September 1986

September 1986 I was in a singles ward that met at Utah Valley University, known as "the Tech" at the time. I called it the "Tech Ward" as did most of the people who attended with me. The Tech Ward had people who lived at home, lived in apartments. Some went to BYU, some went to the Tech, and some just worked.

When I arrived at the Tech Ward I did so with a long-time friend. We checked it out and decided to keep attending. The bishop pulled us aside the first Sunday as we were filling out our membership card and said "You're here in a Single's Ward for the activities...we expect you to attend ALL the activities." O...k...a...y. I took that counsel to heart.

We were split into FHE groups. One of our group's first activities in September was a "Sight and Sound Safari." We went around town with a Polaroid camera and took pictures of items on a list. Some of them were recording the sound of a cash register (try that now), a picture in a holding cell, and other things that escape my mind today.

One picture in particular stood out to me. One of the guys in our group put on a dress, a wig, and added some oranges in the front of the dress. He tossed me his shirt and I put it on. I was taller than he was, so he kind of snuggled up to me as someone took the the picture.

I looked at that picture for months afterwords since it was on a bulletin board at the Institute building. There was something about that guy that I wanted to learn more about. I wanted to be with him, and I knew he was different than anyone else I'd ever met before...although I couldn't figure out why.

I married him several months later.
Oh, he threw that poster away. Dang it. It would be fun to see now.