Did you Know....

That December 18, 1985 was Mary Lou Retton Day in the town of Lowell? You didn't? Well then let me share the story.

Have I mentioned that Mama Chep is the competitive type?

If you need proof; visit some of these previous posts: Boxtop Challenge, Formation of a Princess, Homemade Halloween and The Cardboard and Duct Tape King.

Mr. Chep and I were discussing getting rid of the VCR in the bedroom. He mentioned he hasn't watched a VCR tape in over a year. I agreed with that - but I did mention that I had some things on VHS that I needed to covert to DVD before we removed it all together. He asked "Like what?"

I turned about 3 shades of red and said "The Mary Lou Retton Tape". Of course after this response Mr. Chep needs to see this tape. I produce it. His first question was "Do you think this thing still works? It's like 21 years old"

YIKES. Hadn't thought of that. So we put it in.

OK - here's the background information.

As you may or may not know (some may be too young to remember) the 1984 Olympics was held in Los Angeles, CA. A young woman, by the name of Mary Lou Retton (age 15) scored TWO perfect 10's in the floor exercise and the vault.

After the Olympics - EVERY GIRL in America (or at least in my town) wanted to be a gymnast.

In 1985 the company that produced "Get in Shape Girl" products held a contest. You earned points for every product of theirs that you bought OR you could send in postcard to earn points. Mama Chep heard about this and started a frenzie. She got our entire school to participate. All Mama Chep wanted was 2nd prize. Gymnasitic equipment for her PE classes. Well....the school went a little TOO far. We won the grand prize.

December 18th, 1985 Mary Lou Retton came to visit St. Edwards Catholic School in Lowell, Indiana.

She got the royal treatment - the tape captured EVERYTHING. From her arrival at the town fire station, the 3 mile ride in my grandfather's 1927 Packard CONVERTIBLE (did I mention it was December 18th in Northwest Indiana?), the ornament contest where she hung them on our tree in the gymnasium, to the individual classroom visits. If only I had the energy to capture some of those images from that tape. I do however have one from my classroom visit. Classic 110 cameras didn't take the best pictures - but this is the best one I could find. I'm the tall redhead in the back (yeah I was the same height then as I am now!)

So now you know. Mary Lou Retton visited our little town all because Mama Chep's got spunk!

Our first date!

Yes Olive Garden and As Good As It Gets.

Mr. Chep came to the door all dressed up. He went out and purchased some dress clothes (on his college budget that was a big deal) and brought me roses.

Up to this point most of our outings were inexpensive. We watched movies at my apartment or we hung out at Purdue. This was the first time we "went out". But then again - it had only been 2 weeks since we had our first outing (NYE didn't count).

It was this night (2/13/98) that I realized that Mr. Chep was "the one." How you might ask?

Well late that evening I got a phone call from a former "boyfriend" - Bill. Bill and I had dated the summer after I graduated college. He and I had a special relationship that ended when he went back to school for months after he left I was heartbroken. The night he leftI told him that he would call one day after he realized he had made a mistake - and it would be too late.

Well Valentine's Day Eve 1998 was that night. When he asked if I was dating anyone - I answered "Yes". He asked if it was serious. I answered "Yes". He asked if I thought he was "the one". Without even thinking - I said "Yes". I told him I had to go - I never heard from Bill again.

It never even crossed my mind to go back to Bill. I had waited for a long time for that call - and when it came - it didn't matter. I had found my soulmate.

The Boxtop Challenge Update

Well I have received my VERY FIRST installment of boxtops!

WOO HOO!

Zilla was the first to respond with a whopping 61 boxtops!

So the results are:

Zilla: 61

Chepner: 36

YOU: ?

Just remember every top gives 10 cents to Lake Ridge Middle School in Gary, Indiana.

For more information about the challenge please visit my previous post.