David's Version of 1988

While I was walking this morning, I remembered that David wrote an email to friends and family on our 20th anniversary of meeting each other, describing the day we met. Most of the people who read this blog probably received the note. I searched my old emails and found it and thought I'd add it to my story to give a different perspective to that time. I would have forgotten that we made a California Raisin. Remember the hit remake of Heard It Through the Grapevine?

Here's the version David wrote on January 23, 2008:

Let me take you back 20 years ago today............

It is January 23rd, 1988. A dashing young man named David Hartberg was off to a Evans Scholars party with friends. We were waiting for cab in the Lakeshore dorm area of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After waiting a while and realizing no cab was coming, we decided to walk to the other end of campus to frat row and the party (which were always very good events by the way with live bands and plenty of "diet Pepsi" ). On the way we ran into Shelly Alexander, a older friend from Verona High School who was a RA in a all-girl dorm in the Lakeshore. We stopped to talk and she introduced me to this very attractive young lady, Anne Hermsen, and some other girls who were coming back from the Lakeshore Winter Festival dance. We exchanged pleasantries, me thinking about the party that awaited us after that long, cold walk. Obviously, she was very impressed and said, "I'm going to marry that hunk of a man!!" (Hey, its' my story, I'll tell it the way I want it to be remembered).

That weekend fate played a role as the Winter Fest continued and our girls dorm who we were to paired up with for the events and Anne's boys dorm they were to be paired up with never showed, so our two dorms got paired up. We made a California Raisin snow sculpture (they were big in 1988), did other events and spent time together. As we were both dating people at the time it started a friendship that grew into a love of each other.

So, 20 years later, 17 1/2 years of marriage and three kids later, the young lady has grown into a strong, beautiful, smart, supportive woman, mother and wife who makes every day a better day for me, our kids and our family and has been a rock of a spouse through some tough times and a ton more of good times. I was pretty lucky to have that meeting on the that night 20 years ago (I like to say that I met Anne on a street corner she was working) and wanted to let all of you know how I feel about it. Thanks for letting me share the story with you.