What do you get for 72?

My parents have been married 71 years. SEVENTY ONE YEARS. They met when a group of kids came over to my mother's apartment in the Broadmoor on Connecticut Avenue. My mother remembers the exact day- April 8, 1932. She was just fifteen. It was tricky figuring out how to ditch their friends, but my mom had free passes to the movies at the Avalon, and she gave them away to the others so she and dad could be alone. That was it. They were officially a couple. They went to Western High School which is now Duke Ellington over in Georgetown. Sometimes they skipped school. My father had saved all his money and bought a Model T, and they would go on picnics. My Yiya always packed her Georgie a big lunch, but she didn't know it was being shared. At one point my grandmother shipped my mother off to her sister in Ohio, but this didn't work. My mother came back still in love.

My parents eloped on Memorial Day in 1935 to Elkton, Maryland. Dad’s buddy, Fred came along as a witness, and they drove in a 1932 Desoto convertible. My mother was 17, and dad was 18. They shouldn't have done it. She was not a Greek, and this was a Big No No back then. As a wedding present, Fred took them out for a fried chicken dinner at $1.25 a head. Then they snuck back home to their own houses and tried to figure out what to do next. About a week later a fellow in Havre de Grace saw their wedding announcement in the paper, and he called my Papou. The cat was out of the bag, and my father was thrown out of the house, and the family. The entire Greek community was banned from hiring him in hopes that he would give up. My dad did not give up. He got a job; he found them a place to stay. When my older brother, Peter was born, they named him after Papou which was the tradition in Greek families. (yes, that’s the deal with all the same names) My father took the baby to see his parents, but my mother wasn’t included. It wasn’t until after my sister was born that my Papou even met my mother. He would come to the Hollywood Inn, and help my dad make hamburgers for the weekend customers. And it wasn’t until my brother, Roger was born that Yiya finally came to see her and the new grandson in the hospital. I guess even Yiya had to throw in the towel after 6 years and 3 kids.

My mother took it all in stride. She was and is the peacemaker. She does whatever it takes to help everyone get along, or to make my Dad’s life easier, and that must be part of their secret. I know it has not been easy all these years by any means, but they are still together. After 70 years, I remember commenting to my father on the longevity of their relationship. He was standing on the front porch at the time, and looking off into the distance he said "You know, your mother is my best friend." He paused to let that sink in as he rarely says anything so sentimental. I was a bit stunned myself.
"Well, that's so nice, Dad," I managed to get out.
Then, putting things into perspective with his irrepressible sense of humor, he said " Of course, most of my other friends are dead."

Now that's the dad I know and love.