When I was nineteen, I received a draft notice. Uncle Sam wanted me.
Word spread quickly through the small community of Lance Creek, Wyoming, and before I knew it, my friends had organized a going-away celebration in my honor. They arranged for Ronda Sedgewick Stearns to play music, and we had a dance in the old IOOF Hall.
My future wife, Linda, happened to be staying with our friends and neighbors, Clem and Winny Mosier. Their daughter was Linda’s friend, so Linda went with the family to the dance.
I was sitting with my buddies when Clem walked over and stood in front of me.
“Why don’t you ask Linda to dance?” he said, pointing toward the fifteen-year-old girl who, in my eyes, was still a child.
“I can’t dance,” I replied.
Clem had seen me dance, so he was not fooled by my excuse. While growing up, my family often attended dances at Spencer Hall near the Cheyenne River. I was a favorite among the teenage girls and was always being pulled onto the dance floor. They had taught me to dance when I was young.
I went off to the Marine Corps. About a year and a half later, I came home on leave, and there was a dance in Lusk. My girlfriend and I had a disagreement that evening, so I found myself driving up and down Main Street.
I saw Linda and one of her friends walking down the street. I stopped and asked if they wanted a ride. After we drove her friend home, I asked Linda if she wanted to go to the dance with me.
That was our first date.
What struck me was how much she had grown up. She was not the little girl I remembered.
When I was released from active duty about six months later, Linda and I began dating again. As time passed, we fell in love, and I asked her to marry me. Thankfully, she said yes.
In early September 1972, we were married in a little church in Lusk, Wyoming. After the ceremony, I walked with her to the back of the church, where our families formed a receiving line. Everyone came by, shook our hands, and congratulated us.
Then Clem Mosier came down the line. When he reached me, he shook my hand and said, “Can’t dance, huh?”