Lisa and John’s first prom
Our first date was Saturday, July 21, 1984. This weekend marks the 40th anniversary of that special day. Johnnie and I watched the original Karate Kid and then went to Brigham’s behind Arlington High School. I had just finished my freshman year of high school, and Johnnie had just finished his senior year and graduated third in his class.
Our first date has an interesting twist. I told my parents I was going out with friends from work. We both worked together at Arlington News, so it wasn’t a complete lie—I just didn’t give them the whole story. They assumed I was going out with some girlfriends. What I didn’t realize was that my little brother, Joey, saw the whole thing and told my parents I got into a Dodge Dart with a boy driving the car.
We enjoyed the movie, and Johnnie held my hand under his leather jacket. Yes, even in July, he brought his leather jacket. It was his trademark. At Brigham’s, we both ordered sundaes, and I excused myself to make a call. Do you know who I called? My parents. I was feeling guilty and had no idea they already knew. My father only asked me two questions: “(1) Where are you? (2) Who are you with?” Then he said that he couldn’t wait to meet my girlfriends from work.
I went back to my untouched sundae and asked Johnnie if he could take me home. He said he could but asked if everything was okay. I told him I’d told my parents that I was going out with friends from work, and they assumed girlfriends, so I was going to be grounded for a very long time.
I asked Johnnie if we could stop and pick up some girls from the office. He said no and that he would like to take me out again and formally meet my parents. I told him to hit the highway and get away while he could. Again, he insisted on coming in. We walked up my front stairs, and for the first time in 15 years, I rang the doorbell to go into my house. My parents came to the door, and the look of disgust on their faces is an image I will never forget.
We walked into the living room, and strategically located in the middle of the room, facing my dad, was a dining room chair. We called it the interrogation chair. My father grilled Johnnie for what seemed like forever. But he found out Johnnie was Catholic, Italian, an altar boy and an Eagle Scout. In addition to all those great things, he was headed to Tufts University on a full scholarship to study Electrical Engineering.
My parents liked him and thought he was a standup guy coming into the house. I, on the other hand, was grounded and couldn’t see friends or use the phone for two weeks. But I worked with Johnnie every day, so I saw him at work. If Johnnie hadn’t come into the house, my parents would never have let their 15-year-old daughter go out with an 18-year-old man going to college.
Forty years later, I reflect on that date, July 21, 1984. It was the beginning of our beautiful love story. I hope you enjoyed it. I’ve told this story in the past, but I’ve never written it all out to share as a message.
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