gogmagog | ...oh my God, I'm a virgin who can't drive! ;

Well, today ended up being more eventful than I'd expected. We went to Costco to scout it out as a result of the material in a previous post, and not only were we impressed with how nice and happy the people seemed there, we also found that we'd be saving a helluva lot buying in bulk. So we picked up a membership, and saved about that much our first time. (The fact that it's all going to good causes instead of the evil Wal-Martization of America and its Republican cohorts is just gravy.)

Anyway, as we were leaving Costco about 2 I did a double-take and realized, "Holy shit, I have to be at the Writers Place for the Kansas City Star book club at 4!" I'd agreed to it a while ago, got the book, read it and promptly put it out of mind. So I dashed home to shower and change before going to the WP for the book club.

For the record, the book was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It's about a fifteen-year-old with Asperger's Syndrome or some other form of high-functioning autism who is trying to solve the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog, and in the process uncovers some secrets about his own family. To be honest, I was dreading reading it because I figured Haddon would do what I've seen other authors do - get so caught up in their character's disability that he becomes nothing more than a collection of odd tics. Fortunately, it was really well-written and the main character, Christopher, did manage to come alive rather well. (Also, the ending - especially the last line - had me getting all choked up.) I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking to pick up a good book in the near future.

So look for me in next Saturday's book club section of the Star! (Complete with probably crappy picture! I'll post a link if it shows up on the web site.)

And speaking of the Star, those of you with the hard copy (they don't include it online) should look at this week's "love story" about my mom and stepdad. It's titled "Out loud and clearly in love," and is all about how they fell in love while working on a barbecue cookbook. I even get a name-check, as the meddling matchmaking 4-year-old who was constantly trying to push them together!

And as you can see, my efforts clearly bore fruit. >D

Anyway, I typed up a copy of the article here because I think it's cute.

Out loud and clearly in love
by Deborah Shouse
special to The Star

Barbecue and Random House brought Linda Rodriguez and Ben Furnish together.

Linda was a 39-year-old single mom with two teenagers and a preschooler. She was a full-time undergraduate student in English at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, working several part-time and freelance jobs. Ben was 26, a graduate student at UMKC, working on his second master's degree. He, too, was working many jobs.

Linda wrote for UMKC's The University News, where Ben was a copy editor. They had a class together.

"Her writing stood out, so I made a point of talking to her," Ben says.

Linda had a rush proof-reading job for a Random House barbecue cookbook. She needed a second reader and asked Ben whether he would work with her, providing he could start at midnight, her only free time.

Some couples deepen their relationship by reading aloud favorite poems to each other. Linda and Ben read aloud barbecue recipes, complete with punctuation. For a couple of months they worked several nights a week in Linda's office.

During that time Linda was injured in an accident, and Ben volunteered to drive 4-year-old Joseph to day care. Joseph fell in love with Ben before Linda would even consider dating him. "Ben, why don't you stay for supper?" the young matchmaker would say.

Though Linda loved talking to Ben and thoroughly enjoyed his company, she was worried about their age difference and hesitant to date him.

Ben tried to ease her worries by saying, "I am aging rapidly."

"I always felt like we were the same age, in terms of the way we saw the world and the things that shaped us," Ben says.

On the Fourth of July, 1988, the couple had their first official date, going to see "Moonstruck."

"We were each other's best friend before we got romantic," Linda says.

They dated for a while and lived together. Ben wanted to get married, and Linda finally said yes.

They were married by a poet/minister in 1992 at the newly opened Writers Place. They wrote their own vows, and friends read poetry in their honor.

"We have a passionate relationship, and we love being together," Linda says. "Ben takes as much responsibility for our relationship as I do."

"Linda has one of the most fascinating minds I've ever encountered," Ben says. "Her personal magnetism and her beauty are original."

Twelve years ater they are living happily in Kansas City. Linda is a writer and Ben is the managing editor of BkMk Press at UMKC.

They still occasionally read aloud to each other, but they no longer need the punctuation.

To quote Cher in Clueless (a movie which I saw for the first time yesterday evening), "Awwww...old people can be so sweet."