My First Date

By: Lolo Anderson

This is a story about how wonderful and sweet God has been to me. My life has been rich beyond description in a lifetime of words. This very personal story about my first date is only a moment in my life. After reading this one single moment, just imagine how amazing my whole life has been. This story is an example of just how sweet God has been to me.

The story begins back at my childhood home. Yes, my first date goes way back to the very beginning for me. From 6 months to age 10 my family lived within one hundred feet of my Grandparents and 3 of my mother’s sisters and brother’s families. We called this little conclave of McCullough’s, Olson’s and Anderson’s, the Ranch

The Ranch was located about 3 miles out of town in the pygmy forest of Mendocino County. I was baptized on a cold foggy day in Big River near the Mendocino Bay when I was about eight years old. The old Southern Baptist preacher, the Reverend Alton Sandel dipped me into the cold water and it was a spiritual experience for me.

Not long after a family of Gypsy’s came to town in a covered wagon pulled by 2 mules. The whole town was talking about them and all the Gypsy stories. They bought some land right next to our little world on Olson Lane.

They only had a mule drawn covered wagon just like in the movies. The family of 4 all lived in that small plywood covered wagon with rubber tires right next to my uncle.

Me and all of my cousins all watched them cut down the pygmy trees and clear the land with their 2 mules. I can still smell those wonderful meals whenever I was lucky enough to get to eat with them. They had 2 teenage boys and a hard-working smart daddy. The mother was a fortune teller right out of a Gypsy storybook.

Can you imagine the mind of an 8-year-old country boy like me. They had pet raccoon in a cage and all kinds of birds in and out of the house wagon. They were such a wonderful and sweet family and I enjoyed their friendship. They spoke a foreign language that I did not understand but I enjoyed listening to them. They were always so happy and having so much fun with each other.

I was blessed with a number of times sitting alone with mom when her husband and teenage boys were working outside. She recognized the holy spirit living within me even then. She treated me with such respect and never tempted me with her dark voodoo spiritual stuff.

I knew she was dark and spiritual but I also knew she was not from the evil one. She was from a different culture but I know she believed in God because I felt too comfortable around her.

They built a house on that plot of land. House made of scrap 2x4s from the mill. They would drive the work wagon they had brought to the mill to buy scrap 2x4s. Stacked one 2x4 on top of another like Lego bricks to build a house right next to my uncle Elmer’s that was right next to my house.

The night they moved out of the wagon house into the new 2x4 house they invited me over for dinner to celebrate. We had to eat all sitting on the floor in the living room. No electricity yet, only the light from the fireplace and a lantern in the kitchen.

After dinner, mom did a traditional gypsy dance in front of all of us. Then she stopped dancing and prayed this house would be a special blessing for all present that night. Then she sat on the floor in front of me and looked into my frightened eyes.

She held my hands and told me my fortune that out of this house will come a sweet blessing for me, even in my later years.

Fast forward a couple of years and my parents bought a big house in town and we moved away from the Ranch. I would ride my bike from town on weekends to play with my friends still back at the Ranch.

One day playing in the sandpit at the end of the Olson’s driveway I saw a new family moving into the Gypsy’s 2x4 house. They had just moved to town from the big sky country of Montana. That was the first time I saw Sandy, carrying in moving boxes. Just stood there for a long time looking at each other.

Now I don’t remember, maybe I was about 12 years old. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life and she was looking back at me. I remembered what the Gypsy said that a sweet memory will come from this house for me and she was moving into it. I could not breath and I froze solid, looking until she went inside.

I made that 6-mile round trip on my bike back to the Ranch from town so many times. I told my parents it was going to play with my cousins. The truth was I was hoping to see Sandy again. I was so shy and afraid to talk with her whenever I saw her after that first day. She was always playing with my girl cousins and I found myself still playing basketball and riding bikes with my boy cousins.

One day I was visiting one of my cousins whose sister was having a sleepover. Two of us boys decided to break into my cousin’s bedroom to scare the girls. After a flurry of pillows tossed at us, I noticed Sandy sitting on the bed. She was wearing a fluffy nightgown and looking right at me, like that first day. I took a mental picture of her sitting on the bed and ran out of the room.

Found as many reasons as possible to be walking through my uncle’s house just to see Sandy playing with my girl cousins. They would be listening to records and playing with a mountain of stuffed animals. I would look away the moment Sandy would see me.

One day the 2x4 house had a for sale sign on it and Sandy was gone. Even after Sandy’s family moved away, I still kept one eye on that 2x4 house next to my uncle Elmer’s. Thinking the girl might somehow still be there.

Years later now I am 16 and driving my almost new Corvette. See, I told you that God has really been busy blessing this old boy. I never had the nerve to ever get the courage to talk to Sandy. Lots of reasons but mostly I knew she could never live up to the many sweet dreams I had thinking about her.

I had just been told to stay away from Diane because she was only 14. Diane was my first girlfriend and my first kiss. All the girls in my church youth group felt so sorry for us. We had been the most exciting couple in the whole group. When her parents said we had to break up everyone was so sorry.

Diane and I had only met in church and on one or two church outings. We did meet at the Peterson ranch one day after church without her parents knowing. I took her for the most wonderful ride in my home-made dune buggy up to McDonald’s apple orchard. Never had anything close to be called a real date with Diane.

Now there was another girl in my youth group at church, named Phyllis. After my breakup with Diane, she was being very sweet to me. She is very pretty and I like her very much but she doesn’t really like me very much.

One day visiting my sister in town I saw Sandy standing on the porch visiting the house across the street. She waved at me and I crossed the street to say hello. I hoped she could not tell I was shaking inside.

I remembered what the Gypsy said about the sweet memory that will come from her house. That gave me the courage to walk up to her and open my mouth.

The next thing I remember is asking her if she would come to a church youth teenage party with me. I don’t remember anything she said, all I remember is being so close to her gorgeous face and looking into her pretty blue eyes and seeing that smile on her beautiful face. Might have forgot to mention it was a beach party.

Never knew there were so many minutes between Tuesday and Saturday night. I drove up to her house in my convertible vette with my heart pounding. I knocked on the front door and her sweet mommy opened it up.

There Sandy was standing at the top of the stairs all dressed up and ready to go to a party. Do you see how good God has been to me? To see such a vision of my childhood fantasy standing at the top of the stairs to go on my first real date. Words can’t describe the picture in my mind that brings back again even sweeter each time.

Now the purpose of telling this story is for someone to read it back to me after my memory of it is gone. I will need to remind myself just how beautiful Sandy was. I hate stories that flip flop back in time. It drives me nuts, still I need to jump ahead 10 years to her 10-year class reunion. It is the best way I know how to remind myself just how lovely Sandy was.

Class Reunion years later:

I have been married 9 years now to that sexy Phyllis from that same beach party. I had been hired to take Sandy’s class reunion photograph. So, I was at her 10-year class reunion. All the girls hated her and all the boys could not stop staring at her.

I can still picture her blond hair and tight silk dress with the low neckline. She was putting on a performance like a movie star and she had all the guy’s heart that night. I never had a chance to dance or even talk to her because there were always so many guys crowded around her.

It was all I could do to be sure she was positioned in the center of the first row of the reunion photograph. I counted down out loud so all 200 classmates knew when I was taking the shot. Never looked at anyone else but Sandy’s. Her provocative dress shone off her figure and movie star perfect smiling face.

Can you imagine the pride and gratitude that God gave me that gift for her to have been my first date. She was just that kind of a beautiful sexy woman. She was the center of attention for the entire class reunion at the age of 28, just think how awesome she was at age 15 standing at the top of those stairs.

Now flash back to the first date.

So, there she was at the top of the stairs dressed to the nines. Tight little dress with high heels and all. I am standing at the bottom of the stairs in my beach shorts and stupid home-made multi-colored beach top. Only thing I could say was, “They don’t have beach parties back in Montana”? I thought I had died and went to heaven looking at that vision of her still at the top of those stairs.

She disappeared to change while I talked to her mom and dad. She came down stairs wearing a mind-blowing beach outfit with a small swimsuit under a lace top.

I walked her to my car and opened her door. The vision of a hundred dreams was coming true as she sat down in my car. She looked up and smiled at me with those sweet blue eyes and I went stupid.

Even all these years later I still replay that drive from town to the beach. The wind was blowing her beautiful hair as she screamed when I dropped into 2nd gear to show off how my vette can pull her back into her seat. All those day-dreams of her and now she was actually sitting next to me in my car.

No boy could have ever even hoped to have had such a first date. Sixteen and driving my very own corvette with the most beautiful dream fantasy girl sitting next to me.

I could not imagine anything that could have made it any better, then she reached over and softly touched my hand on the gear shift. I looked over at her and she was looking right back at me like that first day back at the Gypsy 2x4 house.

We walked up to the church youth party on the beach, holding hands. Most of the girls were still wearing shorts and sweatshirts and some brave ones had on one-piece swimsuits. Think what everyone was thinking when my date took off her lace covering to show off her little bikini. I was too busy looking at my date to notice all the other girls were going crazy.

I remember sitting so close to her and looking into her eyes and talking. Holding hands and watching the sunset on the beach was just like in the movies. We talked about the time she was living in the Gypsy house and how much I had been thinking about her. She asked why I never talked to her alone. I told her that I thought mortals can only talk to a Goddess in spiritual ways, like in dreams. The fading light of the sunset lit her gorgeous little body in that bikini and danced across her smiling face.

I did not know how to respond when she told me that she had been hoping I would talk to her each time she saw me. I knew then that I had missed out on being her best friend for years. I know I would never have enough courage to make the first move, so it must have been Sandy that first kissed me.

She wrapped her arm around mine and held my hand tight. With the other hand softly touching my face then she pulled my head down and softly kissed me right on my lips. This was the girl you had made up so many daydreams about. Here she was in real life kissing you as the sun fell into the ocean.

After that my mind went blank and I did not know if I should kiss her back. I had been flashing back and forth between reality and fantasy ever since seeing her at the top of those stairs. After that first gentle kiss the real world vanished and I was completely inside the fantasy dream world now.

About that time the church sponsors yelled to call us to come back to the fire for hot dogs and marshmallows. I will never forget that walk on the beach after dark. Walking along the beach as the waves washed under our feet and her little warm hand holding mine. I know we talked but all I remember is the touch of her hand in mine as my boyhood dream unfolded in real life.

The drive home holding hands was even better than the drive to the beach. The touch of her hand on my arm made it hard to concentrate on driving. Still, I had to take her to the drive-in to show her off to all the high school kids.

French fries never tasted so good when she dipped them in your chocolate milkshake. As usual there were about a dozen high school kids parked at the drive-in and I made sure they all saw my date. Slow tooling down main street with the most beautiful girl in school was just one of the dreams I had about her that was coming true right before my eyes.

I finally got the courage at her front door to put my hands around her waist and pull her in close to me. I had been practicing that first kiss ever since I first set eyes on her when she was 10 years old. It was all I ever dreamed it would be. So soft and gentle, barely touching lips at first then let all the built-up emotion take control and enjoy the moment forever.

All those daydreams of that moment but never imagined her warm passionate response. It was always all about me and how I would feel at that moment, never imagined she would be so excited. When that kiss was over, it was all about her emotion and her passion that remains so clear in my sweet memory of it.

One last gentle touch of her ear and then her beautiful face with my trembling hand. One last short kiss on her cheek and then a Good-night Sandy.

I don’t remember walking back to my car or driving out to Tod's Point. It was my favorite place to listen to the waves crash on the rocks as I shook and prayed in thanks to God for what had just happened.

That is my first date.

Now you tell me, how many boys can say they had anything close to a wonderful first date like that. Come to find out it was not just for that night but so many times for 60 years now thinking about it still brings it all back to life. Now I see the gift it really was to last me a lifetime. Thank you, Sandy and thank you Lord Jesus for such a sweet and lasting lovely memory.

What happened next between us is the subject of other stories. However, God was not finished blessing me with her memory. Years later we met on the street with her 2 beautiful children at the Paul Bunyan kiddie parade.

I recall she had the most beautiful kids and she was as pretty as a picture. I have no idea what we said to each other but I can still remember looking into each other’s eyes for a very long time. It was not just the smile on her cute face or the deep blue of her eyes. I knew it was all good between us and it was God’s gift to let me know that. She still had a pleasant memory of that first date and the affection we shared that night.

The Gypsy’s fortune came true not only with my first date but it is still coming true in my old age. My mind slips back and forth between reality and make believe. Just a few days ago I had a vision of dancing with her at that class reunion. It was not a dream, more like being there in real life again.

I could smell her hair as she pressed her face against my cheek with both her arms around my neck. She was wearing that hot pink dress and cuddling her body so close it made me cry in thanksgiving to God.

In real life I never got to dance with Sandy. Somehow the reality would never have lived up to the feelings of that vision just a few days ago. I will never know if the Gypsy left a magic spell on Sandy from living in that house. Sandy did make it such a sweet memory of my first real date.

Thank You