JM: May 1982 - February 1983
Machinery Hall (Google Machinery Hall Syracuse University). A cool stone 1907 building that screams ENGINEERING. The IBM and DEC 10 lived here; today probably white servers (Google it, it isn't RACIST) running VMware and Linux. I spent a significant amount of time here writing LISP (yeah, Google LISP...) code homework for CompSci 101 and school papers on a DEC LA120 (Google it) console terminal with paper (not a CRT) to a DEC 10 (yep, Google it) and a keypunch machine to 80-character punch cards for an IBM 370/158 mainframe. Each punch card represented one line of 80-character code, and if you made a mistake, load a new card and re-type. Welcome to "old school" computing. I never got the hang of the Teco editor, and I learned Assembly language using toggle switches and paper tape on a PDP-8 (yep, more Google - you need to learn your tech roots, not everyone started with python, microcontainers, Docker or Kubernetes.)
I was in Machinery Hall and this really cute "girl next door" was fussing over the key punch doing PL/I (see my previous post). I asked what the problem was and helped her; I had the class the previous semester. She was absolutely genuine, bright, witty and just real easy to chat with. I spent an hour or so tutoring her, running batch jobs (you do this on old mainframes and wait for the job to run, yeah Google it), getting paper output, tweak the bad card, load the stack of punch cards and go again.
We rocked that assignment. I asked if she wanted to get a pizza or something to eat - it was getting late. She looked at me, I'll never forget it and she said "Really?". Totally unexpected so we went for a bite to eat around 9PM or so. We had a great time. I was going to a party the next weekend and asked if she wanted to go and she said yes. I was a bit surprised.
It was just so easy to talk to this girl of Polish decent with blonde wavy hair over her shoulders, nice body and really nice rack. However, it really was her girl next door personality, no make-up and bright/engaging personality that really did it for me. I see a lot of beautiful women I wouldn't give a moment to but JM was the complete package and our pheromones must had taken over. I was on autopilot and it was just so natural and easy to chat and joke with her. Magical summed it up. Of yeah, and she had a large engagement ring too...
We went to my buddy's party for probably an hour. Had a nice time. It was around 10PM and we went for a drive with no place in mind. I drove to a ski slope in Fabius, NY - about a 30 minute drive. It was a nice warm May night, clear sky. We took a short hike up one of the slopes, laid back on the slope and chatted endlessly looking at the crystal clear sky, no moon, lots of stars. She cuddled up to me, and we went from there. I had never had sex out doors, and it was great. Afterwards she said, "Just so you know I plan to marry D." I said, OK, and we kept chatting. I took her back to her dorm, said goodnight and made a comment that next time it would be better.
Next time was a few days later. We went out to dinner, back to her room and had the time of our lives. I had to get to work at GE by 5AM to do backups.
After that, we saw each other almost daily after we finished classes. She had a full schedule and I had a few classes in the afternoon after work.
It is odd how people instantly connect. I remember when the semester ended a few weeks later. She needed to place to stay for the night so I asked my parents if they would mind an overnight guest (she had her own room, I and my parents are certainly not liberal and my parents never knew I had a relationship starting with her...) I just remember she wore a pink jumpsuit, and it was perfect for her (yes, way dated by today's standards, this was May 1982.)
Over the summer we wrote a lot of letters and met up once in her town. In August I moved into the apartment on campus. JM had a roommate for her senior year, M, who was nice and petite and engaged too. I helped them furnish their dorm room. It was odd JM's fiancee never visited, he was going to school as a senior at a SUNY location in another part of NY. He did call a few times when I was in her dorm so I know he was real. One discussion they had was intimate and she didn't want me to leave. She was a bit upset after.
For the next 6 months JM became my part-time roommate. Lord I loved having her around with me. It was especially nice on weekends when neither of us had to get up and go anyplace special. We just lived in my waterbed. I know it sounds all hippy but I'm not that kind of person, I just loved being close with her and she too. I never pressured her to dump D; she'd have to commit to it herself with no pressure from me.
And sex: she was always up for it, well sure, I'd have to be "up" too, and we had the best time. She was uninhibited and just free and fun. We really had a great time. I did keep our relationship quiet. I had a small circle of friends, and I never ever let on we had something going.
It was common for me to have more women friends than men.
I went shopping with her to Fashion Bar so she could pick out a few interviewing outfits. She picked out one that was too expensive for her ($175 and for a college student with no job in 1982, that was a lot of money). I took her back to her dorm, went back to Fashion Bar and bought it for her; the sames sales person was there. She thought JM would look great. Later that night I went alone to a local bar for a few beers. And, the sales girl from Fashion Bar was there. Too weird. We chatted for a bit and she said my JM seemed like a lovely girl and wished us the best. I told her the story, she was a bit surprised given how we interacted at the store. She did say never give up. We talked a few hours. I was ready to leave, she gave me a big hug and wished me well. I don't remember her name, just that she was really nice and we connected. Maybe I missed The One?
By February 1983, JM was drifting away. I knew she'd be back as was keeping her plants over Christmas break and I still had them. Since I know she was serious about marrying D, I let it go. Idiot. This was my chance to pursue and I totally blew it.
About this time, RH was on a business trip for like 6 weeks to GE from Colorado Springs. We went out with a group from GE, and somehow our pheromones connected, and we start a hot and heavy affair like in the movie "Body Heat". Did I mention RH was MARRIED! As I look back on JM and RH all I can say is what a scumbag I was. She, it takes 2, but I could have not, that was all in my control. At the time this all seemed quite perfect. Today, and since I married in 1987, never would I do this again if I were single. Never. I'm cold, hard sober on this.
How
do I know JM was engaged? Recently I did some research like I did with
LH and found she did marry, has 3 adult kids out of college, married shortly after graduation from SU and appears to have a lovely
life. I won't contact her, would love to, as it would be rude and
insensitive. I have lines I draw, doesn't mean a wee bit of fantasy doesn't creep in. No, I won't see her. NO.
RH was just 5 weeks or so. In August 1983 I moved to Colorado Springs. 75% for the work, 25% in the off-chance RH and I would be a long term item.
OK so next up will be my affair with RH. Not proud of it at all, but is part of me.
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