I was 18 and fresh out of high school. I didn't want to go on to college, a decision I'd come to regret later in life. I thought I knew enough about life, more than my parents thats for sure. I wanted to be free from school, parents, rules. I started a factory job a month and a half after graduation. I was making my own money ( good wages for the time) I had my own car and my own friends and life was a party.
I started working at the factory on July 3rd. I was in a department they called leather wrap. Wrapping expensive car arm rests in leather was the main job. I was in the glue booth. Lord what an awful job. I was stuck in an 8 X 10 booth. There were large hooks hanging from the ceiling and from these hooks hung the arm rests. I wore a heavy respirator, safety glasses, a hardhat and with a spray gun sprayed sticky yellow glue on to the arm rests. It was hot, dirty, sticky work. I wore the oldest clothes I owned because I would come out of the booth covered in glue. But I was making good money and independence loomed in the near future.
On my second day at my new job another group of new hires were being escorted around the plant. I sat with a few other ladies ,who had also just started all of them older and wiser than I, on our break and watched them file in. One man stood out from the rest. He wasn't tall but he was well built and very good looking. I turned to Estelle and said "See that man there, the one in the cut offs? I'm going to marry him". "Sure you are honey " Estelle said. I just smiled. I knew.
I watched for him at our breaks everyday and soon built up the courage to talk to him. It was love at first sight and lust at first meeting. He was cool. And fun to talk to. He was a few years older than I and had only been out of the Marines for a few months. His name was Roger. I never did like that name. I have a brother with the same name who I love but never liked his name, he later became Gumby to all of us. But this Roger I liked A LOT. So I just called him Rog and moved past the dislike of his name.
He had grown his hair out from his jar head hair cut. It was down to the tops of his broad shoulders, and a reddish brown color that I loved . He was only about 5'8" tall but built solid. Thighs has hard as stone, ripped abs, great arms. He was 21 and I was in love with him. It only took a couple of weeks for him to ask me out. I never had much trouble meeting men back then. I was 5'8" tall also. Slender, great ass, nice rack and kinda pretty. Rog says my dark brown eyes first caught his attention. He lies. I know he checked out my ass the first day we passed in the breakroom. I saw him as I was checking out his. But he's turned into kind of a romantic in his later years so I let him tell people that.
Anyway we were attracted to each other and on first date we went to dinner and then to a bar that had a band playing good rock music. This was 1978 and disco still pounded out a beat in a lot of the local clubs. Neither one of us cared for disco. I went back to his place after we had spent a few hours drinking, talking and listening to the band. He was living with his older brother at the time since he had just moved back to Iowa City from Cedar Rapids. His older brother wasn't at home that night and we had sex in Rog's room that first night. I didn't see a reason to wait. I wanted him, he wanted me, problem solved. We started living together a month after we met.
We got married a year later. My parents didn't like Rog at first. They thought he was a "hippy" to use Mom's word. But they grew to love him. We had Miranda two years after we were married. We've had our share of problems. It hasn't always been easy to stay together. There was a time 8 or 9 years ago when I thought I was finished with this marriage. I wanted out. Thank God I stayed. We've worked through the hard stuff. We've been married 26 years now and life is better than ever with Rog. I still think he's the best looking man I know. His hair has gotten a little thinner and a lot shorter, his ripped abs have turned into a little paunch, but he still has great arms and he still rocks my boat. I'm glad he still likes what he sees in my aging body with my own little paunch. But you want to know what the most attractive thing about him is? His heart. He is one of the kindest men you could ever meet. He loves women. He can find something attractive about all women. He respects women. He respects me. He tells me everyday that he loves me and that I'm beautiful. I know I'm not. But in his eyes I am.
He tries to make life easier, sweeter for me. He is willing to help whoever needs it. He is a hard worker. He is a great father and I can't wait to see him as a grandfather. He is a good man.
So love at first sight really can happen and more importantly it can last a lifetime if you are willing to work at it. Take it from one who knows.
