The One and Only.........Slop Shop!

Many many moons ago, there was a young woman who was experiencing her first weeks of what she considered "real freedom" ... At last! Yes, this gal had finally graduated from high school and though she still resided at home, she was on her own for the first time in her life! She had begun her college years at the old Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary. A mouthful of a name, for sure.

This school was notorious for its claim that all the virgins in the college would fit into one telephone booth! It also gained notoriety for having a basement lunch room called "The Slop Shop" which, I am sure, described not only the type of food served to the denizens of the booths lining the walls in the eating area, but also for the entire smokey and quirky atmosphere which was made even more weird by the cacophony of sound made by the myriad philosophical conversations that emanated from every corner of the room.

At that time, college kids did not have cell phones to text the latest news to each other or laptop computers with the latest games or to do homework on. Nooooo, we sat around and discussed religion, philosophy, strange professors, set up dates, met like-minded rebels, and made wonderful constructions out of soda straws! Very intellectual we were... NOT! And some of us made sure that now that we were free, we would put our money into once forbidden delicacies like CIGARETTES! Yep, that was when I began smoking. As soon as I could! I think I smoked Winstons in the beginning... Only a very few a day though. After all, the Slop Shop was so full of smoke, it didn't take much to get our nicotine fix for the afternoon.

So, the Slop Shop was my lunchtime hangout. I would have my books with me and I would talk to friends and even do my homework since I was between classes. The stage was being set for something momentous to happen.

One day, I was having lunch with a group of girlfriends. We were "casing the joint" as we used to say, checking out the interesting people (BOYS, of course). The guys were sitting around surreptitiously doing the same thing, hoping to impress some girl or another.

Across the room was a table populated by a bunch of guys. Hey, I knew one of them; he was in one of my classes! But, this one didn't hold my interest for long because almost hidden among this gaggle of guys was a good looking one, a bit older than the fresh-out-of-high-school boys that I wasn't too interested in. This one had a great smile and he appeared to be a nice guy too. Hmmmm...

"Hey, do any of you know that boy over there?," I asked.

"No," said Norma. "But I'll find out who he is real quick!" she said, as she jumped up and waltzed across the room and sat down with the guys.

"Oh my God!" I thought to myself.

You have to realize that I was a very shy young woman, so I was shocked that control of the situation had been totally taken out of my hands. I tried to bury my head in a book and attempted to ignore the conversation that was taking place across the room. But presently, Norma called over to me to join her at the guys' table. I was absolutely chagrined and surely blushing but I went over to the table and was introduced to the good looking guy! Bill something or other...

Thank goodness, I knew one of the other guys at the table so I began talking animatedly with him and totally ignored Bill something or other. So lunchtime passed and then it was time for class. Boy, did I give Norma a piece of my mind for embarrassing me so terribly. Of course, she just laughed at me!

The next day, I found an empty booth in the corner of the Slop Shop and sat down with my books and proceeded to study or do homework, whatever. All of a sudden, someone was standing next to me, asking if he could sit down. It was that good looking guy, Bill something or other.

YES! And that's how it all began!