LOVE LOCKS - part one

LOVE LOCKS …. part one ….

They will Bind your Love – or will they?

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The idea is simple: a couple writes their names on a padlock, then places this lock on a chain link fence (normally located on a bridge over water).

The lock represents their love and is supposed to stay on the fence for eternity.

After they snap the lock in place, they, together, hurl the key into the water.

They seal their pledge of love with a kiss.

They leave; the lock stays to show everyone who sees it, the love they have for each other.

Anyway, that’s the theory.

Anna and Steve were young teens back in the early 1970s. They lived only one city block from each other and had the same circle of friends. Because of school, homework, small jobs after school, they didn’t see each other every day but on weekends, they were inseparable.

If anyone wondered where Steve was, all they needed to do was ask Anna’s friends where she was and there is where they’d find Steve.

They started talking about the future. Anna and Steve planned on attending college; Anna to be a nurse and Steve, a chemical engineer.

As months passed and they reached their eighteenth birthdays, Anna had been accepted to Columbia University in New York City and Steve was headed to NYU.

The summer before school began for the first semester, Steve said, “Anna, let’s go for a walk. I have something I want to show you.”

She placed her hand in his and together they walked to the “Penny Bridge” in Brooklyn. The walkways on either side of the bridge were wide and easily accessible to those who wanted to walk or jog across from the Brooklyn side to the end where Queens county began.

As they approached the middle of the bridge, Steve stopped and pulled out a lock and key. He handed the lock to Anna who stood there with a quizzical look on her face.

“Read it,” Steve encouraged.

Anna let out a loud but heartfelt sigh. Steve had the lock inscribed with: “Anna and Steve, in love forever.” Underneath those words, he placed the date.

“Let’s find a good spot to place it on the fence.”

Anna smiled dreamily and agreed.

After finding what they deemed to be the perfect location, Steve, using the key, opened the lock and said, “Anna, you place it on the fence and we’ll both close it – together.”

Once the lock was secured to the fence, Steve said, “Ready? We’ll toss the key in the creek. That will seal our love for the rest of our lives.”

He placed his hand on hers and said, “One, two, three, TOSS!”

They did and watched the key sink to the bottom of the water.

When the key was out of sight, Steve, still holding Anna’s hand, gently pulled her into his arms and sealed their pledge with a kiss. Then, he knelt and pulled from his pocket a small black velvet box. Opening the box, he displayed a beautiful diamond ring. “

“Anna Martin, would you do me the honor and pleasure of becoming my wife?”

She squealed with joy as she fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, yes, YES!”

He placed the ring on her finger, and they kissed again, sealing, once again, their pledges of love.

Once the summer was over and their schools had started their semesters, studying took more time away from them than they anticipated but even then, they spoke on the phone almost daily.

Almost every weekend, they’d walk to the spot on the Penny Bridge where they’d placed their lock. Anna would gently and lovingly, trace her finger of the engraved wording.

She felt amazingly wonderful and felt her life was going in the direction she’d wanted. Although she was in the top five percent of her class, she never bragged about it. Keeping both feet on the ground, she had the attitude that while she was maintaining high grades, that could change in the blink of an eye. She kept studying as hard as she possibly could.

Steve did the same but found his courses to be easier than he expected. After his first year, the school awarded him a partial scholarship for the following year – providing he maintained his good grades.

He, like Anna, never bragged about it. They never found the need. They were happy with their lives.

In their senior year of college, Anna was offered a position in one of the New York hospitals. While the position was somewhat what she had hoped for, she wasn’t too thrilled about a rotating shift. She would have preferred a straight morning shift but knew immediately, that as a nurse working in a hospital, that dream was just that – a dream. The only steady nursing shifts available were in the offices of private doctors. She’d just have to make do and reschedule her personal life.

Steve, on the other hand, had no problem with her rotating shifts. “Come, hon, this is an elite position. It isn’t like they’re sending you to the other side of the country.”

Anna shrugged her shoulders, “I know but we’re planning our wedding. I wanted to spend more time with you.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll find the time.”

The following week, a letter arrived in the mailbox of Steve’s family. It was addressed to Steve.

“You are to report to your Selective Service Board, located at 1900 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY.

His heart sank. He called Anna and told her he was going the following day to see if he could get a deferment.

“No dice, son,” the Army officer told him. “Your classification is 1A.”

“Isn’t there anything I can do?” Steve felt desperate and trapped.

“The only option is to enlist. With your college diploma and good grades, you’ll go in as an officer.”

Steve hung his head and asked, “How much time to I have?”

The officer felt bad for him and gave him a break. “I can give you two days. Then, if you don’t show up here, the MPs will go to your home and arrest you. Unfortunately, those are our rules.”

Steve reluctantly signed the papers and promised to return the following day.

Going over the list of allowable items to bring, he went home to pack.

At 8am the following morning, Steve returned to the draft board office, along with his parents, Anna, and her parents.

They were allowed one hour to say their “goodbyes” before the transport bus arrived to take all the enlistees to their base camp.