Jan and I celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary yesterday.

Both of us had a hard time grasping 47 years. It seems like such a long time and yet it has flown by at a rapid pace. We went to Stoney River to eat and we talked about our wedding and honeymoon trip to Gatlinburg. There were some things we remembered well, and some things we just couldn’t recall.

We do remember that the first night of our married life was spent underneath the University of South Carolina’s water tower. Let me explain. A good friend, who was also in our wedding, offered his cottage in Columbia, SC for our first night together. If just so happened to be right under the water tower. Kind of unique since he was a Clemson fan!

We couldn’t remember what night, but we do remember going to the Peddler Steak House and eating steak. To have someone come to our table and ask us about our cut of steak was fancy. A far cry from the Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonalds, and Shoneys we frequented while in college. I was doing my best to impress my new bride.

We stayed at the Glenstone Lodge (still there by the way). They had an indoor pool with a waterfall and gas fireplaces in the rooms. Great accomodations for their January guests. Of course, they knew we were honeymooning and treated us like king and queen. It was a far cry from the exotic honeymoons that couples go on today. But it was filled with love and excitement for our new lives together.

Forty-seven years later we are still filled with love and excitement for our lives together. We are looking foward to the really BIG 50th anniversary party our children are planning for us!! I sure hope they read this.

Thank you to all who wished us well on our special day. Through all the ups and downs life has been pretty good for me and my bride. I love her dearly and thank God everyday for her presence in my life.

This is my story…