Dixie College Romance

12 years after the first time I met Doug, our paths crossed again.

I was practicing with the dance team at Dixie College. We were getting ready for a big performance at a basketball game at Snow College. Our Advisor called my friend Janet over. Janet was the most responsible college aged kid I knew. At 18, she was the manager of Taco Time and made regular car payments. With our Advisor was a guy. Jan and I had been talking about him. You could tell he was cute if it weren’t for the beard and plaid flannel shirt. Especially the beard.

Nothing scratchy about flannel.

Our Advisor asked Janet if she would be willing to give this guy a ride to Snow College. Janet agreed and came back and told me. I thought, “What a mooch”. But I knew it would not affect my status as Jan’s bff. (I was still sitting in the front seat)

Doug sat in the back on the ride to Snow between two gorgeous gals. He was especially interested in the brunette to his left but I was the person who helped him feel comfortable and chatted easily with him on the drive. I guess he was impressed by that. We talked about Delta when he found out that was where I was from. Have you ever noticed that EVERYONE has some connection to Delta? Doug wasn't impressed that I didn't know his brother Dan. He was going to highschool there when our fam did our famous Arizona stint. He entertained us all with stories of Dan's fiascos in Delta.

When questioned about why he needed a ride Doug would simply answer that he was visiting a “friend”. He never mentioned it was a GIRLfriend.
We stopped for a meal at McDonalds and for some strange reason I took a picture of him. I still have it. Doug looking back at me in a beard and plaid flannel.
Fast forward several months.

There was this really cute guy in two of my classes. His name was Rick Congdon. He was not a member of the church and I was always trying to convert him. We had speech and swim together. We debated evolution and saw each other in our bathing suits. He kept telling me about this friend of his. He said we would be perfect for each other and wanted to set us up.
As if.

One day he drove past my apartment as I was walking home and said he was having a barbecue and his friend would be there and I just had to come. I was busy. I said no. He kept it up and finally I gave in and a date was set for a Saturday toward the end of the school year.
Rick brought his friend into Taco Time to meet me. He had previously pointed me out on campus to Doug and they even said “hi” to me as I went past. Doug says I greeted him too. I have no recollection of this.
But I remember the Taco Time meeting. His beard was gone and his hair was blonder. He basically looked like your typical St. George Haughty. He and Rick were really into weight lifting and liked to show off their muscles.
I was enticed but cautious.

On our first date I saw naked people everywhere. I took it as a sign that this guy was entirely too worldly for me. We drove down to Vegas (I’m not sure I had ever been), and we saw Michael Angelo’s David, then a gal at the side of the pool was sunbathing topless and on the way home we stopped at a swimming hole only to catch some Mexicans enjoying a skinny dip.

Phee-you

After that, we spent lots of time together. Four days to be exact. We basically went on four dates in four days. I discovered he had just joined the speech team. So had I but I made sure he knew I was joining it anyway. (I didn’t want him to think I was following him around.)
I helped him with his campaign as he ran for vice president of the student body. I spelled his name wrong on a poster. Never thinking one day that name would be mine.