out in hives. I looked like a lobster packed in bubble wrap. Mom drove me to the ER. The doctor couldn’t find a medical cause, so she asked, “Any big changes in your life?” Well, sort of, I was about to fly for the first time. “Ah, then it could be nerves. Anything else?” Well, there was this girl, and then there was this other girl… The doctor grinned, prescribed antihistamines…and prayer.
I sensed something had changed when Lynn picked me up at the airport with a “hey, y’all” and a hand shake. A boy named Tyler was driving, so that might have explained the chaste greeting. Maybe when we got to her house there’d be some sparks. Sure enough, there were. When we arrived, Lynn got out of the car and kissed…Tyler.
It turned out my voluptuous blonde had a boyfriend. She and Tyler had broken up before her California trip, but made up when she came back. I’d been her California-fling! I didn’t know what to feel. I didn’t so much want her, I concluded, as I wanted her to want me—heck, I was 17, I wanted all girls to want me. But by evening, I settled into my sofa-bed and decided it was all for the best. I was anxious to get back to Martha. But then Lynn came and said goodnight in her semi-see-through baby-doll nighty, and I got confused again. Then I went back to thinking about Martha. Martha, it seemed, was my cure for Lynn-hives.
Texas was sweet and weird. I hung out with Lynn and her boyfriend (weird), learned to waterski (sweet), got a bacterial infection and spent a half-delirious day dreaming about Martha (sweetly weird), and then cut my trip short.
The second I flew home, I threw down my bags and drove to Martha’s house. After I’d spent three more days bowing and scraping, Martha finally agreed to go out with me.
Two weeks later, I told her I loved her.
“I love you too—you idiot,” she replied.
We were together through the end of high school. Friends assumed we’d get married. But different colleges, different paths… A few years later, I wrote a musical about Martha, with an introductory paraphrase from Benjamin Disraeli that read:
“The magic of first love
is our belief that it can last forever.”
My Real Memoir is a series. To read the next one, click here.
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I’m laughing out loud, but I’m also feeling a little sorry for that poor 17-year-old kid who had his ego bruised. Did you learn to waterski at Buffalo Lake? If that’s the case, I’m not surprised you got a bacterial infection back then. The lake is okay today though. Loved the post, Mitch.
Kellye, yes, we did ski at Buffalo Lake! Mystery solved (I’d always suspected that was the cause). Glad you enjoyed the post!
Ah, those first loves. No mortgages, no kids, no financial shortfalls or reality.
It’s so hard being a teenager!
I actually thought you would have married Martha……perhaps that was the teenager in m e that re-surfaced for a second lol
Trudy, the girl I married many years later, is like Martha in many ways. Smart, kind, and beautiful.
In a previous post I referred to Trudy as “My Last Love.” 38 years on it looks like we’re in it for keeps.
Aww bless you both, that’s wonderful!
oh , im sorry about Martha
But the good thing is that your spouse is like martha
First loves can be so intense until the infatuation gets less “fat,” the blinders come off, and you drift apart. At least you honored both the commitments you had made with your hot babes. 😉
;>)
Oh, what a roller coaster. But how romantic is the story with Martha.
the age of the psalms chapter that mitch will quote on verse 17:01
Well, speaking from a point of view similar to yours, teenage boys are as squirrely as teenage girls. I probably should have canceled the trip, but I know you couldn’t do it; maybe you still had a chance in Texas—the mystery of everything. Most of us had like experiences. I had one with an Oklahoma gal about the same thing. My wife and I dated in high school, went our separate ways, and then 31 years later…bam, got married. So, clicking those ruby shoes together can produce magic. Keep us informed on the outcome of this continuing story.
31 years later, wow!
Yep, wow is a good description. Never thought we would grow old together, but yet, here we are.
Oh my gosh, Mitch. You have had some real ups and downs in the first love category. Makes my teen years look extremely, well, just extremely. I have been laughing since I began reading this and have a feeling it’s going to continue for quite some time. Thanks for ending my otherwise boring day with humor.
My pleasure, Angie.
Martha’s story is so romantic! I love it !
Thanks, Iman!
Awww so sweet! Love it!
Oh my–talk about AWKWARD! I can’t imagine enduring Lynn-and-Tyler when it had just been Lynn-and-Mitch. I wonder if THEY ended up together?
No idea, Nancy. That was the last time I ever saw her.
What a lovely story, Mitch.
Thank you, Alex.
What a great post! Loved that you got a bacterial infection, too. I first said, “I love you” to my boyfriend in Scotland who had asked me to marry him. I was 18 and he was 19. We didn’t marry but I did marry one of his friends.
Found a better Mac, eh, Kerry? ;>)
I found a non-Mac – less trouble than the original Mac. 😉
;>)
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