Headless Anniversary

Ten years ago tonight, I married the most amazing girl in the world. We met through a dating site, yes kids, they do work sometimes! I knew by our third date that this was the girl I was going to marry. The universe was dropping some huge signs right in front of me.

She was living in Salem; I had lived there for a few months and moved away earlier that year.

She listed Star Wars as one of her favorite movies. While she jokes with me about that being the only reason I contacted her in the first place, it wasn't. Being a single geek, it's always a weird thing to bring up with your new girlfriend that you're a big time sci-fi geek because you don't know how they'll react. So obviously, that was a big plus.

On my drive to our first date, I listened to WFNX's Labor Day A-Z. They happened to be up to "V" and played Elvis Costello's "Veronica," which is her name.

The movie we saw was Next Stop Wonderland, a romantic comedy set in and around Boston. While we were eating after the movie, it started to rain. We couldn't think of anything to do and neither of us wanted to go yet. We drove downt the street and followed road signs to Revere Beach. We found ourselves at the exact place where the main characters met at the end of the movie. It was a weird moment, in a good way.

By our third date, she had quoted lines from Star Wars to me. I remember telling my friends I was going to marry her after that.

Another problem that inevitably comes up with being a geek, is having a collection. The first time we went to Toys R Us together, not only did she pay for the one thing I was going to get, but she bought more than I did.

Three years later, I had planned on going ring shopping. That day, however, was September 11th. I'm not saying that was a sign in anyway, only that it delayed the proposal. In the scheme of things, it worked out ok, bringing me to a point where I was able to come up with an original proposal by making a 30 second or so stop-motion LEGO movie.

And that more or less brings us to today and an explanation of why this post is titled Headless Anniversary! When I got up this morning, I had a small Anniversary present waiting for me...

This is one of those little boxed desk gift sets. The figure is about 3" tall and when you press the button it plays an approaching gallop and sinister laugh sound effect. I wish I had painting skills to do this up and make it look extra cool. The book is 32 pages long but I haven't had a chance to read it yet to see what parts of the story they included.

Although not specifically a Halloween tale, the ghost story of the Headless Horseman has become forever associated with All Hallow's Eve. I'm not a huge fan of the original book, but I have a feeling I'd feel the same about anything written in 1819. It's just not my preferred style of writing. But I am in love with the legend and the image of the Headless Horseman.

Only 55 days left...