So this weekend I've found myself in Tulsa at a dance competition for the oldest and youngest. We finally got out of the house and it wasn't to shovel snow. They have dances all weekend and I have the privilege of being the noise maker during the intermissions with the ever famous "Hey! Ho!". Again, I take this role serious. So while I'm waiting to join all 12000 females and 15 guys at the convention center across the street I decided to introduce myself to the bar keeps down stairs to spread some wisdom (I.E. Charge my phone and drink beer). Seeing that the tenders to the bar are a little boring, I began a series of thoughts about my beautiful bride.
My wife and I have been married 9 years this month on the 23rd. Every day she does or says something that never fails to amaze me. Tracy got an iPad from Santa this year and when she opened it I truly believe that she shed some tears. You see, she's a mega gamer and social freak. She loves to be gabbing with all of her friends at all moments of the day, so the introduction of the iPad was like winning the Facebook Lottery coupled with a Nintendo. Instant euphoria. She mastered turning it on and downloading some of her favorite apps and games. She never managed to get the thing hooked up to the laptop to update it though. It was clearly too difficult to plug it in and follow the prompts. She simply doesn't have the patience to wait for a page to load. She'll think that there is something wrong if it don't take care of what she is thinking it should do. She never found the mind reader app for it.
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| A visual as to how long we have owned Blackberry's |
Just yesterday we had the rare privilege to upgrade our cell phones. We've both waited quite some time to get to this point and seeing that Verizon was launching their iPhone the same week, it was somewhat of a no-brainer. We had been Blackberry owners for no telling how many years. But then again we're talking about Tracy. A few weeks back, shortly after Santa made her year, we were attempting to wake up on the couch drinking coffee and watching the Today Show as usual when her Blackberry setting next to me began to ring. I grabbed the thing and tossed it to her to answer. Problem? She missed it and *Plunk* right in her damned cup of Joe. She replies with the "Shit Jason!" and I immediately blame her for screwing up by not catching it. Either way I'm feeling my wallet in the next room screaming in pain for pinching off the $100 deductible this was fixing to cost me. In a last ditch effort to save the device from certain death, we place it in the bag-o-rice for several hours. Several hours later the phone works!!! For awhile...
The phone does work with the exception of one small thing. The speaker, the one you hear people talking from, doesn't work. She can call, text, Facebook and everything is fine, but she can’t hear anything. People would call and she would answer and quickly apologize for the fact that if she was going to answer them that she was going to have to text them back. In other words; big pain in the ass. But being the trooper she is, she sacrificed this inconvenience for more than a month to save the money before they would finally release the iPhone 4 on the 10th.
The Verizon folks were really prepared for the launch. They had live music scheduled, doughnuts, coffee, and the entire BS that goes along with your average Dog and Pony show. We went in and talked with them before hand to ensure that if we were actually going to be the stupid sons a bitches that you see on TV waiting in line at a store to get the latest tech gadget to hit the market, that it was what we really wanted. The goon at the Verizon store explained that there was going to be your typical dumb asses camping out to be one of the first people to get one but that there would be hundreds available. So if we were hoping to get our hands on one that day we should get in line early. Like 5 o'clock early... I'm callin bullshit, but Tracy is demanding that she's in line because she’s had it with the no phone crap, and I can't say a hell of a lot seeing that it was kinda my fault.
We had all the plans lined out to get up early and get there at the butt crack of dawn. And then IT happens! Hell freezes over! I mean the sky opened up and took a monster shit on NWA. It snows 2 friggin feet and gets to 14 below zero. It’s simple at this point; no way I'm standing outside in line for squat in that kinda weather! They could be giving out gold bricks and I'd pass. But not Tracy. She's gonna be there, hell or high water. And considering there's no way in Hades I’m letting her drive in two feet of snow, I have to drive. So I manage to make her understand that nobody is going to camp out in sub-zero degree weather and that if we get there at 7 when they open, surely we'll manage to get one of the "hundreds" of phones they are supposed to have and maybe get away with not standing outside. She bites and I squirm my way outta the situation.
We wake at 6am and drink a cup of Folgers, get the Jeep fired up and head out before the window can even defrost in fear that the line will be from here to Canada. On the way we take bets on the amount of stupid people that are sure to be in line. I wager on 15 max and then threaten to slap anyone that I see in a tent for being a waste of oxygen. We pull in and plow the Jeep through the parking lot to notice there is a sea of people alright. Thing is their all Verizon workers peering out the window looking for customers. We're pretty much the only people there. And to be exact, we walk in, meet our rep, step straight to the counter and we're number 16 on the sold list. Yeah. 16. Their party over the Big Launch had fizzled in the 20 inches of snow outside.
An hour later we get our phones and head to the house and Tracy is giddy like a fat kid in a candy store! This is one of my favorite things about my wife. She becomes just like one of the kids. She was so ecstatic she couldn't contain her happiness. Its small things like his that I like to do for her. She can look at me with those big blue eyes and I fall back into love with her all over again, and again. The day I married this woman I knew she was going to drive me nuts and make me extremely happy all at the same time. I'm going to give you some examples of some of the moments that define her in a nutshell:
1) One time she asked me: "How does a boat float?"
2) When told about her passenger seat having a "Seat Cooler" she begins to look for a drawer containing cans of Diet Coke.
3) She still don't understand how to play a DVD in the Playstation.
4) She likes to play poker.
5) She prefers Vegas over the beach.6) She said "I do" to a guy like me.
7) She's still married to me even though she knows all the shit I've done in the past.
8) She loves everyone she meets even if they treat her like shit.
9) She's the best mother on the planet and is raising three smart, beautiful, strong minded young ladies.
10) When asked what she wants for our 10 year anniversary, she replies "I want to get married again."
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| I'm still amazed that she could love a guy like me. |
I've written this for you all to read and hopefully I have your attention, because I did this for one reason. It wasn't to tell you a lame ass story about how we ended up getting new phones, but to speak openly to you all about my overwhelming love for Tracy A Curtis. You see, I couldn't think of anything I could get her for Valentine’s Day. I thought of writing a short note in a cheesy Hallmark card. I thought I may get her some flowers or some chocolates. But I decided to tell you all about the things I love about her. I love her smile when she realizes that I brought her a Cadbury Egg. When she gives me a hug with her arms draped around me and her head on my chest. When she laughs out loud and a snort squeaks out. When she cries. When she says she misses me. And likely most of all when she tells me she would marry me all over again! These are just a few of the things that make me truly happy to have found a woman that loves me.
We were married on a sunny Saturday afternoon the 23rd of February, 2002 out on the deck of a cabin in Branson Missouri. We were meant to be together and I love her immensely! We have a song that we call “Ours”. It’s Etta James’ “At Last”. Here it is...
Tracy Annette Curtis. Happy Valentines Day! And if you'll have me, here’s to another 39 years being just as good as the past nine!!
I love you.
J.C.
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