Soda Shoppe Romance

A Poem by Michelle Gent

My parents love story A gift for their anniversary My voice as spoken through my fathers point of view

Soda Shoppe Romance
(How we came to be)

Take me back to the soda shoppe days at Baumann's
Where doo wop played on Juke boxes
We fell in love for the very first time
Hot rods lined up like matchbox cars outside the window
Where roller girls pulled up to take your order

Bobby soxers and greasers sat at counters and in booths
Drinking vanilla egg creams, eating cheeseburgers and fries
No one worried about cholesterol, calories
or what tomorrow would bring

You were a vision in a pony tail
button down sweater worn backwards
and pedal pushers
I sported a D.A. slicked back
dungarees and a tee shirt with cigarette pack
rolled up in my sock

We sat in our corner booth staring into each others eyes
Sharing our dreams for the future, the Harptones played our song
The juke box skipped a beat or maybe it was my heart
You were seventeen and wiser than your years
I was a jock and a wise guy trying to impress you

I joined the Marines, they became my family
But you, you became my home
You saw something in me that was never there before
Love, the love you brought out of me

Fifty years later
With you is where I still want to be
Lying on the couch rubbing each others feet