The Best Thing to Ever Happen to Me

One of the awesome things about not blogging for two years is that I have a backlog of stories to tell. Since I've been mopey lately, I'll change directions and tell the story about how Joe and I met.

I spent a few years on the Board of Directors for the Downtown Association of Iowa City and there I struck up a casual acquaintance with Abby, who owns a jewelry store in the Old Capitol mall. Something about me struck her, as the following thought went through her head (paraphrased): "I bet she would get along with the third wheel that is my husband's best friend."

Abby then proceeded to drag Joe to every Downtown Association event that she thought I would be at. He was receptive to this plan, since she showed him my Facebook photo and he was definitely interested. Joe took pictures at the Christmas event I got sick for, she asked him to help tear down tents for the Book Festival at the opposite station I was assigned to, and maybe one other missed connection. Finally, in August of 2010 she took him to a concert series that I had signed up to introduce the band and plug sponsors. I almost didn't make that one, either. My brother-in-law left the headlights on out at Coral Ridge Mall, and Em called me to come give them a jump. I raced out, raced back, and motorcycled into downtown just in time to hear the fill in introduce the opening band.

I still had to introduce the main act, so I sat down with Abby and her entourage to listen to the opening act, and she introduced me to her husband Dave and his friend Joe. She asked if I was interesting in joining them for a drink afterwards, since they were celebrating Dave's birthday and I said "why not?" We went to the Dublin Underground, and I ordered a Guinness, which just cemented Joe's interest. Sometime during the evening, I looked at him and got that feeling that he was someone I could be interested in. My first reaction was, "Him? Really?"

Good thing I had that feeling, because when he later friended me on Facebook and asked me for coffee, I said yes if he'd make it a beer instead. We dated for two months before I figured out we were dating, but that's another story.