He Saw Red

I attended Elon College, Fighting Christians, back in 1981. I was majoring in Business Administration.

Within that week of settling in, the buzz around the dorms was about the football players and who were the most popular ones.

Frederick Jordan, nicknamed ‘JB’, was among the top three. He was #36, first string Running back and he also ran track.

One night, at the Student Union, there was a dance. I was looking nice. I wore a shirt, with a sweater and some very fitted red pants.

A young man came up to me from behind, while I was standing alone, and whispered in my ear saying, “Hi, my name is Fred Jordan.”

Well, my eyes got big! I almost choked on my drink. I knew I had heard that name. I couldn’t lose my cool points or what would he think?

My palms were sweaty, but I took a deep breath, turned around, and smiled. He complimented me, and we continued to chat for a while.

Then he said, “I like your outfit, especially those red pants." And asked me, "Would you like to dance?"

We danced for a long time. We did a number out on the dance floor. Afterward, we held hands and walked to the gazebo. We sat down and talked for several hours more.

At the end of the night, he said, “I know this is quick, but I don’t want this feeling to end." Then he asked, “So will you be my girlfriend? And, if it doesn't work, we'll part as friends?” I had never believed in love at first sight but everything was magical… this man, and this night.

I loved dating Frederick. He was so popular and into so many activities. I felt just as popular as he. I was on his arm just about all the time. Frankly, he absorbed my identity.

Who would've guessed a relationship would develop from a quick glance, and an attraction to my red pants?

Our first sight love affair, led into four years of dating, nine years of marriage, and parents of two: A boy and a girl. We were on top of the world.

But sadly, our marriage ended in a terrible divorce. It destroyed us. But after many years of living across the miles, we worked at maintaining a solid friendship, even though we didn’t reconcile.

And he is so grateful to me for supporting his efforts to mend a healthy relationship with his children.

But when we are all together we still have fun as a family. It’s a glimpse of how things were supposed to be.

But we are most grateful for the second chance and in awe of how this all started with a pair of red pants.