Today is the anniversary of our ‘official’ first date.  I’m not that big of a sentimentalist but people ask me all the time how Farb and I met.  It’s actually a pretty funny.  The major fundraiser for the JDRF NW Chapter at the time I worked for them was the Nordstrom Beat the Bridge, with corporate teams raising about 75% of the total money raised for the event.  My first corporate team meeting in 1998 was at a board member’s law firm, where Goldfarb was a partner.  The lunchtime kickoff started with the board member talking about why JDRF was important, followed by a moving video about the Foundation, during which Goldfarb kept talking to me {things like “you must have seen this a million times”}. I thought, “what a dork…doesn’t he know I’m trying to work here?”  Did my presentation and later asked my board member who ‘that guy’ was.  A few weeks later, we, for some reason, thought we should set Goldfarb up on a date with another board member.  Numbers were exchanged but calls were never made.  I later found out that it was because Goldfarb was interested in ‘someone else.’

Our first actual date was a group date that, hysterically, was a surprise birthday party for the woman I tried to set up with Goldfarb. Both quickly agreed they were not each other’s type and separately declared, “I’m glad I never called him/her.”  Our first official date was a few weeks later – a Mariners game.  Our seats were in the first row, 200 level of the Kingdome.  That year, the Ms were not having a great year but the Kingdome was still always packed because of the great players on the roster, so I was excited to go.  Everything was going well until I started heading down the steps to our seats.  Two steps in {remember my repeated declarations about how clumsy I am?} I bit it…lost my footing and fell. HEAD OVER HEELS.  Literally tumbled all the way down the steps, hands trying to grab me from each side of the aisle, until I came to a rest at the bottom. Thank God, there was a cement wall there.  I looked up at Goldfarb, who mouth opened, was still standing at the top of the stairs. I got up, dusted myself off – nary a scratch on me or a speck of dirt on my white pants – and went to my seat.  I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the game.  I still laugh thinking about it now. If Goldfarb were to tell you the story he say that all he saw was my hair ‘exploding’ each time my head went forward and that he was pretty sure everyone in that section thought he’d pushed me.  

Then in the seventh inning Joey Cora {seriously, this was a looong time ago} made an incredible save which got the crowd riled up.  We all leapt to our feet!  I was so excited it completely escaped me that the seats flipped up. Went to sit and down I went!  The elderly woman behind me gently patted my shoulder saying, “Honey, maybe you shouldn’t have any more cocktails.”  More?  All I’d had was soda.  Sad, but true.  I wish I could say that was the last episode, but it wasn’t.  After the game walking down Occidental Avenue, I nearly fell in a pothole.  That was the final straw.  Goldfarb just looked at me and stated, “I’m going to start calling you stuntwoman.”  I was pretty sure there would never be a second date.  I mean, I was obviously a danger to myself, who would want to date me?

Thirteen years later, I’m still a big clutz, still laughing every day and still hanging out with a very good man.
Thanks, Shapiro, it’s all your ‘fault.’