BC: Do you remember what it was like when we were 19, and totally in love, and couldn’t tell anyone?

SC: I do. I remember the feeling of, I have found the person I am going to spend the rest of my life with, and, discovering that I couldn’t have anyone else celebrate it with me. When something happens that makes you feel so good and you have to hide it, it takes away a little bit of the joy of finding someone.

BC: Do you remember what it was like when we moved to Ohio?

SC: Ohio, yes! I remember Ohio. I remember the second day that we were there that your mother came by and said that she wanted to talk to me. She told me that it was a small town, that your father was a prominent doctor, and that she would give us three days to get out of town so that we wouldn’t disgrace your father, his practice, your extended family.

BC: Well, they then sent me to a psychiatrist to see if they could fix me. That obviously didn’t work since we’re still together.

SC: (Laughs) We had been together for 33 years when we finally for the first time got to stand up in front of our friends and family and tell them that we loved each other and that we cared for each other and that we were going to take care of each other for the rest of our lives. And I remember your mom deciding that her daughter should have the right to marry

BC: My mom had been diagnosed with a brian hemorrhage, and she actually wanted to walk us down the aisle before she died.

SB: And this is the same woman (in unison) that gave us three days to get out of town)

BC: Yes same woman. So we thought about it, for about three seconds, and then said okay, we’ll have a civil union. We had it in her backyard, with three of four ministers, a lot of friends from church. It was a beautiful ceremony. I remember the minister saying, you know, Bobbi and Sandi did it backwards, you know, they did all the committing stuff, and then got married.

BS: I didn’t believe that there was another level that we could reach but just having the ceremony and stating publicly and having our friends and family there happy for us was sort of like being 19 again and celebrating our love.