Today and yesterday I was literally anchored to the house because it snowed - AGAIN!  Two big snows in 2 weeks of each other - this has got to be Armageddon or something.  Charlotte is known for having one biggie a year, and that's about all folks.  Anyhow, Monday I woke up to snow everywhere and was forced to stay home.  Today, I woke up to ice everywhere, and was forced to stay home.  Tomorrow, I'm going to try to make it in once the morning thaw arrives.

The electric throw blanket has been my best friend these last few days and honestly, the warmth of my office is looking quite appealing right now.  Living with a 1) frugal and 2) menopausal mother does not help indoor temperatures.  When we complain of freezing to death, she suggests putting on a coat - indoors - and does not seem to understand the irony of her suggestion.  Thus, best Christmas gift ever - a heated blanket.  Who would've guessed.

Saturday my aunt and cousin flew into town to surprise Grandma and Grandpa at their 67th anniversary celebratory dinner.  When they walked in, Grandma teared up, so the surprise was all worth it. 

They both flew out Sunday (earlier than planned for my aunt due to the approaching storm), but before they left Grandma and Grandpa came over and told us stories at my uncle's house.  I've put the story I wrote about them in the newspaper below, but here is a little detail they forgot to mention when I wrote the article.  Once, when my teenage grandparents were in a fight and broken up for a bit, my grandfather took out my grandma's sister out of spite and, according to Grandma, "taught her how to kiss."  Also, my grandma's sister's date, Johnny, who used to double with Grandma and Grandpa, was apparently about 22 when great-aunt Jeanne first met him - she, on the other hand, was 14!  When her mother caught her "watching the submarines race" (i.e. - making out) in his car one day, she pulled her straight out of that car and forbid her to see him again.

So, now that you have the juicy parts, here's the story that was in Sunday's paper:

An old-fashioned love story

Bert and Bette Carraway celebrate 67 years of marriage.

By: Lauren Bailey

Posted: Sunday, Jan. 09, 2011

Bert and Bette Carraway recently celebrated 67 years of marriage.

Bert and Bette Carraway pose for a wedding photo, Jan. 3, 1944.

I can't resist the innocence and true love you find in old movies, and for years I didn't see that my grandparents were a real-life representation of those films.

On Jan. 3, Bert and Bette Carraway celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary. They aren't actors, but their romance would have been a box-office hit.

It all started in September 1941, when 15-year-old Bette Morton moved with her family to Miami. She and her sister Jeanne were weekend elevator girls at an upscale hotel.

Bert Carraway, 17, worked for his father, who owned an apartment complex. Bert and Bette's paths would not have crossed had it not been for Jeanne.

Jeanne was out walking one day when she saw Bert and his friend Johnny playing tennis. Jeanne liked Johnny, and after a few minutes of talking, had set up a double date: she would go with Johnny, and Bert with Bette.

Bert, already shy by nature, was nervous. When Jeanne told Bette, Bette was embarrassed.
But by the end of the first date, Bert and Bette were falling in love. Bert asked Bette to go steady, and she said yes, breaking her "I-don't-go-steady" rule.

But the big romance almost ended on the second date.

Bert and Johnny were taking the sisters to the beach for a picnic. Who knew a sailboat would nearly ruin everything?

Bette's family had lived all across the U.S. Her dad was a mechanic who couldn't stay in one place longer than nine months, yet they'd never lived near a beach and had never seen a sailboat.
When two young men on a sailboat pulled up to the shore near the boys and their dates, the sisters ran into the waves, laughing and pointing.

"Would you girls like a ride?" one of the men asked. Bette and Jeanne immediately accepted and left their dates.

After a while, Bette realized that might not have been a smart move. She asked the men to bring them back. The men reluctantly agreed and the girls returned to their angry dates.
Bert had decided he would break up with Bette as soon as they were alone. She knew she had to do some quick talking.

"I can't remember what all I said now," said Bette, recalling the event 70 years ago. "But I know it was good."

Bert forgave her and they continued to date for about a year, until Bette's family moved to Oregon.
Despite the distance, the two didn't forget each other. They sent letters nearly every day, and when Bette graduated high school at 17, she told her parents she would take a bus to Miami and stay in one of the Carraway family apartments to be near Bert.

Instead, the whole family moved back to Florida.

Bette had just turned 18 when she and Bert married. He had just joined the Navy and wore a crisp blue-and-white uniform to the wedding; she was in a light green suit.

It was Jan. 3, 1944; World War II was raging. Bert left the next day to serve on a ship off the Florida coast. He got a couple days leave when his first son, Bob, was born. He then was transferred to the South Pacific.

Bert wrote Bette constantly and told her about the close calls the ship experienced. Once, a typhoon destroyed nearly every ship at sea, but Bert's ended up safely on the beach. When the war ended, Bert got a law degree and became a captain. He and Bette were stationed around the world, having their fourth child in Morocco.

During the Vietnam War he served as a military judge in Saigon and sent Bette voice recordings that captured the sounds of bombs exploding in the background.

Despite the danger, Bert remained positive, promising Bette he'd see her soon. One week after he returned home, the court building where he worked was bombed.

"It was God. He knew I couldn't do without him," Bette said of Bert's safe return.

Things around the Carraway household have quieted since.

"It's hard to believe I used to wash cloth diapers and sew the kids' clothes by hand. I barely had time to worry about Bert, I was so busy," Bette said with a chuckle.

After Bert retired, they moved to Key West, Fla., and then back to Miami. In 1999 they followed their children to Charlotte, moving into south Charlotte's Providence Plantation.

"Family means everything to us. We hated to leave Florida, but it wasn't the same without our kids and grandkids," Bette said.

The couple recently moved into the Cypress retirement community on Park Road - still healthy and still together.

As their now-grown granddaughter, I marvel at them. They've become the example of what I will strive for in marriage.

They still hold hands on the way to dinner. They still kiss goodbye and say, "I love you." They hate to be away from each other for more than a couple of hours.

And, after all these years, that's saying something.