Chris and Jamie first met on the night Stanford defeated USC, the greatest upset of all time. Chris was never much for sports. Chris’ father spent Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching the games at a pub three blocks down from their house.
Chris and Jamie first met on the day Philadelphia police arrested a man suspected in killing two armored truck security officers. Jamie had never held a gun. Jamie’s mother was forced by her step-father to flush out deer from the woods so he could shoot them with a high-powered rifle.
Chris and Jamie first met the day two Shiite leaders in Iraq reached a peace agreement aimed at ending gun battles between their followers. Chris and Jamie did not care much about the war in Iraq. Chris’ brother had briefly flirted with joining the military, but was more interested in flirting with the military recruiter. Jamie’s interest in the military peaked while watching The Hunt for the Red October in seventh grade and then quickly subsided.
Chris and Jamie first met the day suspected Islamist insurgents killed a Somali Army general in an ambush in the capital. Chris and Jamie knew a little about Africa. Chris knew that African slaves were brought over to America as part of the triangle trade along with molasses and rum. The slaves lived in the South and remained there until Abraham Lincoln freed them all with the Freedom Proclamation, but things still weren’t perfect for a long time. Jamie knew that the Hebrew slaves built the pyramids in Egypt under the brutal rule of the pharaoh before being freed by Moses and God. The Hebrews followed Moses out of Egypt, across the Red Sea (parted by Moses and God) into the Promised Land which had to be emptied by God first. Years later the Hebrews produced Jesus, who died for all mankind.
Chris and Jamie first met the day a typhoon killed 4 people in Taiwan. Jamie was a much better swimmer than Chris. Chris had a pool in his backyard when he was in elementary school, but never learned to kick and stroke at the same time. In fifth grade Chris’ family moved to a smaller house that had no pool. Chris had to share a bedroom with his brother. Chris did not see the ocean until his high school took a senior trip to Southern California. Jamie started swimming competitively in second grade. She won her district championship in fourth grade and was ranked fifth in her age nationally in sixth grade. Jamie stopped growing after sixth grade and became a substitute on her high school swim team. She quit the team her junior year and has not been in the water since.
Chris and Jamie first met on the day 28 people died in Cuba when a train hit a bus. Chris worked as a bus driver after high school graduation. He started as a courtesy bus driver making $19,000 dollars a year. After two years he moved up to shuttle bus driver and added on $2,000 a year. Chris hopes one day to become a direct hire bus driver and make $39,000 a year. Jamie rides a bus and train to work everyday. She wakes up at 5:30 in the morning and walks down the street to the corner were she waits for the 6:13 bus to the train station. If she is lucky she catches the 6:33 train which arrives in the city at 7:23. If her luck holds once more, and the bus is running a little late, she can catch the 7:23 bus from the station to her work. This gets her to work at 7:43, enough time to catch her breath and order a cup of coffee before she starts her filing. If she misses the 6:33 train she does not get the cup of coffee and has to enter her work through the back door to avoid her boss.
Chris and Jamie first met on the day a suicide bomber killed at least five at the Kabul airport, including one US soldier. Chris and Jamie were at an airport on that day. Jamie was the only passenger on Chris’ shuttle bus from downtown to the airport. Chris and Jamie talked about the weather, the traffic, and the end of summer reruns.
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