how i met steve

33 challenging years, friends.

Met birddude July 30, 1988, at Leslie Bashaar's Mensa Summer of love party. They were smoking weed with a few people I knew. Dick and I were splitting. I had just started transcribing for Colette and had a little guest house on Baird in Reseda with a pool for midnight swims and bad plumbing.

We realized I had been two years behind Steve at Sutter and Cleveland on the same geeky science nerd track, bonded over memories of RHPS and gobbling up all the SF in the school library. We had Art Langton for bio and Ms Jacobson for lit.   His sister, Laura, and I had a blow-up in eleventh grade about partners  for a folk dance marathon.

A week later we fell in love on the way home from seeing Mr Zimmerman at the LA Greek Theatre. Steve was too nervous to eat the picnic I brought. Donovan sang Sunshine Superman.

Sunshine came softly through my a-window today

Could've tripped out easy a-but I've a-changed my ways

It'll take time, I know it but in a while

You're gonna be mine, I know it, we'll do it in style

'Cause I made my mind up you're going to be mine

Steve's the smartest dude I'll ever meet.  

Took a year to finish with Dick, then we gathered a handful of friends and Steve's parents around the pool of our Mission Hills rental, listened to the officiant hired out of the Recycler yammer about some goddude.

Entertainment was watching Doug and Cheri's toddlers get drunk on a sip of beer and nearly fall into the pool. Our dealer, Evvie, told stories. No music or dancing. We feasted on a Fedco sandwich tray, Martenelli's sparking cider and a cake baked by a family friend who owned Reseda Bakery.

No registry. No toasters. Our stoner friends gifted weed and a Zappa on the Crappa poster.

Total cost ~~ $200. I wore a tie-dye skirt and a leotard top that wasnt as opaque as I thought. Steve's dad took pics but all that was lost in their house fire.

We had one expensive night at the Van Nuys Air-Tel with room service and a jacuzzi then effed our lives up permanently by forgetting condoms and spawning Kay.

I work on it with Lily the counseling intern. Having two expensive defective kiddos while I was getting my wfh transcription business going was a lot of challenge for two reclusive people with no family or social support. Then we chose our maverick IC MT careers instead of settling into hospital jobs with bennies and retirement.

I've never been "in love" with Steve. We respect each other's boundaries well. I appreciate all he's done after we weathered the challenge of my stroke while motel homeless. He could have warehoused me at South Hills and walked away

but the sex and scintillating discussions were too good.