How I Met the Love of My Life Part 4

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

A month or so later, when my mother’s friends were on vacation, they stopped in Albuquerque to visit my mother.  DiVoran was introduced to them, and at some point during their visit, they invited her to accompany them back to their home in La Mesa.  Divoran was thrilled at the chance for a free trip to San Diego (even if it was in their noisy VW bus), for a short visit to see me.

Her mother and dad agreed to let her go, and said they would pay for her return train ticket.  She would be staying with mother’s friends there in La Mesa, so she wouldn’t have to worry about her room and board. The last thing her mother had said to her before she left was, “DiVoran, please don’t do anything foolish while you are out there.”   Dream on Dora!  We had been so glad to be together again, that we didn’t even want to think about being separated again.

Because La Mesa was a short drive from the Naval Base, I could see DiVoran any time I could get leave from the ship.  The days passed, and we had a wonderful time running all over the San Diego area, visiting things like the Embarcadero, where we went on board the historic Star of India sailing ship, Balboa Park, and the famous San Diego Zoo.  We went to the movies, drove across the Coronado Bay Bridge to check out the resort city of Coronado’s car show, and wondered thru the historic downtown San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. 

Toward the end of her stay, DiVoran started talking to me about getting married. I found out later (many years later) that on the trip from Albuquerque, my mother’s friend, Joan, had asked her when we were going to get married.  Joan was excited about the possibility of helping with a wedding, and DiVoran got caught up in the idea.  They talked about it during the entire trip.  DiVoran and I had been so close and such good friends, before, and the six-month separation had been very hard for both of us.  So, it wasn’t surprising that with only a little encouragement from Joan, we decided to “tie the knot” right then and there.  That would give us at least four months of “Marital Bliss” before the USS Hector sailed for Japan.  

Joan went to work making all the wedding arrangements with the pastor of her church, while DiVoran and I got our blood tests and marriage license.  We called our mothers to give them the “Good News.”  When DiVoran told her mother we were getting married, she moaned, “Oh!  DiVoran!  What about your college classes?”  And DiVoran said, “Don’t worry mother, everything is going to be alright.  Both mothers knew marriage was in our plans, just not this soon, and so far away.  Both of our fathers were away from home, on business trips, and could not make it to the wedding.  Both of our mothers pulled themselves together and came to California.  One of Joan’s friends (who just happened to be the same size as DiVoran) let her wear her wedding dress for the occasion, and my mother had brought my black suit from Albuquerque.   Everyone worked together really hard, and we were married on Friday September 6, 1957 in the small local La Mesa Community Church.  We had found a small furnished one-room efficiency apartment (that we could afford) in the North Park area, overlooking a portion of Balboa Park, and that was where we spent our wonderful Labor Day weekend “Honeymoon.”

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 63 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

Tags: Courtship, Love and Marriage