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Show THE Page 8 OGDEN VALLEY NEWS December Unusual, True Johan Love Stories The OGDEN VALLEY PO BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 NEWS Johan and Drienie Hattingh To begin, we are publishing Johan and Drienie Hattingh’s unusual love story of how they fell in love before they met. The Hattingh’s celebrated their 34th Wedding Anniversary on November 21. The Hattingh’s story will not be part of the competition. October, 1964 in m usual place in the back of the re double Decker bus Loveday Street lined with tall buildings and sidewalks covered with late afternoon pedestrians. It was a hot summer’s day in late October. I hoped to see him and the flash of his handsome smile, yet knowing that he wouldn’t be there. It was too late. I had to stay after school and thus I was an hour later than usual. But then my heart missed a beat. There he was—flashing that heart-stopping smile straight at me! not believeit. He was smiling at me. My four friends that usually shared the back seat with me had taken the earlier bus. I was alone. Today there was no doubt about it—he smiled at me. Every day for the past month he had been there, walking down Church Street just as our bus drove down Loveday Street past that corner and every day he would look up and smile directly at all five of us. And every day my more outgoing friends argued over whom he was smiling at. But we all agreed about one thing; he was just the most handsome boy we’d ever seen. All the way home I thought of him. Who was he? Judging by his blazer that was brown with yellow stripes, he was in Helpmekaar (translated into English it means Help Each Other) High School. I could not wait for the next day. I did not think of meeting him or anything like that. Those fleeting seconds every day were enough for me, a lovesick fourteen-year-old. cousin Jannie van der Sandt also went to Helpmekaar High Boys School. I went to the Parktown Commercial High School. The Helpmekaar school bus stop was across the street from ours in downtown Johannesburg. Jannie and I would often cross the street and talk till our busses came. One morning he told me that a friend of his, Allen, thought that I was really pretty and would like to meet me. I wasn’t very interested. But Jannie insisted “This boy really likes you.” Being fifteen, I wanted details! What did he look like? I didn’t know if I really trusted Jannie—sometimes he liked teasing me about “T guess he’s handsome,” Jannie replied. “Can he at least call you?’ Well, I thought, that couldn’t do any harm. That same afternoon Allen called me. And I did not not like him, but there was nothing special in the call either. His voice eseenemiamnAmnanAmnG! LOCAL Issue IV 1, 2004 and Drienie 1968 - Love at First Smile Downtown Do you have a heartwarming and unusual love story of how you and your wife/husband met? Right up until Valentine’s day, The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS will be publishing true love stories! The first story will bepublished December 2004, the last on February15, 2 "Because of the limited editions of The OGDEN VALLEY NEws until Valentine’s Day, we may not be able to publish all stories, but every story will be considered for our competition. The couple with the winning story will enjoy a free dinner for two complements of the The OGDEN VALLEY NEws. To qualify, you do have to live in Ogden Valley or Ogden Canyon. Send us a short Email or written letter telling us in a couple of sentences what is so unusual and out of the ordinary about your love story! Do not write your story, we are just looking for a short version (200 words) of your love story. If the editors of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS selects your story, Drienie Hattingh will meet with you and write your story. Your love story has to be unusual, in the sense that something amazing happened to bring the two of you together. It can be funny, poignant, or serious, and you can have been married for one day or 60 years or more! Send a brief summary of your story to: slfrancis@att.net crwendell@att.net Volume XI OGDEN ack, That day I had to study for a test but it was hard to concentrate, a certain smile kept jumping up between my eyes and the book in frontof me. How could I be so in love with a person who I’d never met or spoken to? Later, Allen called. He was his boring tongue-tied self and we struggled speaking for a couple of minutes and then said goodbye. Then I remembered that I had not read his last letter yet. I took the letter out of my school blazer’s jacket. | sat down on my bed and started reading. I could not believe it! e was so nice in his letters and expressed himself so well. Not like on the phone at all. Again he told me that he loved my shiny blond hair, and that it even looked prettier than the previous day. “I love your smile and I think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” He wrote. I lay back on my bed, starry eyed, feeling all warm inside. He ended the letter saying that he would love to meet me he next morning at the bus stop on Loveday Street, Jannie gave me another letter from Allen. On the way to school I sat down in the front of the bus, away from my friends, and read the letter. It was lovely. “I know that we’ve never met, but I have strong feelings for you and I really would like to meet you. ° I gave in “Yes, I will meet him,” I told Jannie that afternoon. When Allen called later that day I told him I would meet him at the corner of Loveday and President Streets. I knew that I would have a nice view of him before he could see me and ifI changed my mind, I could turn around and get my bus and, I thought, then I could still see the boy with the smile. And indeed, that is what happened. Poor Allen stood at the corner and I did not like what I saw. He was very short and wasn’t attractive at all. a looked like he sounded on the phone—bor' Of course, I’m ea ‘looking back at what that fifteen-year-old girl did. But that’s what I did and all the way to the bus stop I was thinking about the lovely letters. I felt the letters in my pocket, including the last one that I hadn’t even opened. I threw them into the next garbage can that I walked past. And now I did miss my bus, and the chance to see him and his smile. I'll give Jannie a call as soon as | get home. This was all his fault. I got a call before I could call Jannie. It was from Allen, telling me that everything was over between us. He stood waiting for an hour. I did not even argue that we never had anything to begin with. I was glad that whatever it was—it was over. But I would miss his letters. | had to admit to myself. On November 3rd, 1964, Jannie walked did not do anything for me either. Every time we spoke on the phone during the following days he wanted to know when we could meet. I kept on putting him off. I didn’t think that it would be worth it, especially since I had to meet him after school in town and miss my bus and consequently miss my rendezvous with the boy with the smile. One morning, at the bus stop, Jannie gave me a letter from Allen. I thought, “Great, more boring words, just like on the phone.” I did not even want this boy to call me anymore and now—a letter. I took the letter anyway and put it in my pocket. On the bus, I opened the letter and started reading. My friends were of course reading over my shoulders, and Sandra even read it out loud. I did not mind, for I did not care about Allen. But to my surprise, the letter was not what I expected, and I told my friends to sit down and be quiet, while I read the letter again. a lovely letter, intelligent and funny and beautifully written. When I read how beautiful he thought I looked, I felt hot and knew my face was turning red. “Your hair looked so beautiful yesterday. I really liked it in that style.” I could not believe that this was the same tongue-tied boy on the phone. “Gosh...” I thought, “Perhaps he just couldn’t talk well. Perhaps he was better at putting his thoughts down on paper.” I really, really liked the person in the letter. My friends, as I expected, started making fun of me, especially when they saw my cheeks turning red. I carefully folded the letter and put it back in the envelope. A couple of times during school that day, I took the letter out and read it again That afternoon, at the bus stop on Loveday Street, Jannie came over and handed me another letter. He frowned when I didn’t give him a nasty look the way I had that morning. He took advantage of my pleasant mood and asked when I would agree to meet Allen. I gave a sort of non-committal answer, saying that I didn’t know. | put the letter in y pocket. Then I ran all the way to the bus stop where my bus home waited. I could not afford to miss my bus. I’d miss the boy with the smile. My friends made space for me in the back of the bus as usual and when we passed Church Street, there he was. I was sure everyone around me could hear my heart thundering away. My friends were waving and yelling while I sat transfixed in my seat, my cheeks flooding with a warm red sh. Sandra looked at me and commented that that was the second time today that I went all red. “What’s wrong with you? Perhaps you’re ill.” I told her to be quiet and turned to look out the back window. 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