James and I - the first date

In 1990, I took a semester off of school and heading to BYU-Hawaii for some fun in the sun (and some intense classes like Hula and Ukelele).  While I was there,  I heard from several friends (via real letters, yes, it was that long ago), about these 2 new boys in our ward – James and Jim.  All I knew about these boys were that they were cousin’s of our friends Bryce and Anne Margaret.  Oh – and that they were brothers.

My first thought was: What?  Brothers?  Named James and Jim???  What were their parents thinking?  Didn’t they know that was the same name???  It wasn’t until later that I learned they were step-brothers with different last names – no one thought that was an important point to mention.

Anyway, I came home from BYU-Hawaii just in time for Bryce and Anne Margaret’s famous New Years Eve party.  And it was there that James and I first met.  It was across a crowded room, our eyes met and lingered on each other, the rest of the room faded into a soft blurriness, romantic music started playing somewhere in the background…

 …actually, I can’t really remember him that night.  I just remember meeting  these cousins, but the rest of the night was spent with my friend who was defecting to BYU the next week.  Once school started, I saw more of these brothers, but I couldn’t remember who was who…until my friend told me she had a crush on James.  Then I figured it out.

Our first date was a group date with dinner at my house (cooked by my friends and I) followed by games.  The only catch – it was my friend who was on the date with James!  But I remember thinking he was quite fun to be with - so fun, in fact, that I can't even remember who was my date!