Luke Judge

On Valentine’s Day, let’s remember that romance can take many forms.

It can be a candlelit dinner, a heartfelt note or even a load of folded laundry.

We asked you to share the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you.

In sickness and health

Six years ago I spent three months in the hospital, 40 days were in ICU, repeatedly not expected to live. This included Christmas, my birthday, new Year’s, and Valentine’s Day, which is also our anniversary.

That evening, I heard the excitement of everyone he passed in the hall long before I saw him. he was dressed in a full tuxedo with his arms full of thoughtful gifts.

He carried a beautiful vase of 24 red roses (one for each year of marriage), dinner from one of my favorite restaurants, our laptop computer with two ‘chick flick’ movies to watch, and to finish it off, he pulled out champagne glasses and a bottle of bubbly (sparkling fruit juice, of course).

News spread over the entire hospital and for the remainder of my stay, we were famous.

This is probably my favorite of the many unique things Jim has done for our special day. But it is nothing in comparison to all the love and sacrifice he gave me while I was in the hospital, through recovery afterwards, and supporting me now through all the changes in our lives. No matter what comes our way, I am certain that we will go through it together and I can count on his love always.

He has been there through the good and the bad, ‘through sickness and in health.’ I constantly thank the Lord for the most perfect blessing of my husband! I’m so very happy to be celebrating our 30th anniversary this Valentine’s Day and praying for many more to come.

A winner in his book

I have always wanted to be a writer and have submitted manuscripts to various periodicals, but never have been published.

I could wallpaper a room with the rejection notices I have received. Imagine my surprise when I finally received a letter from ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ asking permission to print one of my stories!

I quickly signed the release form and mailed it back to the publication, then spread the news to all my family and friends. it was a huge cause for celebration for me after years of failed writing attempts.

I ordered an advance copy of the book and basked in the excitement of my accomplishment until the day the much-anticipated book arrived … and I learned that my story had not been included. The humiliation was deep as I notified my family and friends one by one to tell them I hadn’t made the cut.

Many days passed before I finally picked up the ‘Chicken Soup’ book to read and I noticed some writing on the front of the book that hadn’t been there before: it now said ’100 (+1) Stories for the Soul.’

I quickly turned to the table of contents and saw that my husband, John, had written in the name and page number of my submission and when I turned to the appropriate page saw that he had printed my story in the same format as the others and inserted it in the book.

He told me that I may not be a published author in the eyes of the ‘Chicken Soup’ editors, but I was a winner in his book.

I was very touched that he thought of a way to ease my disappointment and show his love and support for my writing.

Taking the plunge

I skydived at Walterboro three years ago to celebrate my 70th birthday. during our then-53 years of marriage, this was the only time my husband, Pete, wasn’t supportive.

As a retired Air Force flight crew member, he said ‘No one in their right mind would jump out of an airplane unless it was on fire!’ even though my husband tried to talk me out of this skydive up until the last minute, he paid for it and the photographer.

Valentine’s Day in 1955 I received my engagement ring.

This Valentine’s Day, I will celebrate my 73rd birthday. my dad always said he gave my mother a valentine to remember. Mother said people have lots of different kinds of valentines but, she had a walking, talking, breathing one.

Swinging together

My boyfriend, whom I met in college (the University of Georgia), lives a few hours away in St. Simons Island, Ga.

When we first starting dating in the summer of 2006, I mentioned how much I enjoy swinging and how my sister and I even had swings in our basement (in case it starting raining, we could still swing inside!).

I guess I talked about swinging a few more times because that Christmas, one of his gifts to me was a real handmade swing. he took the time to buy wood, shave it down, draw a beautiful picture of baby angels on the top and my name on the bottom, shellac the swing for a lovely finish, and added the metal chains to hang it.

Since then, he continues to give to me unselfishly and I am truly blessed to have him as a part of my life. I love that he can bring romance to our relationship in so many different forms. I know our precious Lord brought us together and I am more thankful for him each day!

Making music together

I was divorced, in my mid-40s and at a singles dance in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1988.

Being a good dancer, I very rarely had a chance to sit down. A man named J.R. came up to me and cut in and asked me to dance. he was also a good dancer and we danced the rest of the night away.

After dating and dancing for three months, he asked me to marry him, so we flew to Las Vegas and got married at the Riviera Hotel.

We have been married for 22 years and moved to Del Webb in Summerville two years ago and we still are dancing four or five times a week.

He’s written me many romantic poems over the years, but I’d like to share his very first poem he wrote to me, just 30 days after we met:

August 3rd, 1988, was a night to remember,

Now it’s thirty days later, the 3rd of September;

It was time to go out and take a chance,

At the Wednesday evening singles dance;

My feet were itching to dance you see,

I might find a girl with rhythm … maybe;

A girl was dancing with moves like mine,

I said to myself, ‘She’s so fine;’

I’ve got to dance with her somehow,

I have to ask her to dance right now;

We danced together so nice and smooth,

She didn’t even miss one single move;

I asked her out for a date one night,

I was so happy when she said ‘all right’;

We fast danced and jitterbugged all night long,

We slow danced together and I knew we belonged;

A month has passed since we met each other,

She’s the one for me, I don’t want another;

Now we’ll see what the future holds in store,

This girl I met, I really do adore;

She’s in my thoughts every night and day,

I think I’m in love, what can I say

One day at a time our relationship can grow,

Judy, you should know I want you so;

One final thought I want to make clear,

Judy, I want you, I need you and I love you dear.

Romance all year

My husband is not romantic just on Valentine’s Day. he is a person who is caring all year.

The things that stand out are things like having a cup of hot coffee waiting on me when I get off work, putting my bathrobe in the dryer for a few minutes so it is warm when I get out of the shower, making sure my car has gas in it, snuggling with me at night if I get cold.

Whenever we do something together, like make the bed or clean the kitchen after the children and grandchildren go home, I will say ‘thanks’ and he will always say, ‘We are a team.’

You know what, after 41 years of marriage, Howard, we are a team.

Young matchmaker

In 1976, I went to see my mother. my sister came in with her friend and her little girl, who began to pay attention to me though she couldn’t speak clearly.

After a while, she came and sat with me and my girlfriend on the sofa and I played with her. she got up, went to the kitchen, and brought her mom back, trying to sit her between me and my girlfriend.

Everyone laughed and as they prepared to leave, this little girl who had hardly put two words together at the age of 3, looked at me and said plainly, ‘Goodbye, Daddy.’

With a few other events that took place after that, I have now been married to her mother for 33 years and the little girl at 40 still calls me Daddy Jim.

A weight off

I was trying to lose weight and I finally started to make progress. I got compliments from friends and co-workers on how good I looked.

I was unaware that my mate had a surprise for me at his apartment. he told me to go to his place and look in the hall closet.

When I finally got there, I looked in the closet and found a new wardrobe, including tops, bottoms, two-piece, and three-piece suits. I was so happy that someone cared enough for me to see all the weight I lost.

Cherished bears

When I was 50, my husband and I ran a therapeutic foster home where we had taken in two brothers.

These boys found out that I had never had a teddy bear in my life. They pooled their allowances and had a teacher from school that they dearly loved to get me a pretty red teddy bear for Valentine’s Day. This was so special to me, my first.

The following year, my husband had a note on the kitchen counter stating that my breakfast was in the microwave and in the front was a pretty red teddy bear and a sweet card. Yes, behind it was my prepared breakfast.

I’m 77 years old now and I have those two teddy bears that I cherished so much. I don’t know where those two foster kids are as after 1 1/2 years, they were separated and placed in regular foster care.

I have written letters, had people check on the computer for their names and called many to see if they were my former foster kids, but to no avail. maybe one day, one or both will show up at my door. I cared for them deeply.

Brenda Rindge can be reached at 937-5713.

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On Saturday, Fat Cats Music & Video is celebrating its independence.

April 17 is Record Store Day, a newfound holiday that invites independent record stores to celebrate the subject of their passion and livelihood – music – with the community.

Typical Record Store Day festivities include live music, giveaways and discounts, and Fat Cats’ is no exception.

The store will feature live music outdoors, while giving away the annual Record Store Day album on vinyl, collectible vinyl picture discs, including titles from Jimi Hendrix and Them Crooked Vultures, along with some 45 rpm singles from The Rolling Stones and other stalwarts of rock.

To boot, customers can receive Record Store Day tote bags and a 20-percent discount on all of Fat Cats’ diverse inventory. And if customers buy three used items, be it music or video, they get one free. A rent two DVDs, get one free offer also applies.

“It’s just a way to support independent media,” Fat Cats co-owner Kevin Fritch said, “those who keep up despite the corporate record industry shooting themselves in the foot.”

Fritch admits the independent market, too, has been wounded over the last decade, especially considering the advent of iPods and all things digital, but ingenuity and a fervent focus on customer service have kept his store and others spinning on the turntable.

That’s why Fritch’s inventory is increasingly diverse – new and used albums on CD and vinyl; new and used books; and DVDs, both new and used and also for rent, with the occasional VHS for those harder-to-find titles.

Then again, harder-to-find is Fat Cats’ specialty, especially when it comes to new video releases, many of them independent titles not typically found in big chain video stores or RedBox vending machines.

“There’s a uniqueness to this store,” he said. “We have a really good customer base, and it’s always good to see people come in and say, ‘I haven’t seen a store like this in a long time.’

People like to support us, since no one dictates to us or tells us what we can or can’t have in the store.”

He also attributes success to a knowledgeable staff – all his employees are musicians or band members, and if one can’t answer a customer’s question about a certain album or film, chances are another employee will.

“And we don’t have that arched-eyebrow independent record store attitude,” Fritch said. “Frankly, people are quite surprised when they’re approached appropriately – not to intrude or impose a conceived attitude of what’s cool.”

“We get everyone here, from grandparents to the edgy, to people who’ve heard something on NPR and can only pronounce it phonetically. The cast of characters that walks in keeps it really fresh for me.”

On the other hand, Fritch must keep his business plan fresh, as well. Since opening in 1995, Fat Cats has strived to offer products that chains do not, its latest being Fat Cats Media, sort of an independent nod to the digital, by way of affordable computer repair.

“If it’d been chicken dancing, then I’d include chicken dancing,” he said. “You just have to change and be flexible, get your own niche and develop it.”

Fat Cats Music & Video is located at 965 Rivers St., near Mellow Mushroom. For more information, call (828) 265-2287 or visit fatcatsmedia.com

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