Beauty and the Beast Part I: How it all Began

Our fifteenth anniversary is just around the corner so I feel inspired to journal how Linda (the Beauty) and I (the Beast) found each other. I can honestly say I am more in love with Linda now AND that she is even more beautiful to me. Linda, I love you more than I can say, like the Beast I can't imagine where my life would be without my Beauty...

It was the summer of 1989; I found myself graduated from St. Francis High School with no idea what I was going to do with my life. I had basically wasted my High School career away with parties and just enough effort to squeeze out a B+ average. I had been accepted to Loyola Marymount University, but couldn't afford to go so I was headed to Cal State Northridge (CSUN).

I was kinda together with a girl my senior year, meaning we saw each other but it was never official...I know weird huh? Even weirder was that summer she broke up with me. I'm not sure how that works when we weren't really together, but it was still quite devastating. Honestly it messed me up pretty bad.

My family was having financial difficulty that year, my Dad had recently started in Real Estate...yup in the late 80's when Real Estate wasn't doing so hot. That summer my family had a vacation trip planned to San Diego, "camping" at Campland on the Bay. I had a great excuse not to go; orientation at CSUN...right. My brother decided to steal a bike from someone at Campland, because someone had stolen his back home.

This is why I call myself the Beast, I was a mess; scholastically, relationally, spiritually. A big time lost mess...but it all started to change that summer.

So after my brother stole that bike my Mom had enough. There was a non-denominational church service at the campground that Sunday and she went. She started getting really interested in a very different Christianity than we were used to as Catholics. She started going to the Baptist church near our home and dragging everyone in our family...except me.

See I had endured 4 years of all boys Catholic High School. I was Roman Catholic through and through man! I remember the fights we would have and how I all of a sudden wanted to go to Catholic church every Sunday. Until...

I can still remember it, I was in my room surrounded by pictures and mementos of my "glorious" High School days. It was a Sunday morning in mid to late August 1989 and me and my mom were having our normal fight. "Come with us to Baptist Church tomorrow" [said in her oh so evident Filipino accent]. "No I'm not going there, they read the Bible and pray to Jesus...and that's plain weird! I'm staying Catholic!"

Just as my mom was about to give up again she said, "Well just come to the musical tonight." Can you imagine the scene? I'm 18 years old, two earrings in my left ear, the sweetest Filipino mullet you've ever seen, and I was probably hung over from the night before (not to mention probably wearing a fluorescent green muscle T with acid wash jeans); "Sure mom I'll go to the church musical tonight." Did I just say that?

She was so freaking happy and I was stunned. Did I just promise my mother that I would go to a church musical? I am way too cool for that! But I was stuck.

So that night I piled into the car with my Mom, Dad, sister, and brother (thinking I'm 18 I should go in my own car...wait I don't have my own car.) During the musical I did my best to show that I was too cool for all these old and young fuddy duddys. I kept wondering what my party buddies Bruno and Dom would think if they knew I was here. Then it happened...

The end of the musical had finally come and I was visualizing in my mind the fastest way to the nearest exit. I was all of a sudden woken out of my day dream with the most beautiful sound I have ever heard and THE most beautiful woman I have ever seen.

I don't remember the song or the words I just remember the girl. She was wearing jeans with a kind of handkerchief belt and a t-shirt and big beautiful 80's hair. I remember the sweetest sound coming out of her in song...I was quite literally mesmerized. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. As she walked around the stage (remember Baptists aren't allowed to dance on church premises) and sang her solo I fell head over heals in love.

I remember thinking two things; this church can't be all bad and I'm gonna marry her someday. Yeah and Beauty is gonna fall in love with the Beast...right!

I would love to tell you that when the lights came back on and the cast was taking their bows our eyes met, it was love at first sight, and we ran into each others arms in slow motion; but that's not what happened. We'll cover some of that in Part II. For goodness sake comment and let me know there are actually people reading this blog!