The next week, Pat called me on one of the only two phones located in my dorm, both down in the building’s basement (no cell phones then, of course). “Your date can’t go,” she said.

I replied, “Good, I didn’t want to go anyway.”

Pat said, “They have a replacement.”

“I am not going!” I insisted.

“Well, he has a red ’65 Corvette Convertible…” said Pat.

“I’ll go!”

Thus began my 54-year spin with Johnny Carpenter. Many memories were made during this time that I will always cherish. And Corvettes were always in the picture. Later in life, he would call and ask: “You want to go for a ride?” I would go out and there he would be in another Corvette! He once said, “According to Barbara, Corvettes come only in two colors: Red and Ugly.”

We were married for 51 years before he passed in 2021. It was a good ride, and I am so glad I said, “I’ll go.”

Barbara M. Carpenter, Oakboro, a member of Blue Ridge Energy