I was around 9 years old when my parents decided to build a home just a couple blocks from our existing ranch house in our little Wisconsin town.  We would spend many hours scoping out the lot, watching the progress, even helping out… Well – my parents would help out, deciding to take on the task of staining and varnishing all of the wood trim and doors for the 2 level home.  My sister and I would mostly just try to stay out of the way (and out of trouble).

Through our multiple trips up the block to the build site, we started to get to know the neighbours.  There was the odd woman across the street with a massive beehive hairdo and thick black eyeliner that may have been tattooed onto her eyelids.  We nicknamed her Marge (after Marge Simpson). There were a few less kids than we’d had on the prior block, but the double-lot right behind our house was empty and it was an incredible field for playing sports or doing cartwheels or just stretching out in the grass. 

Right next door to our new house, was a family with three kids.  The mom, Kathy, warned us that they could be a little rough: making ramps and trying to do stunts on their bikes like Evel Knievel.  The oldest, Tim, was talkative and friendly, so my mom invited him back to our “old” house down the block one day while construction on the new home was still underway.  He was about 2 years older than me and I was intrigued about having a boy around.  I only had 1 sister and mostly girl cousins, and we didn’t have much experience with preteen boys.

My mom made our usual pepperoni Tombstone frozen pizza, adding a bit of extra cheese.  This was a meal that my family of 4 would typically split on Friday nights.  We’d have 1 frozen pizza, maybe a few apple slices and watch a movie together.  That afternoon, Tim, single-handedly, polished off ¾ of the pizza (and it wasn’t even a traditional mealtime).  I think my mom’s jaw hit the floor.  I was mostly impressed.

Following our pizza date, we walked back up the block to Tim’s house.  He had a Nintendo video game system (something my own family had only rented once, for a birthday party) and I was excited to play.  We spent the rest of the afternoon navigating obstacles, fighting bad guys and finding more (virtual) pizza as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

It was a pretty epic first date; one that we’ve discussed through the rest of our years together.