In the early 1940s my parents were students at Bluffton College, a small midwestern liberal arts college. Dad was very shy, Mother quite the opposite. She knew him by name and knew of his family's connection to the college. But she was a rural farm girl with a love for English and music. His heart was in the sciences. You might think that on such a small campus, everyone knew everyone else but apparently that was not so.

One day my mother told me how they met. I don't remember how old I was at the time but to me, it was a classic love story of the white knight rescuing the damsel in distress. Our lovely Ohio winter weather means that the sidewalks on campus are often snow-covered and slippery. Treacherous in a word. So their story is simple. She fell on the ice outside the college library, he happened to be passing by, picked her up and that was that. They met, fell in love and married a few years later. They were married for more than 50 years before my dad died.

Since then, my brothers and I periodically tease our mother about "fixing her up" with some rich guy. She laughs good naturedly. One day though, she made it quite clear that while we could have our fun, she needed no other man. Her comment is one I hope I can say some day. "I think I had it pretty good the first time around. Your dad was perfect. I don't have any need now for another man."

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