Dateline Dayton —Wednesday, Aug. 31 was the date for what now has become our regular high school class breakfast. We try to get together every eight weeks.

Although there were only 32 in our class, with seven deceased and two we are unable to locate, we still have six or more who regularly attend. Some bring their spouse, making for a nice group with lots of sharing.

Since Thursday, Sept. 1 was our 49th wedding anniversary, I decided to take the entire day off Wednesday from work. After the class breakfast, Pauline and I drove to Piqua, first to visit the cemetery. We took care of maintenance items and met with the superintendent to discuss new bases for a couple stones. If we don’t take care of it, I don’t know who will.

A gentleman in Piqua wanted me to look at a cash register he had purchased at a garage sale the previous weekend. It was at his brother’s business, so Pauline and I stopped to see the register. I helped him, and he was appreciative. It even turned out I knew the person from whom he purchased the register because I had done some trading with her husband. He was a collector, a member of the Cash Register Collectors Club, who, unfortunately, died young.

From there we did something you only do once in your lifetime:

Gravely Serious

We purchased the headstone for our cemetery plot. It wasn’t an easy, trying to pick the right stone, staying in budget, especially since our son also wants to be listed on the stone. Chris doesn’t have a spouse. Some time ago he asked if he could be buried at our site. We have exactly three grave sites in a row, so that will work perfectly. He agreed that one stone could be used.

There are many decision you must make when selecting a marker for your grave. After some give and take, we believe we know which stone we want. However we need to confirm our choice with Chris after he get through with moving.

In the evening, after stopping at the cemetery in Pleasant Hill to visit Uncle Paul’s grave, we proceeded to our favorite Italian restaurant, Tony’s, in the Dayton suburb of Englewood. We celebrated our anniversary a day early with a delicious dinner.

On our anniversary, we took each other out for a steak dinner after I got off work. Pauline said she was going to treat, but as it turned out, she had neither enough cash nor her credit card.

That is how we ended up treating each other. How’s that for a romantic evening at Longhorn’s?

We did live it up after dinner, going to the store to purchase dog food.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net