Chapter Two

 

I kissed a girl (and I liked it)

When my mom, a 31-year-old divorcee with three young boys, and my stepdad, a 24-year-old college student, tied the knot on June 15, 1973, they may have seemed like an unlikely pair, despite the matching braces on their teeth. But 36 years -- and one daughter of their own plus two grandchildren -- later, it would be hard to imagine one without the other. Here's wishing them a very happy anniversary! 

That's me walking down the aisle in the beginning. Skip ahead to 3:33 to see what married life was really going to be like for poor Gary -- and 3:50 for a rare glimpse at my youthful flirtation with heterosexuality (Teresa Pate didn't know what hit her when 6-year-old Kenny in the 313 made his move). The ceremony took place at a neighbor's house in Madison Heights, Michigan, with Virginia Solberg, mayor of the Detroit suburb, as the officiant.)