Charlotte

                                                                   Charlotte

She was the best! And I will always miss her, I will always love her and I will always hold her close. But I have wondered how much people would want to know. So I think I’ll write a two in one summery of her. One thing that has become apparent, and that is that even some of our family doesn’t know something that I thought they knew.

So here is the first part. There is no way to sum up Charlotte in just a couple of short sentences. But I could do it in one word, if there is one word that sums up my dear sweet wife it would be “FAITHFULL”. She was faithful to me, she was faithful to her children, but most of all faithful to her God. And I loved her for that.

The first time I saw Charlotte was my first day in High School. I was stunned. But we never had a class together, so I never got to know her. That was most likely a good thing, because I was not ready. But I remember telling Scott, “if I could have that girl, I would change”. So that ends the first part.

The second part started years later, I was 22 years old. I grew up with Carl Root. One day I went over to his house to watch a boxing match. We had made a bet.  As I came into the house I saw a brand new Camaro in the driveway. His wife’s best friend was visiting. That was the first time I had seen Charlotte since High School, and I was just as stunned as I was in High School. But never mind that, there was a boxing match on. I was throwing popcorn at the TV spilling coke all over and yelling at the tube. Just making a fool out of my self. I’m good at that. I glanced at her a few times, and every time I did she was looking at me with shear terror on her face. She was not impressed.

After the boxing match, I lost the bet, I turned to Charlotte and said, “Is that your Camaro in the drive”, and she said “yes” So I said, “ Want to get married?” You should have seen her; I wish I had a picture, that was a Kodak moment. I can still see her sitting there with her mouth wide open. And that’s how our relationship started. And no I’m not making this up, that’s how it happened. So sometimes I would tell people I won Charlotte in a bet. And sometimes I tell people I asked her to marry me the first time I talked to her. But the truth is I stood up and said, “just kidding” and I went home to my apartment in WardCliff Manor, in Peoria.

So the next day I called Carl’s wife and ask for “that girls number” she said, “no!, you scared her to death” but Carl was standing there and made her give it to me. She ask me to give her 5 minutes to call her first, I said “OK” (I lied) I dialed as fast as I could.

Charlotte answered the phone;

“Hello”

me “Remember the crazy guy you met last night”

Charlotte “YYeesss”…

Me “what are you doing Friday night”

Charlotte “I just got a new place and I’m having Carl and Barbie over for dinner; what are you doing” (she thought she blew me off, little did she know)

Me “I’m coming with Carl and Barbie”

Charlotte; (stunned silence )

I then ask Carl to meet me on the edge of town and I followed them to her house.

When we got there we had dinner, and then Carl went in the front room to make a phone call and Charlotte took Barbie to see the rest of the house. I was not interested in the rest of the house so I stood in the doorway waiting for Carl to get off of the phone. When he did I said to him, “isn’t it about time for you and Barbie to go?”... Little did I know Charlotte had walked up behind me, and heard me say that. I turned and saw her, and there she stood mouth wide open. (Looking back on it I can’t image how she felt) Carl told Barbie “lets go”…for the rest of the evening I was a perfect gentleman. We talked, watched TV and she relaxed. So I got up to leave, she walked to the door with me and I said, “lets go on a real date” I could tell she was not all that interested. But she made the mistake of asking what I had in mind. So I said, “Lets go to Neno’s Stake House”

Charlotte “Neno’s, OK”

She didn’t really want to go out with me, but she did want to go to Neno’s.

(Now here is where it gets interesting) I’ll never understand this.

I pick her up, an hour earlier then I meant to….I was excited … so in between  her house and Neno’s was dad’s house. I didn’t want to stand around Neno’s waiting for reservation, so I turned in to the lanes. She wanted to know what we were doing, and I said “we’re early so I thought we’d stop in at my parent’s house for a minute.” We went in, dad turned off the TV and turned to her and talked to her for 45 minutes. I couldn’t believe it… so it was time to go, we had a great night. And I took her home and I went home. (And now comes the part I’ll never understand)  The next morning my dad called me. (My dad never called me) and this is what he said, “Charlotte is the one” that’s it, that’s all he said. I couldn’t believe it, how could he know, I didn’t know. In fact I knew better, I knew I would go out with her one or two more times and that would be it. Yes she stunned me, but I had rules; one or two dates and move on. I didn’t want a relationship. But after the second date I thought “these are my rules, I can break them if I want” one more time won’t hurt. Besides I really liked being with her. And so I took her one more time and one more time and one more time and one more. Well I think you get the picture. Dad was right.

What are you laughing about, isn’t that the way all relationships start?

After that there are too many stories to tell, but I can tell you this, we looked at life as an adventure. Yes we had ups and downs, and yes there were some hard times. And I know Charlotte had faults, I just can’t remember what they were. God used that women to affect many. “Me included”. We looked to God for all things. And He led us. The one thing I’ve known is God uses means to accomplish his will. And the means He most often uses is people and in my life more than any other person He used Charlotte. She was my friend, she was my business partner, she was my lover, she was my wife…but most important to me was she was my soul mate. A woman can make a man and can break a man. I know; before now I’ve not told anybody about my darkest hour. When we were first married I worked at Cat. And she worked at Kroger’s. We were making a lot of money. 11 months after we were married she gave birth to our first son. We were so happy; it was like a fairy tail. We had agreed ahead of time when our first was born she would quit her job and be a mother. It’s what we wanted. We felt it was God’s will. And I still believe that. But little did we realize how quickly that conviction would be tested. Right after she quit I lost my job. How swiftly things changed. I couldn’t get a job. And one day I just gave up. I just lay in bed and wept, I had a wife and a child and I could not provide for them. You know what she did. She just lay in bed with me and just held me close all night. She didn’t say a word. In the morning I got out of bed and I looked at her lying there and looking into my eyes. And at that moment I knew no matter what, she was with me. And so I doubled up my fist, I rolled up my sleeves I walked out that door and when I came home I had a job! I could not be stopped… that the kind of woman my Charlotte was and I thought often of that time and today I tell you I will never forget that time. She never spoke of it again. She never shamed me. The reason I never told anyone is because I was ashamed of my failure, not her. She stood beside me no matter what.

And now I tell you there are too many things to tell, hundreds of stories, some good, some bad, some funny. But I can tell you honestly.

After 32 years I love her more today than I ever have.

                I love you Charlotte and I always will!!!

And I pray God “I know you have her in your arms and my simple prayer is this. Hold her and kiss her for me, and tell her I love her and I know she can not come to me, but tell her one day not so far away, I will come to her.”