My first boyfriend was Tommy Magee in Pensacola FL when I was 12 years old.  We would go roller skating and won a few dance skating contests. 

I went out with Charles Barrow one time when I was 13 and that was a disaster.  He wanted what I would not give him.

When I was in 9th grade, I dated Dean Gill for a while.  He was a perfect gentleman and I like him a lot.  He graduated and joined the army.  We wrote for a while and eventually lost contact.

In 10th grade, I dated Glen Montondon.  He had the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen.  He was a gentleman and I liked him.  He graduated and joined the Army.  We wrote for a while and lost touch.

Della talked me into dating Ronnie Bickham.  We dated my Junior and Senior year of high school.  I truly thought he was the one.  Ronnie was a year younger than me; but that was not a problem for me.  He had never been jealous before but when I started to college, he became too jealous.  All we did was fight - I finally broke up with him and gave his promise ring back.  That was a hard time emotionally for me.

I continued to see Alberto. I would catch a bus from Beaumont to Port Arthur every Friday night. We would go out and then he would loan me his car so I could go shopping the next day. On Saturday night I would pick him up and he would drop me off at the Y.

I met Ike, he was a really nice man, twice my age and he took me out to dinner once a week. There were always important people around Ike. I never knew what he did other than he owned several hotels in Houston. I never knew why he was in Beaumont.

We went out to dinner one time with some accountants from Formosa and they taught me how to use chopsticks. The following Saturday, they came to our home in Buna and visited for a day. My Mom still has the teak bull they gave her.

The news anchorman for one of the TV stations was really good looking and all the girls were crazy about him. I never understood why people went whacko over a celebrity.

Ike called one day and said he had a friend who wanted to double date with us but he didn’t have a date: Could I find him a date? I asked several girls if they wanted to go and they were busy or afraid he would be a dork. Charlene had never dated before and I talked her into going.

I helped Charlene get ready. She had never worn makeup. I put lipstick, blush, and mascara on her; fixed her hair and found a really nice outfit for her to wear. She looked really nice. Her date turned out to be Jerry, the anchorman everyone was crazy about. The other girls freaked when they found out. We went out to dinner, talked about politics and other things. We had an enjoyable evening.

Ike rented a big house in the suburbs. Jerry and a couple of other friends moved in with him to share expenses. After that, Ike started giving parties for the chamber of commerce, movie personalities when they were in town and other dignitaries. I was the hostess for many of his parties.

I mingled, made sure folks were enjoying themselves and would get them dancing. At some point, Jerry would arrive, loudly say "Franny," pick me up like we were long lost friends, hug me and twirl me around on the dance floor. He really enjoyed teasing me. Ike’s parties were an enjoyable time for me.

I dated a policeman for a while. He fancied himself a playboy. He took me to his apartment one time. When we went in, he invited me to sit on his sofa. He pushed a button and romantic music came on. He pushed another button and the lights dimmed. He pushed another one and the sofa slid out into a bed. I cracked up laughing because it was so outlandish and I felt like I was on a movie set.

He was all hands so I would wear clothes that were impossible for me to get out of without help. One night he sat back and said, "I have to write a letter to Playboy and find out what I should do when I go out with a girl who wears a chastity belt."

I dated a guy from College one time. He wrote down every penny he spent in a little book. He took me out to eat at one of the most expensive restaurants in Beaumont. He would have impressed me more if he had taken me to Sonic and threw the book away. Other than that, he was really nice. I could not handle the book.

I dated the youth minister from my hometown church. Ken was a wonderful person. He had just broken up with his fiancée and I knew he was not over her. I had just broken up with Alberto and was not ready for a serious relationship. We went out a couple of times.

I dated a guy who owned a gas station. He was nice and we dated regularly for about 5 months.

One time I rushed home from work because I had a date. Charlene (a good friend) said, "Oh that’s right you have a date with ____." I said, "no, I have a date with ___." I checked my date book and found ___ entered. I had really messed up. I had scheduled a date with three different guys on the same night.

I called all three of them and cancelled. Said I was sick (I was at the thought of all three of them showing up at the same time). That would have been a mess even though they all knew I was dating other people.

Ike called and asked me out. I told him I couldn’t go anywhere and what I had done. He cracked up laughing and promised he’d take me somewhere out of the way so no one I knew would see me. We had a really good laugh over dinner.

If I had a problem I could always call Ike and he always knew the answer. We had a lot of fun and a lot of laughs.

I thought the world of Ike as a friend. He wanted to marry me but I was not in love with him. I quit dating him for about a month because he kept pestering me to marry him. He sent me a box of chocolates for Christmas with a note on it saying he would just be my friend and not ask me to marry him again if I would go out with him. That worked. I started seeing him again.

Eccl 3:4 A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

Prov 27:9-10 Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel. Do not forsake your own friend or your father's friend, Nor go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity; Better is a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

Prov 22:11 He who loves purity of heart And has grace on his lips, The king will be his friend.

Picture of Ken, Ronnie (high school), Tommy (my first boy friend 1955), College Classmates outing, Jive at 5, Alberto & I, Accountants from Formosa Ike & I, Al & I