60 Years and Counting

Sixty years ago today, two crazy-in-love teenagers were married – against their parents' wishes. Just 16 and 18 years old, LeRoy and Patsy Tucker got hitched on a horse-drawn buggy by a preacher in a small Arkansas town. They picked cotton on their honeymoon and spent many years with just about nothing except each other. My Dad eventually joined the U.S. Marines, and my oldest sister Patti was born. Susie was born just over a year later – and about 16 years after that I came along as a big surprise to everyone.

My parents have experienced a lot – the Great Depression, poverty, stressful jobs, big moves across the country, raising children, deaths in the family ... all kinds of good and bad things that just happen through the years. They've seen their world change dramatically in ways I can't imagine. And through it all, they've stuck together.

Here's to you, Mom and Dad. Happy 60th.