A Love Story continued ...

Life, and school, continued as we rushed toward our wedding day. Some highlights of this time were …I was beginning to get more and more playing time on the varsity basketball team and the team was doing very well. Don’t misunderstand, I was a bench player but I was getting minutes in every game now. That spring our team went to Chattanooga, TN and won the National Christian College Championship. In the semifinal game I scored 8 or 10 points (can’t remember for sure) but I sprained my ankle very severely. As soon as I pulled my shoe off after the game it swelled up like I had a grapefruit taped to my ankle. I iced it all night and all the next day. Before the game I had the trainer tape it as tight as possible, it felt like I was wearing a cast. During warm-ups I had trouble jumping and cutting. We won the game by 2 points on the other team’s home floor, I did not play. It was a great weekend to win the championship.

The trip to the national championship was the first time Jody and I were apart for more than 2 days since we became engaged. Before I left for the trip she gave we a package with specific instructions. There were different envelopes and each was labeled as to when I was supposed to open them and there were special snacks in the package as well. I enjoyed opening every envelope and reading every note and card. To answer the question, I did not open any of them ahead of the instructions on the envelopes. Surprised? I can exercise self control when needed. I am smiling as I type this remembering that package.

With basketball season finished the realization of an upcoming wedding and more importantly life as a married person pressed in on me. We got our rings through Jody’s uncle Keith who owned a jewelry store at that time. I began to look for some type of job that I could work part time during school and full time in the summers. I found the job at Ted’s Shoes in downtown Kankakee, it is no longer in business. Jody really liked the fact that I could get discounts on shoes. I actually enjoyed the job quite a bit. I have a lot of stories about those days, but this story is not about that so I will leave those for some other time.

We began to look for a place to live after the wedding. A basketball teammate of mine was selling a trailer. It was located on the college property in what was known as “Trailerville”. (Trailerville is no longer in existence, in fact that land is now a parking lot.) The trailer was a 10 foot by 50 foot trailer. We made the purchase and began our married life with a mortgage. Our payments were $85 a month and we had a lot rental fee that I believe was $15 a month. How would you like to have that for a payment now?

The end of the school year rushed upon us and summer was beginning. That led to the final plans for the wedding and a few missteps along the way, such as …