26 August 2009
The Night I Met My Future Wife
I believe it was late January or early February of 2002. Me and my friends, JT and Adam, decided that we would go to a party out in the oil fields in Friendswood, Texas. I did not know very many people that were attending the party, except for a few here and there. Adam had made friends with this crew known as the “Rednecks”, which were the people that were having the party. Despite only being eighteen years old, I had been drinking a lot around this time. Even though I always surrounded myself with people I cared about, and who I cared for, my life felt very stagnant and I was hoping for something that would change everything.
Before I get ahead of myself, I feel that it is important to explain the environment that I was in. I remember it being sort of cold that night, I don’t remember exactly how cold, but I remember that the guys at the party had some sort of propane torch running inside of the workshop that we were in to keep it warm. I think that we brought some beer with us to the party, but there was one guy who kept passing around a bottle of Southern Comfort, which I gladly partook in. Its amazing that we didn’t get sick more often in those days, passing around bottles of alcohol. After a while the inhibitions began to fade away, not that I was wasted at this point, but I began treating everyone as if they were my best friends. I met a lot of new people that night, and it was surprising how much I enjoyed hanging out with them all considering that I rarely accepted new people as my friends.
I was having a conversation with JT about how he should listen to the Clash because they were an awesome band. I was going through kind of a roots punk stage, and I had started listening to a lot of older punk rock. Right as I was explaining how kick-ass the Clash was, a few girls walked up and one of them said, “You like the Clash?” I was very surprised by this because thus far, I had never met anyone who liked the Clash. I went over to her and immediately hugged her, and I believe I lifted her off of the ground. I usually would not act this way around a girl that I had just met, and to tell the truth I was usually pretty nervous around girls. This one was different. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen; she had short hair, liked punk rock, and had an amazing body. But there was something else about her, something that cannot be explained by physical attributes. It was as if something clicked, and I realized that I had just met the girl of my dreams. I could not keep my focus off of her, and I continued talking to her as much as I could. Since she had just gotten to the party, she had not been drinking, while I was already in fairly deep. I’m not sure exactly how I was acting, or what sort of impression I made upon her, but she continued talking to me and taking interest in our conversation. She took me over to her huge Z-71 truck, which really impressed me and started playing some different bands for me. I had never heard of most of the music that she was playing, but I do remember that it was her that first introduced me to Swingin Utters. It was getting fairly late at this point, and all I could think about was how amazing this girl was. I don’t remember how I got her name, whether it was from her, or if I asked someone because she interested me, but the important thing is that I remembered it.
My friends and I decided it was time to leave the party, which I drove to. We got in my rental truck and began to drive off. I had this rental truck because JT and I had been driving around downtown Houston after a party when my Honda Civic hydroplaned into a pole. So another night of drunk driving began. I had never been out to this area before, and the lack of lights out in the fields and road led me to driving through someone’s back yard. I ended up with my truck stuck in a ditch, and the “Rednecks” ended up having to pull me out with one of their trucks. I ended up arriving at my house safely, and in the morning I was surprised to be awoken by my Mom staring angrily at me. She said “You need to get up, you start work today, and you need to get that truck cleaned up”. I thought, “What’s wrong with the truck?”. The funny thing is that at the time, I could not remember anything that had happened the night before. It must have been the community Southern Comfort, and I’m sure that is what the headache was from as well. I did remember the girl I had met though. She was so amazing, and all that I could think about was how I was going to find her again. I asked my sister if she knew who this girl Erika was, and after describing her, my sister knew exactly who I was talking about. She ended up getting me Erika’s phone number, and after a few days I decided to call her. Surprisingly, even though I had made such a fool of myself with the truck incident, she was willing to see me again. From then on I was hooked on her. We had a couple of rough things to get through at first, but we became infatuated with each other, and spent every evening together that we possibly could.
I think that my life would be very different if I hadn’t met Erika. She was the spark that changed my life. It was love at first sight, and at that moment I knew that I would do anything to have her. It is kind of strange that I can say if I hadn’t been out drinking, then I never would have met the most influential person of my life. Erika is still the most beautiful girl I have ever seen, and I am lucky that I have been able to have her by my side through the good times and the bad. I will love you always, and you are my savior, my sanctuary.
