He was in Army hospital when a fortuneteller said his future wife would soon walk in
A few days after arriving at Fort Benning’s Martin Army Hospital (shortly before Christmas 1950) the ward nurse told me about a young soldier in the psychiatric ward who claimed that he could tell fortunes. She asked if I would let him tell me mine. Anxious for some comic relief, I told her to bring him over.
He began with, “You have been on a long voyage.” Since all of us in the ward had just returned from Korea, that hardly qualified as any great insight. He continued, “You will soon meet two girls. One will be a brunette; the other will be blond. You will marry one of them!” He did not know which one but added, “One has a lot of money.” He could not say which one. Other than burning a half hour of hospital time and providing a good chuckle, I put no store in what the would-be Nostradamus predicted.
My parents and brother drove over from Tifton the first weekend I was at Fort Benning. I told them about the fortuneteller’s forecast. No sooner had I finished recounting the story when there was a knock on the door. Two very attractive girls stuck their heads inside; one a blonde and the other a brunette! Before a word was spoken, my dad, a big kidder, pointed toward them and said, “He’s going to marry one of you.” I felt my face flush red as a beet as I explained why Daddy had said what he did. Who could guess what the two girls might be thinking?
The blonde was Jeannie Martin, a senior in high school, and the other was Peggy Ashworth, a freshman at the University of Georgia and the daughter of the publisher of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, the local newspaper.
Their coming together resulted from an unusual happenstance. Jeannie’s typing teacher, Ms. Nan Strickland, had seen my picture in the local newspaper. She recognized my name because she had been my seventh-grade English teacher in Tifton. Ms. Strickland asked Jeannie to visit me saying, “I know this boy. He comes from a nice family. He’s probably lonely.” Jeannie stuck the picture into one of her schoolbooks, and promptly forgot all about it. Later, Jeannie encountered Peggy who asked Jeannie to come along on a visit to a soldier in the Fort Benning hospital. Peggy remembered we had double-dated once before I went to Korea. Although hesitant, Jeannie agreed. Jeannie showed Peggy my picture. They were surprised that they were going to visit the same person. Needless to say, I was flabbergasted. Two beautiful girls coming to visit me! Of course, none of us believed the prediction; we dismissed the visit as just a funny coincidence.
I was really taken by Jeannie; the most attractive, vivacious, and outgoing person I had ever met. Although surely wishing to get to know her, I expected never to see her again after they left. Happily, I was mistaken. Jeannie visited me often; always with another girl.
Jeannie did wonders for my morale as I underwent several operations on my feet. She visited two or three times each week and always came the day following surgery. She constantly presented a bright, happy, smiling face.
After a few months, I finally got out of the hospital on pass. We began to date. However, she still came with another girl. We usually went to the movies — always a drive-in — with me on the back seat with casts on both feet and legs, and Jeannie and a friend up front.
Inevitably, the time arrived to meet the parents, Jean and Frank Martin. The Martins were most gracious, often inviting me to dinner at their home or taking me to the Columbus Country Club. Naturally Jeannie’s parents grew quite worried about our growing relationship. I was a soldier; worse — a paratrooper; worse yet — a Ranger.
Since World War II, Columbus residents heard tales of paratroopers running amok, drinking, fighting and generally raising hell. In truth, that sometimes happened but mostly across the Chattahoochee in Phenix City, Alabama, known in the 1950s as the “wickedest town in America.” At the time, the Martins indicated no outward signs of disapproval but years later Mr. Martin (nicknamed “Admiral” because he had served in the Navy during World War II) explained his deep concerns developed because I was older than Jeannie, had graduated from college, earned a salary and was in a position to ask his daughter to marry.
I liked Jeannie’s 12-year-old brother Butch, a very bright youngster. When I graduated to dating Jeannie without a girl chaperone, I always asked Butch to come along, knowing the Martins would be more comfortable with that arrangement. Jeannie thought I would never stop including her brother. When we began excluding Butch, he was amazed that I preferred Jeannie’s company to his. He claims that he was sure that we brought Jeannie along to make his parents happy. (Butch later became an outstanding lawyer and mayor of Columbus.)
Jeannie and I would marry 23 months after meeting. We celebrate our 66th anniversary in 2018! What a joy and blessing she is!
This story was originally published October 17, 2018 at 7:27 PM.