happy anniversary, balinda and brant

I try to remember celebrations of weddings past that I was part of, and this was one of those.

We were all stationed at Imperial Beach, the Naval station in the southernmost part of San Diego, California. 

I remember giving blood showing up to work that evening with a bruise at the injection site.

As soon as Balinda Morris saw it, she had a fit!

"Who did that to you?" she demanded, "I'll make sure they never do it again!"

Feisty, yes, and also one of the sweetest people you'd ever meet.

(smile!)

When she and Brant Dixon got married on May 15, 1983, I was right there as her matron of honor, wearing a long, sleeveless, summer dress I'd made. 

The only reason I recall that dress is that Brant posted it on fb a few years back.

(smile!)

After many years of having lost touch, fb helped us find each other.

Yes, they were decades older, as was I.

But he still had that twinkle in his eye and she still had that gentle smile.

They were living in Oregon, her home state, and had raised a son, Terrance, and were enjoying a quiet life on their piece of land.

Very nice!

I toyed with the idea of going out there for a visit, but never did, nor did they venture here.

The last time I saw Balinda was in Pensacola, Florida, though I cannot recall the occasion.

All I know is Peggy Arkills was there, as well as us, and we three former military buddies spent an afternoon or so catching up.

Perhaps Peggy had been retiring from the Navy... but I don't know.

Perhaps that was shortly after Brant found me on fb... but I don't recall.

Too much time has passed.

And, now, so has he.

Brant E. Dixon II had heart surgery in January this year and something went amiss, leading to his death.

He was around 66 years old.

Balinda had a stroke last year and was still trying to recover.

She will be 63 this year.

A friend posted a Go Fund Me page to help pay his funeral costs.

 

That's been all I've heard since then... until fb posted a memory today that was dated May 22, 2014.

Today, the day which would have been a week after their 42nd anniversary.

The post was one from Brant, the only one of them who was active on that site.

He had posted this photo and he'd tagged me.

I'd responded, "Thanks, Brant! What lovely, feathery fluffs!"

"Just for you. Had your name written all over it.", was his reply.

 

I don't know why that popped up today.

I cannot ever remember it landing in my feed on previous anniversaries of that date.

Maybe my continuous searches for his obituary brought me this bit of solace.

Yes, I will choose to believe that.

Happy anniversary to them both.