Norma at North River
50 Years
Throwback Thursday on a Friday – 50 year edition
50 years ago today I was driving back from Massachusetts. In a rather interesting set of events, I’d come down to visit my grandmother in Groton, MA to stay with her a couple of days while I made a purchase. When I told her my plans, she helped me by arranging a meeting with the good folks at Shreve, Crump and Low on Newbury Street in Boston. The purchase was to be a ring I was going to offer to a young lady back in Nova Scotia, and when I told Aboo (as we all called her) about my plans she insisted that only one from SC&L was going to do.
Driving in to Boston on the Thursday, I went into the store and met the young woman who was going to help me. We walked past the patriotically priced $76,000 brooch and went all the way to the end of the display cases, where she helped me choose an appropriate piece in my price range. She said they could size it that evening and have it ready Friday afternoon, and so a round trip to Groton and I was back at the store and picked up the ring. In the heart of Boston. On the Friday before Labor Day. At 4 pm. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
Bumper to bumper traffic from MA to Maine as I drove back to Nova Scotia by driving around. I camped 2 nights on the way back in Maine (looking for late season striped bass), and toured around a bit so that I crossed the border and was in New Brunswick on Sunday the 5th when on the radio they announced someone had attempted to shoot President Ford. It felt unreal to have just been in the USA in a very happy mood, and then to hear how things can just go crazy all at once.
I got to Norma’s rented home in Middle Musquodoboit where she was teaching and asked her the question. She said yes, and there you are – we’ve been together for 50 years to the day (well, plus the year and a half we dated).
The photo is from North River in Cape Breton taken just after we were married in July of 1976 – another 50 year date coming up next year!
