What A Night

What a night it really was for me back in 1983

In researching the recess of my memory it was in the spring of '83 that I experienced what The Four Seasons sang about in their hit "Oh! What A Night" When in the opening lyrics of that hit instead of back in December of '63 Oh! what a night for me was that night back in '83. That night especially was a very special time for me. And, as the lyrics go as I remember what a night it was for me. I didn't even know her name when she waltzed up to the bar at the Gold Room. I knew then things were never going to be the same. What a lady and what a night it turned out to be.

For all things that happen in life there are a few instances when a chance encounter abruptly changes the direction of ones life. Was it love at first sight or was just a passing fling? I got a feeling when she walked into the room. But, when she walked up to that bar I knew right then I would never be the same. The infectious smile as she turned toward me completely mesmerized me. It was like I was in a trance. All I could do when she walked up to me was realize she was everything I dreamed she'd be. And as the lyrics go "Sweet surrender what a night. I felt a rush like a rollin' ball of thunder spinning my head around taking my body under."

Her smile was immediate as we both caught each others eye. Out of the blue I offered to pay for the drinks she was ordering for her friends. Right then and there it seemed so right. What a lady and what a night it really turned out to be.  As I recall that night ended much too soon. Through-out that night we danced so close her breath was intoxicating so warm and sweet. But, as last call came around we knew our lives were never going to be the same. 

As she left a sweet sensation swept all over me. Latter that night as I drifted off  to sleep she was all I could think of. What a lady and what a night it really was for her and for me. By early next morning the rush of passion never did subside. Eagerly I called to again here her sweet voice. And, by the following weekend I was welcomed into an extended family knowing that our lives would be forever changed. That sparkle in her eyes when we first met never did waver, never did dim. 

For over four years through the good and the bad the love that we shared came to a tragic end. I knew from the beginning that I may have come into her life just a little too late to ease the burden of an uneasy life. As the illness progressed I knew that all good things must end. Now, some 30 years latter after her passing the lessons of her life that she passed on to me has stayed as fresh as the days we were together. Through-out all these years she is the one that shaped the person I came to be. The ease of her demure, her gentle ways eased the roughness of my uncharacteristic ways. So that now I had mellowed to the point where anger is tempered. All because of the love that she gave to me.

As her children are all grown now with kids and grand kids of their own it is only fitting to keep alive the memory of what a lady and what a first night it was for me. Remembering back it was such an a thrill to have experienced a once in a lifetime romance that blossomed out of a chance meeting in what is always remembered as what a lady and what a night it really turned out to be.