I had a grand total of one relationship before I found my true love in life, my wife Christine. I needed to give her as much love in this prelude as possible so I can mitigate the potential wrath that could come my way after writing the rest. I LOVE YOU HONEY!!

I was a 17 year old with the maturity of a 12 year old. I've always been that way. That's right, I still think like a 12 year old. Physically, I actually looked 12 years old too. That didn't stop my hormones from raging and my stupid attempts at getting a girl's attention. Only now do I realize why they never responded to by antics.

Charlotte Ross we as cute as cute can be. 16, blonde, blue eyes, and shorter than me. (I was only 5'7' which was always an issue) She was the youngest of 3 sisters, all three absolutely gorgeous and the daughters of a prominent Wayland, Massachusetts lawyer. It was the 60's and their father must've been more open to the concept of liberation than most. He often left his teenage girls at home alone which was the greatest possible opportunities for me.

I remember playing pool downstairs alone with Charlotte. Her sisters were upstairs and busy with their own boyfriends. At school I had heard other guys boasting about their "catch" and what happened. Later I discovered that it was rarely true. At the time I thought it was true. So, I needed to score a catch of my own or my manhood would be in jeopardy. Charlotte could be the one.

Never had I felt the taste of lips on mine before. I could not control my breathing. It was so overwhelming I got lost in the moment. Without hesitation I went for second base. I never tried to unsnap a bra before and it was so humiliating while trying to stay attached at the lips. "How do these stupid hooks work anyway?", I asked myself in a fit of frustrating frenzy.

One minute....two minutes...come on! Am I that lame? I began to panic. I couldn't possibly tell anyone about this. While my hand was wrestling with the hooks I felt hers interfere with mine and like magic, within a second there was an immediate release of the strap. That must be an invitation. I couldn't possibly resist. Second base was conquered! I'll NEVER forget it.

Could it happen? Could I get to third, ever so close to the home run? As I began to slide my hand down to the lower section it was met with a violent slap away. I mean there was absolutely no question about that message. I was completely satisfied for the rest of our time because at least I got to second and never was there before. We dated for about 6 months and she never gave in, not once. I suppose on the one hand I'm happy she had some self respect but on the other......

I don't know about how other men feel about this kind of thing but from that day on I have always felt like there was unfinished business. I was so immature that my priority was to unsnap that bra and well talk later. Romance? What's that? It got to her over time and she realized that I was as shallow as all the other boys she met at that time.

It was probably about a year or so after she broke up with me (my first and only break up, devastating!) that I met Christine. By then I was just about to turn 18 and after a painful drought of any female relationships I was so fortunate to have another chance. You'd think I would've learned my lesson from Charlotte but I didn't. I had only one date with Christine before I left for Vietnam. (If you haven't read that story it's one of the best ever in my library. Click HERE to read that one).

She was the most beautiful thing I ever saw. But, my stupid immature eyes were constantly drawn to areas below the chin, even a pretty as she was. And in the story mentioned above, I tried and tried to score like I did before. I still hadn't done my manly deed and from what I believed I may have been the only one who hadn't. I needed to score a home run before I went to boot camp or how could I relate?

It became abundantly clear on that first date that I would be very lucky just to taste her lips let alone other lovely body parts. She was one of a kind, even with all the free love going on in the 60's, I had to pick the ONLY one who would remain pure. And, that's how I left for Vietnam.

Interestingly enough during my 13 month tour, after only one date before leaving, I received a letter from her every day. What could she possibly see in me that would warrant that? Every single buddy received "Dear John" letters fro their girlfriend or wife during their tour. Every one of them. Yet, here I was, the shallow one with a girl I hardly knew, and I received letters daily.  I mean if we didn't get mail for 10 days I would get 10 letters when we did.

She was there at the airport when I returned home and within a year we were married. The single best thing that ever happened to me. And, I finally hit a home run!!....in more ways than one.

Here's a slide show of those days: Click on the first photo and enjoy. Click HERE to begin!