"So, I hear you're from Johnstown."

I was nervous.

I walked with the group, older students catching up from summer, and freshmen like me, wondering whether a work study job in the biology department was going to suck.

They tried to scare us kids. The mean, towering, white-haired professor loved his library. Handle the books right. Don't slack off. Do a thorough job.

We were going upstairs to do the annual cleaning.

There was a girl in the group I secretly watched. A little quieter than the others, more watchful, but still part of the action. She seemed so comfortable with college life compared with me. I knew nothing.

I caught her eye for a moment.

Dark in the distance. Mysterious and pretty.

Lingering a little longer than anyone else's.

In that moment, I saw something different--how aware she was. That she was not just floating on the surface. She might be someone searching the same depths that I was seeking.

Months later, when I was close to her, I learned that those dark eyes were really green.

--September 1988, Franklin & Marshall College. The day I met Aine.


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On May 23, 1992, we were married.
Happy Anniversary, Aine!!! Sweet 16th.
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