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| Photo courtesy of The Library of Congress |
A Story From the Life of Robert R.
Ghostwritten by Josh R.
There is Nothing Better Than a Snowless Weekend
The old saying “good things come to those who wait” could not have been any more true. In fact, sometimes things that seem to start out as an apparent setback can actually turn out to be a life-changing gain. In my case, an unexpected disappointment served as the springboard for the rest of my life.
It was a few days into my winter break, and I was sitting on my twin sized mattress in my old, drafty dorm room at Princeton University, when I heard the sound of the phone echo throughout my room. I picked up the receiver, and heard a soft voice on the end of the line. It was the girl with whom I had planned to go skiing over the weekend. It was supposed to be the most terrific weekend ever, up north in the great State of Massachusetts, where there was going to be six new inches of white fluffy snow, but sadly, as the result of the call that I just received, I learned that the trip was off.
Overall, the cancelled trip wasn’t the end of the world, but I will admit that at first I was bitter, heartbroken, and pessimistic. Nothing was going my way. First of all, I couldn’t go home to California to see my family over the Christmas break. Next, after finally finding something to do, my new plan--my ski trip-- was ruined as well. In the end, instead of going home to California, or going skiing in Western Massachusetts, I decided to stay on campus and find something else to do. Maybe this wasn’t a bad thing, right? Maybe I would have broken my leg on the slopes or gotten frostbite. This is what I kept telling myself. As they say, however, when God closes a door, he opens a window. I was doing everything to make myself feel like everything was going to be alright.
After getting the news of my cancelled trip, I was laying on bed thinking everything through. It was at that time that I was informed that on campus, one my professors hosted a party over winter break for those students who couldn’t go home. Previously, this party wasn’t even a blip on the radar screen when I had everything else planned. I eventually came to the conclusion, however, that I would give the party a chance. The party was not a fancy, formal one, but instead it was a casual get-together. I put on my regular weekend clothes: khaki pants, a button down shirt, and, of course, a bow tie, and I left my dorm to walk to Professor Jenkins’ house. Somewhat unexpectedly, the walk to the party was a very positive one for me.Walking through the historically narrow streets of Princeton was fantastic, and it was amazing to see all of the streets and trees covered in snow. The trip to my professor’s historic, two storied house in the middle of campus was a quick one, and when I arrived at the party I saw only a few familiar faces.
As I first entered the house, there was a sizeable number of people standing, talking, and playing board games in a decent sized square room. I talked to many people and I had a good time trying to cheer myself up. I thought it was working pretty well. As I sauntered around to see if I could find something more enjoyable to do, it was then, all of the sudden, someone--an incredible someone, someone so perfect that words cannot describe-- caught my eye instantly. She was lovely, good-spirited, and she interacted with the other guests as if she were the star of the show. There was everything to like about her. She was perfect.
I later learned that the beautiful girl that caught my eye was the daughter of Princeton’s President. Her name was Ruth. Surprisingly, I only talked with her a little at the party, mostly because she didn’t seem to be too interested in me. Not discouraged, I decided to follow up to see if she would go on a date. Things between us went pretty well. After a while, and before we knew it, we were dating. This is when I had learned that everything happens for a reason. Who would have expected that something so bad --the skiing trip being canceled-- could be the reason for the greatest thing in my life--meeting Ruth? We were married for over 60 years before Ruth passed away. Looking back, having a ski trip canceled turned out to be the best thing that ever happened for me.
