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How
We Met
by
Rich
I'm
sure you're all a little curious, so here is the story of
how Shauna and I met...
It
was June 1st, 2002 (and that's right - guys do remember some
dates) and it was hot (OK, I lied - Shauna helped me remember
the date). I was at the Harpoon-Fest
with my good friends Jeff and Mark. As always, Jeff was checking
out the "scenery" (women) and scoping out the "guns"
(breasts or hooters or boobs).
I,
or course, was behaving myself, just looking around and people
watching. That's when I noticed three women standing in the
tent area. (Little did I know that Shauna was scoping me out,
but that's another story.) Jeff and Mark, having had several
beers already, had to relieve themselves in the port-a-johns,
and while they were enjoying the delicious smells of warm
urine in the port-a-john, one of the girls came up to me and
started chatting me up.
Being
a friendly guy, I didn't want to disappoint her, so I chatted
back. Turns out this girl's name is Heather, and she started
asking me some really stupid questions. Like, "where
did you get the Newport "Bite Me" shirt?" (uh,
in Newport), and other similar questions. Turns out she was
only stalling until her friend came back from the restroom
(we won't call them port-a-johns for the ladies), and she
wanted me to meet her.
I
told Heather about "Beer Tuesday's" and how every
Tuesday a group of professionals - both young and old - went
to a different bar in Boston to drink Beer. On Tuesday. Not
sure why I told her this, but it just popped into my head.
Anyway,
her friend came back from the restroom and Heather introduced
her as Shauna. When we first met, we didn't talk all that
much - she talked mostly to Jeff and Mark for some unknown
(an unknowable) reason. But, for some reason, she decided
she wanted to bring our "relationship" to the next
level and asked me to dance.
Well,
if you know me, you know I don't like dancing all that much.
In fact, if you've seen the episode of "Seinfeld"
where Elaine dances, you have a pretty good idea of why. So,
Shauna instead had to settle for dancing with Mark.
Oh,
I almost forgot... The band that was playing was Clutch
Grabwell. Great band if you ever get a chance go see them.
After
a bit of dancing, Shauna, Heather, and Jodi (the 3rd women
in their little cabal), decided they were hungry and wanted
to go someplace to get something to eat with us. We all decided
that the Boston
Beer Garden was the ideal place for dinner and beers,
so off we went. So Jodi and Mark drove in her car, and Jeff,
Heather, Shauna, and I left in my car.
At
The Beer Garden, I finally got the chance to really talk to
Shauna. She told me where she used to live and other things
about herself. This is when I realized I wanted to get to
know Shauna better.
After
dinner, I drove Shauna back to her house and we talked in
the car and listened to the Clutch
Grabwell CD for a while. I asked Shauna for her phone
number so I could call her, and she gave it to me. I keyed
it into my mobile phone.
While
she was getting out of the car, I told her that I would call
her in three days. Shauna asked me why I was waiting three
days. I told her that guys know not to call a girl the next
day because it makes you look desperate. You also don't call
the second day because then the woman thinks that maybe he's
not really going to call. Then, on the third day, she is happy
that you called…
Hey,
this is how guys think. What can I say? She laughed and said
I could call her sooner then three days and that she would
not think ill of me.
The
next morning it was Sunday, and I drove to Pepperell
to play golf with my Dad and brother. While I was driving,
I checked to see if I had Shauna's number, and I found it
was not programmed into my phone. I had messed it up.
So,
come Monday, I had to find Shauna's number. I remembered the
way Shauna had spelled her name, and luckily, there were only
four listings in Massachusetts who spelled their first name
the same way. Oh, by the way, did I mention I didn't have
Shauna's last name? Well, the four Shauna's were in Townsend,
Milton, and two in South Boston.
After
reading the above, you may be asking yourself, "why the
hell didn't he just drive back to her house?" Well, it's
kind of embarrassing, but I forgot where she lived. I knew
she was in South
Boston, so I focused on the two Shauna's there. One lived
on 5th Street, and the other on 7th. And, I vaguely remember
a chain link fence near the house.
So,
after work I drove by both addresses. The house on 5th had
no fence, but low and behold, the house on 7th Street had
a chain link fence. So, feeling like a stalker, I decided
to write her a note on my business card and leave it in her
mailbox. Then, thinking that it might get lost in the mailbox,
I taped it the Clutch Grabwell
CD because I knew that Shauna liked it.
The
note basically said "I lost your number but if you would
still like to do something sometime, call me. I know how much
you like Clutch, so here is his CD. Hope to hear from you."
This
was a Monday, and I was home all night and never received
a call from Shauna. I was thinking maybe I put it in the wrong
mailbox but why wouldn't someone call to say, "Hey, you
have the wrong mailbox?"
Tuesday
came along and still no call from Shauna. It was Beer Tuesday,
and I decided to put the whole thing out of my mind and tell
myself "I guess it was not meant to be." I went
to the Rattlesnake,
and on my way out at 11:00, my phone rang.
It
was Shauna. She told me that she worked on Monday night and
didn't get home until late, so she didn't call. So, we set
up plans to go out to dinner that Friday, and the rest, as
they say, is history.
Shauna
and I have been dating for over two years now. We got engaged
on our trip to Ireland this May in a small pub (Murphy's)
in the town of Dooling (editorial note: according to
Shauna's version, the town was Dingle, dingle). When you see
Shauna, ask if you can see the business card with the note
I wrote. I'm sure she'll have it with her.
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HOW
WE MET
By
Shauna
Now
that Rich has said how he recalls us meeting, it is now time
for the truth (just kidding). He actually did get most of
the details correct.
Anyone
who knows my good friend Heather knows that she likes to participate
in as many social situations as possible; in other words,
she likes to go out (I also). One of the highlights throughout
the year is The Harpoon
Beerfest and she starts recruiting volunteers to go weeks
in advance. It really is a fun day with a lot of people listening
to music, eating and drinking Harpoon beer. I had had a crazy
few weeks at work and was looking forward to it. In addition
to Heather and myself, our friends Jodi and Chris came also.
Okay,
the details. June 1, 2002 Harpoon
Brewery, South Boston,
MA. We were there for a few hours and decided to play
a game of picking out cute men in the crowd. I saw Rich about
25 feet away and picked him. I soon forgot that I picked him
until Heather told me that he was alone and that I should
go talk with him; of course my reply was that "I don't
do that. I like to look but I can't go speak to them ".
Thinking that Heather would say no, I said "I know, why
don't you go talk with him, I will get two more Harpoons,
come back and cut in on the conversation." I was surprised
when she agreed after much thought and went over to Rich before
I could stop her. I had no choice but to get 2 Harpoons and
cut in on the conversation.
It
is true, I did speak with Mark and Jeff more but only because
I was becoming tongue tied with Rich because he was the one
that I wanted to speak with more. Little did he know and I
know that we were both thinking the same about the other.
I thought to compensate it with asking Rich to go listen and
dance to Clutch Grabwell
(again, great band), but we all know about that Seinfeld episode.
(just kidding)
When
we (entire group) went to get a bite to eat, Rich and I really
got a chance to talk for a while and I was really happy to
give him my number to see him again. When he dropped me off,
I gave him my cell phone # and looked forward to his call.
I was unaware of all of the drama going on until I got home
from work on a Monday night and saw on my kitchen table a
Clutch Grabwell cd
and Rich's business card with a note on it (yes I still have
the card in my wallet). Little did he know, I was planning
on calling him in 3 days. He hadn't given me his telephone
number but my friend Heather came through once again!!
We've
been together for over 2 years now and as you all know, we
got engaged during our trip to Ireland and London. People
were asking me before I left if we were going to get engaged
and I honestly didn't know. We had spoken about it before
and discussed Christmas time so I had to go with that. During
our conversations about getting engaged, he said that I would
definitely be surprised. When we got to Dublin, Rich and I
went to The Guinness
Beer Factory and when the tour is done, you go to the
bar and drink free Guinness. I don't know if it was the free
Guinness or the jet lag but he wanted to toast to surprises.
Immediately my ears perked up and I agreed. I was now on the
look out for any possible surprises that could happen.
When
we left Dublin and were in the Irish countryside, he mentioned
a picnic in Killarney and I said 'oh yeah, that would be great".
Well Killarney came and went with no picnic and on the road
to Dingle, he suggested a picnic at the Cliffs
of Moher and I said " oh yeah, that would be great".
I was not expecting any surprises in Dingle so I let my guard
down.
We
stayed at a great guesthouse called Heatons
in Dingle, County Kerry. We went to a great pub, Murphys
both nights that we were in town. On the second night, the
band in Murphy's Pub had picked on Rich and tried to get him
to sing. It took a few minutes of banter between the two before
the band started to sing this romantic Irish song (without
Rich). I was sitting listening to the music when all of a
sudden Rich turned around and gave me the engagement ring.
I really didn't hear the words but I did see the ring. My
first response was to hit him in the arm; he was supposed
to propose at a picnic at The Cliffs of Moher. When I realized
what had happened, I definitely said yes. Of course, the band
saw this and soon the entire crowd at Murphy's
Pub also knew.
Rich
and I are looking forward to seeing everyone on April 30 when
we celebrate our marriage in front of our family and friends.
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