He Said ~ The Ranger's Version of Our First Date

Note from The Park Wife: I have not changed anything that the Park Ranger wrote, although I really wanted to in some places to make me look better. My version can be found here.


After meeting the Park Wife at the trade show I was curious to know more about her, but not curious enough to drive several hours one way just to chat so nothing happened for a couple of weeks. The trade show had been in late March and our first date was Mother’s Day, so somewhere in between I was making reservations to fly to Oregon to visit my parents who were living there. My flight schedule had a lay over in Memphis but only of a few minutes, so, after thinking it over I called the travel person back and had it extended so that I could visit with Ms.“I don’t need any help with these heavy boxes”.

I found her card, called her and set up the meeting. We chatted briefly on the phone about why I would be there, when etc, I specifically remember her asking me how old I was, I replied “25”, she said, “Oh you are just a baby”. I thought she was fixing to tell me she was 40 or something. I asked “how old are you?” and she replied “27”. So I was a bit confused how being two years younger made me a “baby” but later I learned that this was normal behavior having been raised with five brothers….. I hung up the phone with a date with a beautiful woman, even if she was old enough to be my, two year older sister maybe????

Before the Park Wife and little buckaroos, I did exercise a lot and so had a metabolism that demanded I eat small frequent meals. I was expecting to go out to a restaurant and eat, that was the whole plan so I had missed a couple of my “snacks” on the flight. That had been the whole point of the last conversation we had had in person. I assumed that she had a plan and stepped off the plane hungry. The hunger was a bit subsided by the site of her sitting in the chair at the gate reading and looking up at me like “surprise I did come” with a mischievous and cocky but beautiful and contagious smile. I have to admit here that I remember looking around while getting off the plane thinking, “I hope I recognize her, I hope she doesn’t notice the yogurt stains on the front of my shirt”, the yogurt had exploded when I opened it on the plane, probably had to do with high altitude pressures. She asked where I wanted to eat, I said “anywhere is fine with me” thinking I was fixing to eat some great BBQ or maybe steak, cheese burgers, hoagies, something. This is the woman who said she would take me someplace “good” after I had told her of the restaurants I had been to that included the more popular touristy restaurants in the city. I was expecting some food, I had come hungry.

So, we threw my carry-on in the trunk of her little sporty car and away we go. She is driving like a mad woman, passing cars on the one lane on-ramps, and generally going faster than my country self was use to. She did mention, after my white knuckles started to blind her, that she had it under control and this was how you drive in the city. I was a Christian so I just put my trust in Him and went with it.

We went to her apartment where she gets out this fruit tray with watermelon and strawberries. Now I like watermelon and strawberries as much as anyone, I appreciate that they are a healthy choice, but I was hungry, had BBQ on my mind, had been promised a good meal, and I was about to faint. Somehow I made it through I think only by the distraction of beautiful view. I really don’t remember what we talked about, just being hungry and wondering if she was at least going to feed me some McDonald's on the way back to the airport. Man can not live on watermelon alone. She didn’t stop at Mickey D’s we were late getting back to the airport, she pulls up in front and we get out and she kisses me, then kisses me again, I admit I liked it. However, I am ten minutes late for my flight and have to leave literally running towards my gate still about to faint. After that I remember having a hard time concentrating on my book on the flight home and that the flight attendant was nice enough to give me several extra packages of peanuts, probably the only reason I am still alive today.

The Ranger

Now, it was only an innocent little peck, not some big kiss for all of you who could not believe I kissed him on a first date. The Park Wife


Read Chapter 10: The Park Wife and The Ranger - Possibilities