Since I already had this written out.... (I have a "light", 9-page autobiography that I wrote fifteen years ago. Come to think of it, I should pick it up again to update the last 15 years!!):
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It was at this point that I met Joyce. My parents were in the beginning stages of a large-scale cat collection, and Joyce worked for a local veterinarian. I met her while bringing the cats in one by one for pills. She worked alone, running the animal hospital while the vet wasn't in...which was several days a week. We talked for a little while over the first cat's appointment. I went home and back, bringing in a second cat and we talked a while longer. I did the same for a third cat, talking for another hour before asking her if she would like to go out on a date with me on my birthday, as I had no plans and would be alone. She politely declined.
A week later, I was packing for a visit with my grandparents when Joyce called. The problem was, I didn't know who was calling at first and didn't get her name. When I did realize who it was, it seemed too late to ask her to repeat her name, and I didn't remember it from the week before! She said she had some old photos that she had found, and was wondering if could give her an idea of the age of the photos. I told her that I would stop by at her workplace in another hour or so on my way to New Jersey. I expected to be able to impress her by dating one-of-a-kind historic photos of long-dead ancestors using all of my knowledge of the history of photography and various chemical processes. When I arrived, I found her with a handful of snapshots, all from the same period.... some of which had 1960's cars visible in them.... and all of the prints stamped with the familiar "This paper manufactured by Kodak" on the back of each one. My potentially impressive detective skills would not impress.... I told her that the photos appeared to be between 19 and 20 years old. She sheepishly admitted that the photos were a ruse.... and she just wanted to give us a second chance at getting together. I still didn't remember her name, but we made plans to go out when I got back from New Jersey.
Her name was still only on the tip of my tongue the day of our date, so I decided to be a little sneaky about finding it out. Knowing Joyce was the only one at the animal hospital that day, I had my mom call and ask a few generic questions. This way, she could casually ask at the end of the call "by the way, who am I speaking with"? Problem was, my mom said who she was at the start of the phone call. Joyce and I went out to dinner and I ended up telling her the whole story. It ended up ok, we were married two years later.
