Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Today is our anniversary - Rick and I were married 21 years ago today. It seems so long ago, yet at times it seems like yesterday.

We first met in January, 1988 at Sullivan’s, a country western bar in Orlando, Florida that was known for its very large dance floor. My roommate and I had taken dance classes to learn the two step and some line dances and we were at Sullivan’s practicing what we had learned. The rest of the people who had taken the class were also there. We were all dancing with one another and having a great time. About half way through the night Rick came and asked me to dance. I accepted and while we danced he told me his story: he was in Orlando working construction hanging fiberglass insulation, he was married with two kids who lived in Texas, and he was only here temporarily to earn some much needed money. That one dance was the extent of our interaction with each other until the following April.

In April, I was once again at Sullivan’s when Rick came and asked me to dance. I accepted. I didn’t recognize him at first as someone I had previously danced with so I asked him to tell me about himself. He told me he was in Orlando working construction hanging fiberglass insulation; he was divorced and had two kids who lived in Texas. I said, “Wait a minute. I think I’ve met you before a few months ago and you told me you were married.” He said that he was telling people that because he had a girlfriend back in Texas that he expected to go back to, but circumstances had changed and he decided to stay in Orlando for a while. Hmmm, sounded suspicious to me.

In the next couple of weeks, I saw Rick at Sullivan’s and we danced and talked a lot. He would always ask me, “When are you going to go out with me?” I just kept telling him, “I don’t know.” My roommate, Charlotte, told me, “Just go out with him. It’s not like you have to marry him.” It was the last week of April when he asked me the same question, “When are you going to go out with me?” and I replied, “When are you going to ask me?” So he immediately asked me if I would go out with him on the next Saturday, which was April 30th. I said, “Yes.”  By the way, in 21 years of marriage, he has never failed to recognize the anniversary of our first date.
We went to dinner at The Sizzler. It was pouring down rain. Rick was a gentleman and opened all the doors for me. After dinner, we were supposed to go to the movies to see Good Morning Vietnam, but because of the rain we decided to go back to his apartment and watch TV. We watched the movie Wanted: Dead or Alive with actor Rutger Hauer. That night we had our first kiss and the rest is history. He told me he loved me nine days later and on July 2nd he asked me to marry him. I said yes. The words of my roommate came flooding back and we both laughed about it, and still do today.

I first met Rick’s parents when they drove to Orlando for a visit that summer. It was during that trip that I found out Rick’s mom and dad were married on February 3rd. All I could say was, “Oh wow, that’s the same day my mom and dad were married!” Yes, both our parents were married on the same day but just one year apart, my parents in 1949 and Rick’s parents in 1950. How kismet was that! It had to be fate that brought us together.

We were planning to be married sometime in June 1989; however, we decided that February 3rd would be a more meaningful date. What were the odds of both our parents being married on the same day? We had a small ceremony at our apartment with my brother Mike giving me away and our friends as witnesses. Our reception was at Sullivan’s where we had met. We danced our first dance to the song Groovy Kind of Love by Phil Collins, but OUR song will always be Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Jefferson Starship, which we first heard while watching the movie Mannequin. And that holds true for us today, after 21 years, nothing’s gonna stop us now.



Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now

Looking in your eyes I see a paradise.
This world that I found is too good to be true.
Standing here beside you, want so much to give you
this love in my heart that I’m feeling for you.

Let ‘em say we're crazy.
I don't care about that.
Put your hand in my hand, baby, don't ever look back.
Let the world around us just fall apart.
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart.

And we can build this dream together,
standing strong forever, nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers we'll still have each other.
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us now.

I'm so glad I found you, I'm not gonna lose you,
whatever it takes I will stay here with you.
Take it to the good times, see it through the bad times.
Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do.

Let ‘em say we're crazy.
What do they know?
Put your arms around me, baby, don't ever let go.
Let the world around us just fall apart.
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart.

And we can build this dream together,
standing strong forever, nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers we'll still have eachother.
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us….

Oooo, all that I need is you.
All that I ever need.
And all that I want to do is hold you forever, ever and ever

And we can build this dream together,
standing strong forever, nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers we'll still have eachother.
Nothing's gonna stop us, nothing's gonna stop us.

And we can build this dream together,
standing strong forever, nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers we'll still have eachother.
Nothing's gonna stop us.

And we can build this dream together,
standing strong forever, nothing's gonna stop us now.
And if this world runs out of lovers we'll still have eachother.
Nothing's gonna stop us.