Hi folks , John Paul Monroe here .
I would like to
tell you
how
Bertha and I
became a couple .

There was a
girl
in my
French class
who
wanted me to
take her
to a
formal dance …
her name was
Mary .

Mary
introduced me to
her friend
Be .

A few days later
Be asked me to
meet her
after school …
we met in the
lunchroom .

Be told me
Mary
was going to
dump me
after the
dance .

I wondered
why Be had
said this …
maybe she was
interested in
me .

Mary
dumped me
after the
dance .

That was in
 10 th grade .

Through the
rest of
high school
I didn' t see
much of
Be …
we were in a
large school .

Once
I overheard
a boy
saying
something
about Be
that was
crude …
I didn' t like it .
She had been
nice to
me .

I applied to
5  colleges …
MIT
RPI
Syracuse University
SUNY at Stony Brook and
SUNY at Buffalo .
I didn' t get into MIT .
RPI put me in
natural sciences …
I wanted to
be in
engineering .
Syracuse
messed up
my f inancial aid .
So I went to
Buffalo .

Two weeks into
my f irst semester
I was standing in the
student union
looking at a
poster …
someone was
offering a
tutorial on
folk guitar playing .

Be walked past me
from
left to right …
behind me .
When she was about
20  feet to my right
she called out
" John ? "
I turned to her .
I didn' t
recognize her
at f irst .
After a few seconds
I said
" Be ? "

I was headed to a
poetry class …
Be was headed to a
drawing class .
We talked for
about  20 minutes .
We had fun .

We were both
planning to
go home for
Columbus Day …
a  300 ‐ mile trip .
I offered Be a ride …
she accepted .

A couple weeks later
I called Be to
ask if she still
wanted the ride …
I was heading home
the next night .
We hadn' t spoken since
our talk .
She said she'd
bought a
bus ticket …
because she hadn' t
heard from me .
I was puzzled …
I'd said I was going
to take her .

I took
4  passengers .
Be sat in the
back seat …
behind me .

The song
" I Believe in Love"
was on the radio …
I said I liked it …
Be said
she liked it too .
I had seen
Kenny Loggins
perform it a
few months
earlier .

Throughout our trip
I had a thought to
show Be
I was nice .

When
we arrived at
Be's house
we both got out .
We talked for a
minute .
She didn' t pay me the
3  dollars …
I didn' t ask for it .
I told her my
room number …
Wilkeson 36 7 .
She tells me
she went
directly to her bedroom to
write it down .

We had
traveled home
Friday night .
I would be
returning on
Monday …
Be was
going back by bus on
Sunday .

Sunday
my dad and I were
sitting in
our living room
eating a nice
spaghetti dinner that
my mom had made .
The phone rang …
it was Be .

Be said she had
lost her keys …
she asked me to
look in my car .
Her keys weren' t there .
I was cheerful … and
friendly .

My dad asked me
" Who was that ? "
I told him
it was Be …
a girl I had
brought home .

A few days later
Be visited my room when
I wasn' t there .
She left a note with
one of my roommates .
He told me about it …
he said
" She's solid ."

I called Be .
We talked for a while .

The following Sunday
I was typing an
application to be a
visiting student at
RPI in the
spring semester …
I wasn' t happy at
Buffalo .
My roommate
Ralph Petrosky
was with me .

Someone
knocked on our door .
Ralph opened the door .
It was Be …
and  2  other girls …
her roommate Heidi and
her friend Angela .
I thought … oh boy !
Ralph was smiling .

The  5  of us
talked for
more than an hour .
I sat on my desk chair …
Ralph was to my left
sitting on the side of his bed …
the  3  girls were facing him
sitting on the side of my bed .
Be was farthest from me .
It was like
the Dating Game …
bachelorette number  1 …
bachelorette number 2 …
bachelorette number 3 .

While we were talking
I looked at Be …
I was thinking …
we have the same
morality .

At the end of
our talk
Ralph and I
walked the girls to
our door .
Immediately after
they left
Ralph said
" That Heidi 's
really something ."
I had the thought
" That Be's
really something ."

As I stood there a
plan came to
my mind .
I would visit Be the
following Friday …
after I'd
f inished all my
homework .

I called Be
Friday night …
I said
I'd like to
visit her .
Be liked the idea …
she gave me
directions to
her room .
Later Be would
tell me that
a few minutes
before I called
she said to
Angela
" I wish
John would call ."

We talked
all night .
Be sat on her bed …
I sat on Heidi 's bed …
Heidi wasn' t there .

Be had a
coconut in her
refrigerator …
she broke it open .
I thought that was
interesting .

Be suggested
we play
" the dictionary game ."
Be would read a
def inition and
I would try to
guess the word .
Then I would
do the same for Be .
My vocabulary
was weak …
one of the words
I picked was
pye‐ dog .

As the sun
came up
we decided to
sleep a bit .
Be slept in
her bed …
I slept in
Heidi's bed .

It was the
night of
October 2 1 st
19 7 7 .