I may have told this tale elsewhere, but enjoy the opportunity to tell it again.

I met Carmen during the first day of my senior year of high school. When I arrived at the Biology I classroom, the only vacant seat was next to her. I remember that I could hardly believe that I would have the good fortune to be sitting next to such a beautiful girl. Carmen turned out to be friendly as well as very intelligent. I got to know her better as we shared microscopes and dissections as lab partners. I�m not sure at what point I began to visit Carmen at her home. I can only remember visiting just a few times, surely less than a dozen. I recall that we talked a lot about things to do with playing guitar, but I�m sure we talked about many other things as well. I feel sure that I would have dated Carmen if this had been possible. However, her parents were firmly against Carmen�s dating anyone. I suppose it was largely because of this that things between us remained on a platonic level.

After one or two visits Carmen announced that she was going to tape record some of my songs. From that point on, every visit was marked by a brief recording session. Carmen would set up her father�s reel-to-reel recorder and would tape a single song each time. After the first or second taping, Carmen announced that she had gotten a brand new tape that she would reserve just for me. I remember feeling extremely flattered that she would want to do this.

Shortly after I graduated, the war in Vietnam heated up. The Draft was dogging me. Carmen was aware that I had attempted to join the Peace Corps to avoid the Draft, hoping that by doing so I might avoid having to kill anyone. It was at about this time that I lost track of Carmen. Things started moving very quickly. The Secretary of State suddenly demanded 64,00 more troops. To me, this was a clear sign that I had best do something drastic right away. Therefore, I joined the Air Force and within short order was on my way to boot camp in Texas.

Close to forty years later I happened to be visiting my good friend, Barbara, a former high school classmate. So now there I was, sitting in Barbara�s kitchen, sipping a cup of coffee and wondering out loud what had happened to Carmen after I joined the Air Force. Barbara smiled at me and said, �Well, let�s just find out! I have a directory from the school. I�ll bet she is listed.� To my amazement, Barbara produced a volume in which were contained the names, addresses, phone numbers and even email addresses of hundreds of alumni of our school. Carmen�s listing was among them.

I wrote a short email to Carmen, doubting that the address would still be viable and doubting even more that I would receive an answer. To my surprise, Carmen responded almost immediately! This was followed by a rapid exchange of emails and then a few days later I was actually speaking with her by phone. It was an amazing experience to talk with her after nearly forty years. We attempted to fill in some of the many blanks as to what had happened to each of us during that long gap. Carmen seemed delighted that I was still very much involved in folk music. She also enjoyed learning of my recent travels. It was during this portion of the conversation that I realized that the Getaway would be taking place only a few miles from where Carmen now lived. To my amazement, Carmen offered to come to the Getaway in order for us to see one another face to face. Thrilled, I made arrangements for her ticket and lodging.

The morning finally came when Carmen arrived at the Getaway. I was seated on a bench near the parking lot where I excitedly waited.
Carmen looked at me quizzically for a moment. I shouted, �Yes! Yes! I�m Allan!� Seconds later I held Carmen in my arms. I can�t describe how that felt without using the word, �magic�. Even though I had never kissed Carmen so long ago, I wanted to kiss her now - and, strangely, thought I saw the same idea within her eyes. (I later learned that I had intuited correctly.) However, we each turned our heads aside at the last moment and simply held one another tightly for what felt like at least a full minute. Forty years! God it was good to see Carmen again!

The details of the months that followed are for telling in a different venue. Suffice it to say that one week before Christmas Carmen accepted a beautiful silver and gold bracelet, (made by Mudcat's Don Meixner,) as a token of my love for her and my wish to marry her. We were married the following February.