We went through the border control and we were in Germany. We stopped at the rest area and fed the baby. Lisa was six weeks old and already she was entering a foreign country. Her mother was seventeen and out of Holland for the first time in her life. We drove another hour and Hedda started asking when we would get there, after all we are in Germany. I explained that we still had five to six hours of driving to get to our new assignment at Ramstein AFB. She could not comprehend that a country could be so big that you could drive six hours and still be in the same country. Over the next 40 years she would see more of the world then she could ever imagine. I had been down there already and found an apartment. It had two rooms and a shared bathroom in the hall. The rent was $40 a month.
What a year it had been. We met the end of June, got engaged on Hedda’s birthday December 1, got married March 14, we had to take refuge in a bar when there was a riot in Amsterdam on the Queen’s birthday, some men landed on the moon, Lisa was born August 7 (my 21st birthday, what a present!) and left for Germany in September.
On our second date, we saw the band Golden Earring (of Radar Love fame). This was before they made it big and they were playing dance tents. Over the next six months we just got closer and closer until finally proposed. It was very romantic. I was leaving her house to go back to the base. We were kissing goodbye and I said, “Maybe we can get married in the spring.”
We bought rings, planned a party, and picked a date. Then we moved the date up. We had to get my parents to sign a statement that it was ok for me to get married because I was under 21. We had to get the Queen’s permission because Hedda was under 18.
There was some drama when Hedda lost her ring. She was in the shower and she noticed it missing. She started screaming and pulling up the grate on the floor of the shower. We all came running to find out what was wrong. We looked everywhere and couldn’t find it. She was soaking wet and wrapped in a towel. I comforted her and said we can get a replacement. The ring is only a symbol of our love. I finally got her calmed down and she went back to finish her shower. Then she started laughing (Remember I told you about her special laugh!) She found her ring in the washcloth.
We planned a huge party at home. I sold my motorcycle to fund it. We filled Ed’s car so full of beer from the base that we sloshed when we went around corners. Kelly was my sponsor and Ma Feddema (Margaret’s Mom) was Hedda’s. The wedding party was picked up by 1956 Lincoln black limousines, and we were picked up by 1963 white Chevy Impala. We were taken to the town hall for the ceremony. It lasted about half an hour and was in English and Dutch. I still tease her that I didn’t know what was going on. We were the last ones to go out and there was a crowd of friends cheering as we got into the cars. We drove all around the town with horns blowing and then headed back to our house.
If the success of a party depends on someone getting mad and leaving early and everybody else having a great time, then our party was a success! We borrowed Ed’s car for the first night and had a hotel room in a nearby town. The next day we took the train to Rotterdam. The land lady in the hotel kind of got between Hedda and me as we went upstairs to look at the room. She asked Hedda, “Does your mother know where you are?” Hedda replied, “Well, We are married!” I always say that our wedding picture looks like two little kids playing dress up. Maybe we were two little kids! Oh well you can’t argue with 41 years of success.
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