I haven't gone into the subject of California yet, because there is so much to say and I would like to try keeping it somewhat in line where it not only makes sense, but where you can at least attempt to experience what I did, what we did, along with how it felt at the time....and unfortunately, that pipe dream will never come true 100%. Doesn't hurt to try, however, helping you understand why I loved it and how much I miss it. Back to the date at hand....
February 14, 1996: A Valentines Day that fell during the middle of a work week in the Silicon Valley and I was expecting the same old 'stop-go-stop-stop-3 songs and a commercial on the radio-go-stop-"WOW I need to pee!"-go-stop' kind of commute. Instead, Interstate 680 looked like it would on Saturday mornings and I was dumbfounded. I honestly wondered, for a few seconds, if I had a day in the week screwed up and had only dreamt of sitting with my coffee, watching the news at home before heading out. It seemed absolutely crazy, the number of cars on the interstate (6 lanes, each direction) was so few.
Jack said nothing about it, so that only confused me more. At the time, I hadn't bought my bag phone (for you younger whipper snappers, that's a cell phone which was so big that it used a bag and plugged into the cigarette lighter), so I couldn't call Jack on his and ask, "Umm....What the hell is going on out here?"
So, I began going through a small handful of radio stations I switched between, during the usual morning commute. I was looking to see/hear if Valentines Day in the Silicon Valley had some kind of strange meaning to where most people didn't come into work.
I tell you, my 27 year old Alabama ass was confused and looking for an explanation....one such as, "Where did everybody go? Don't they realize it's a work day?"
I strolled into work with literally no stop & go. Breezed right onto 1st Street, downtown, as if it were only a few miles away from the house (which was in the East Foothills, about 15 miles away).
The first thing I did when I sat down at my desk was call Jack. He always made it to work before me and I knew he was already there. Sure enough, he was and I was told something along the lines of, "I have no idea what's going on. Never seen anything like it. I wouldn't worry about it. Let them be the ones who get in trouble."....which to me was the most logical thing I'd heard since I left the house.
I'm actually surprised that my boss, Sheila, even showed up. With all that lack of commute and the nutty thoughts going through my head all the way down to "Is it something for Harry Wu? He DOES live in Milpitas, which is the next city over.", it wouldn't have surprised me had she not come in. But, in she came...calmer than usual, shoulders not standing straight up as they normally did, no wholesale sized box of cereal w/bowl & milk in tow, as she normally brought. So, I asked her..."Do you have any idea what's going on today? Why are so many people missing?", to which she responded, "I don't know, Paul. It's just a half day, anyhow. I wouldn't think too much about it."
WOAH! "A half day"? For this? Say what?! So, there really IS something freaky about Valentines Day in the Silicon Valley, or IS it something for Harry Wu?
I asked Sheila why it was a half day and she said she didn't know. Didn't know?? HELP!
Little did I know that, as lunch time came around, Jack was waiting in the parking lot at my workplace. I came out, saw the van and just stood there like a deer in a floodlight....again, dumbfounded.
So I finally put it out there, bluntly, "OK-Whatever it is that I've missed, the joke is over. Tell me what the hell is going on or I'm going home and you can sit here, or you can go wherever you want."
He held up a piece of paper with a confirmation number on it, casino card, Am Ex, debit card, and a Valentine card. With a partial but sincere smile, he asked, "Are you sure you want to go home? The kids are already at the kennel."
Clearing the confusion, at least for me: Jack was only at work for one hour. Beyond that, he went back home and packed everything for both of us, put the kids in the kennel, and made reservations at Harvey's Casino at Lake Tahoe. I was shocked, stunned, happy, almost elated, still a bit confused as to why on a Wednesday, but not dumb enough to complain.
It turns out that during the previous week, there was a word going around that a good bit of businesses were going to close up at noon, and people could either call in sick or show up for the half day. If they didn't show up, they obviously didn't get paid for it. Little did people realize that it started out as nothing more than a rumor (this actually happened, people!), and grew into a REAL no-show event which didn't even make it in the newspaper or on the local news. It just happened, period. I know because I was there.
Jack and I were gone the rest of the week, by the way, scouring the Tahoe Basin, heading down through Carson City and on to Reno, back to Tahoe, all through the boutiques and such, just having a grand old time as if Saturday and Sunday began on a Wednesday.
He had left a voicemail on Sheila's office number to let her know, before she or I ever got to work. She only met him once and liked him well enough that if he told her the sky was green and cottage cheese was going to land on her head, she probably would've just giggled and said, "Yeah, I know. I love that." The relationship between the two of them still makes me laugh. She had a thing for him and he knew it, so they played each other on that. Still cracks me up to this day.
Jack was crafty, thoughtful, simple yet meticulous, could plan miles ahead with limited trouble, knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it, knew where he wanted to go and exactly how to get there, figured out on his own what someone liked and threw enough social grace at it that you didn't complain because you were too shocked that he figured you out....as well as being too happy to partake in the plans he put together so well.
The kicker is that he usually didn't say one word about any of it. He usually just popped the surprise right in your lap, and it was normally a cool enough surprise that you didn't care. You just went with the flow.
So for most widows, regardless of orientation or identity (Yes, even the worthy ones on a different blog), this will probably be a real bummer of a day. But for me, I have memories that will always give me a reason to smile, will always warm my heart, and will keep me convinced that real love still exists somewhere in the world.
I still have a good enough memory of that trip, though it went by quickly. I still remember the smile on Sheila's face the following Monday morning, when I came in to work....that sneaky, "Yes, I knew and YOU didn't!" kind of look that only made the whole thing that much better, in the end.
I have those cards in front of me, and I'm smiling as I type this. Regardless of how any of you may feel about wanting to tell me Happy Valentines Day (or not), don't worry at all.
I know who brought this memory back, and he's in a picture frame between the monitor and the keyboard I'm using right now, only a few inches away.
In that photo, we were at the pinnacle of happy. I will go over the events leading up to that photo in an entirely different post because it deserves one, at the very least...probably more.
I'm good for today. I will smile, I will recall even more after publishing this post, and will jot down those memories in my journal as I have been doing since December 25, 2010. It has been mostly a joy and a pleasure, being able to recall all of this. In the end, I know how much of a gift it is, and will never forget how much of a gift he gave me that day.
Happy Valentines Day, Jack....and to all of you. ♥
Happy Valentines day!
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