Celebrating 40 years of love

Through Her Eyes Our story began in the Spring of 1982 on the campus of Arkansas State University in Dean Ellis Library. It was a chance meeting when I took a break from writing my term paper and spoke to him in passing. Arther seemed like an enjoyable person and was easy to talk to. When I realized that we had been talking for 30 minutes I told him I was on a deadline to get my paper to the typist, he offered to type my paper for me, I declined his offer, but he assured me he was an excellent typist and would finish on time. He was right, Arther completed my paper, and we became great friends from that day forward. We developed a strong friendship and enjoyed spending time together. Arther was not your ordinary college guy, he was smart, focused, genuine, and the perfect gentleman. He always made me feel comfortable and relaxed when we were together which is the reason our relationship was able to evolve from friendship to love. In the Summer of 1983, we spent most of our free time together, After the summer our relationship moved fairly fast. In the fall we officially began dating by February 1984 we got engaged and in December we were married. For the last 39 years we have remained steady through all of life's challenges, the loss of parents, the path to parenthood, and grandparents. The one thing I still admire the most about Arther is that he is the same unapologetic(country) authentic person that I met 42 years ago. Through His Eyes After spotting Cynthia gracefully walking across the ASU campus one fall day in 1979, I thought to myself, this is the most beautiful woman in the world. I was unable to garner the courage to approach her at the time. Years passed, and on rare occasions, there were sightings of her around campus. Three years later in May 1982, I noticed Cynthia sitting in the library pecking away at a typewriter trying to finish her term paper. A miracle from God. I immediately seized the opportunity to communicate with her. My first words to her were, “Hello, how is everything going?” she answered, “Very slow.” I offered to type the term paper for her, and she agreed, we sat and talked for hours. We became best friends. Cynthia never showed any desire to take our relationship to another level, but at the same time, I was a little naive. Two years later, Cynthia and I were walking through Indian Mall, when our hands touched, after another touch, I softly held her hand as we proceeded through the building. I never let it go. I’ve been madly in love with her ever since.