As the days grow closer to my wedding anniversary, my husband is asking what present do I want? This question turned my thinking to one of the best presents I received from him.
We had met over 20 years ago and on one of our first dates, he asked me how my parents came up with my name?. This question had a "getting to know you" feel to it. He had mentioned he was named after his father's friend, a fellow Marine who had died in combat. I sheepishly shared that my name wasn't as poignant as his history behind his name. My parents had come from a long standing tradition of naming the young after relatives. When I was born, they may have wanted to make a change, because I was named after a song they liked. He had never heard of a song that was named Diane, so I sang (read warbled) a few of the lyrics.
A few dates later, he surprised me with a mix tape, a cassette tape with recorded songs. (In those days, there was no Pandora on your phone, you had to buy the album or cassette tape. Otherwise, if you wanted to hear a favorite song, you had to either hope the radio station would play it or call into the radio station and request it. ) He said the songs on the cassette reminded him of me. (Awww!!) We were in my car, and I popped in the tape, curious to hear what songs he had chosen.
The first song that floated through the speakers was the original "Diane" by the Bachelors. I asked him how he was able to find this song, since it wasn't modern and a bit on the obscure side. He shared that he had called the "oldies" station The Jewel a couple of times. The first time he called, the DJ told him he had never heard of it. My then boyfriend, risking his own dignity, sang the lyrics in an attempt to jog the DJ's memory. After the performance, the DJ said would had to go to the archives, so call back later. When he did called later that evening, they could retrieve it and he was able to record it on the cassette tape. I said he didn't have to go through all of that trouble, to which he replied he didn't mind at all, it was for me.
To this day, I still have the mix tape and will never part with it. To me, it's still remains a romantic and thoughtful present.
We had met over 20 years ago and on one of our first dates, he asked me how my parents came up with my name?. This question had a "getting to know you" feel to it. He had mentioned he was named after his father's friend, a fellow Marine who had died in combat. I sheepishly shared that my name wasn't as poignant as his history behind his name. My parents had come from a long standing tradition of naming the young after relatives. When I was born, they may have wanted to make a change, because I was named after a song they liked. He had never heard of a song that was named Diane, so I sang (read warbled) a few of the lyrics.
A few dates later, he surprised me with a mix tape, a cassette tape with recorded songs. (In those days, there was no Pandora on your phone, you had to buy the album or cassette tape. Otherwise, if you wanted to hear a favorite song, you had to either hope the radio station would play it or call into the radio station and request it. ) He said the songs on the cassette reminded him of me. (Awww!!) We were in my car, and I popped in the tape, curious to hear what songs he had chosen.
The first song that floated through the speakers was the original "Diane" by the Bachelors. I asked him how he was able to find this song, since it wasn't modern and a bit on the obscure side. He shared that he had called the "oldies" station The Jewel a couple of times. The first time he called, the DJ told him he had never heard of it. My then boyfriend, risking his own dignity, sang the lyrics in an attempt to jog the DJ's memory. After the performance, the DJ said would had to go to the archives, so call back later. When he did called later that evening, they could retrieve it and he was able to record it on the cassette tape. I said he didn't have to go through all of that trouble, to which he replied he didn't mind at all, it was for me.
To this day, I still have the mix tape and will never part with it. To me, it's still remains a romantic and thoughtful present.
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