Old loves

[Marigold2]

Today was such a strange day. Daughter and I had a shower to go to.
It was about a 40 minute drive, I knew the area slightly but not really. Glad for the GPS.
So we are driving along, daughter is at the wheel and we pass this graveyard.
Oh my God, I think that is where Larry is buried I say to her.
Larry was my first love. He worked for my dad and was killed in a motorcycle accident on Sept 11 1973 on his way to my dad's shop.
I told daughter I wanted to stop there on the way back.
The shower was lovely and my friend looked so happy and deserves to be.
On the way back we stop at the graveyard.
Haven't been there in almost 30 years, yet I find his grave after just a few minutes, the memories came flooding back, I homed in on the spot. So strange to be standing here once again, seeing his name.
Dead at 17, how incredibly tragic. He was a really nice young man, good, decent, smart, funny, very handsome and my first love, my first real boyfriend. No one should lose their first love like that and no parent should have to bury their child.
Now as a grown adult I realize how truly young 17 is and how much he missed.
Daughter said " do you think you would have married"? I told her I had no idea, we were so young and had our whole life to think about that, finish school, get established, who knows but we did love each other as only teenagers can. That all consuming so important deep need love.
I had no idea the graveyard was on that road, was shocked to see it and then seeing his name on the grave it hit me in the gut even though so many years have passed.
I looked around to see if any other members of his family were there but saw none, his parents would be in their late 70's early 80's now.
They came from Oregon to Ohio and I wonder if the family did not move back there years later.
My first son has his middle name.
Really brought back a lot of memories. My mom had her car accident on Sept 11 1984 and died 11 days later. Sept 11 never a good day for me.

[K9karen]

Sept 11 isn't a good date for anyone anymore.

[sana]

Sorry to hear about deaths on Sep 11.

[kokopup]

I can imagine that Larry's accidental death had a really profound impact on your life then, and i'm sure since he was a first love continues till this day. First loves have a very special place in our hearts with indelible memories that seem to never fade even with the years.

My first love contacted me on facebook some 57 years later.It would appear that her memory of me had a special place in her heart or she would not have tracked my down after so many years. We are both happily married but it was nice to rehash old memories. Her husband was a friend of mine later in my middle teens with some pretty funny stories that we shared that had never been told to anyone.

One evening when I was walking home from Church he pulled up in an Army jeep and ask me if I wanted a ride. After getting into the Jeep rather than taking me home he drove the Jeep deep into the woods and ditched it. When I ask him what was going on he informs me that he had run away from home, and when he was around 100 miles from home he changed his mind. The Jeep he stole from a National Guard Armory and then drove it back home. The whole incident was kept hush since he was only 15 at the time. When I reminded David, Her husband, of the incident it appears that his wife and Grandkids were hearing the story for the first time. David the jeep thief later became a prominent Doctor.