Paris

I’ve told myself I was going to start writing down my memories of mom.  There are so many memories in life it’s hard to know where to start.   So why not start where it begins for me.   I can work my way through life and flash back to stories well before my time I was told and even into the current day.   There are really no rules since it’s more for me than anyone else.

Mom and Dad met in 1963 when dad was working in the Steel Mill in Magnolia where mom is from.   He would come into the restaurant she worked at and eventually they started dating.    Dad was going to return to Oklahoma City for his job at Oklahoma Steel and had to be there shortly after Christmas.  They had planned to get married and mom was going to go to Oklahoma City with dad.    1963 was a pretty turbulent year as President Kennedy had been shot a month before.

Back in the 60’s it was not uncommon to require blood tests prior to marriage.  Mom and Dad were planning to get married in Arkansas, but a Snowstorm had other ideas.   In Texas the requirement for a Marriage License was less; and you could get it the day you get married.  Mom and dad struck out for Oklahoma City and planned to stop in Texas and get married by a Justice of the Peace.   There is a town named Paris on the way to Oklahoma City.  

Mom and Dad decided to get married there, it was Christmas Eve and she told me that the Justice of Peace had put back a few cocktails before they got there.  Mom said she often wondered if they were really married since the JP was quite toasted.  Then she said the longer they were married, the more she realized they were most certainly married.

So on with the weather report.   I remember mom telling me they had a foot of snow.  I had to do a little research on the internet; and sure, enough there is an article on the Magnolia Reporter stating “This Day in History” Dec 22-23, 1963 Magnolia received a foot of snow and some parts in Southeast Arkansas received 15-16 inches of snow.  So, mom’s story panned out.

Mom and dad didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up.  Of course, to a kid we could have been rich for all I knew, I had everything I needed.    I remember all my life I could brag that my parents were married in Paris.   Of course, I’d conveniently leave out Texas (as least for a few minutes).

The Christmas Season (Thanksgiving to New Year’s) has always been somewhat special for our family of three.   The anniversary on Christmas Eve, then Christmas Day, Dad’s Birthday then New Years.  We couldn’t always spend those days together, but we always tried.  We’ve had some great experiences over the holidays through the years.  We went to Mexico City, we took a River Boat Cruise up the Mississippi and watched them light sculptures on the banks on Fire so Papa Noel could find their homes (a South Louisiana thing).     But what I loved the most, was being at home with the two people who loved me more than they loved themselves.

I was not alive when this story started.   But I’ve heard it so many times through my life.  It’s where it all started for me.  It was a new life for mom and dad.   Within a year I’d surprise them with my arrival.