My Knees Grew Weak.

The dreamers always talk about love at first sight. Or I saw this person and I knew right then I was in love. I saw him or her and I knew I had to have them, yeah right! That was always my attitude at 21 years of age.

I was a hardcore infantry soldier stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, in July of 1980. I guess I had girl friends and all those things before. However, these things people talk about I never experienced until…

It was a very hot, and dry day at Fort Hood, and we had just come in from training. It was a Friday afternoon, and I was very hungry. One of my friends John, was in another company at Fort Hood, and he came over, and wanted to get something to eat. My roommate Lee, wanted to go eat too.

I said, “Okay, let’s go downtown to Killen and go to McDonald’s.” My friend John, and Lee, both replied, “Sounds like a winner to me.” So, we jumped into my blue 1977 Plymouth Volare’, and headed to Killeen.

We drove around town for a few minutes until we got to McDonald’s. We took our time getting out of the car. Lee was sitting in the back seat, and my car was a two-door, so, it took him a minute to climb out.

John was the first to walk up to the counter and give the young lady his order. Lee followed him, and I was the last to give my order. However, when I walked up to the counter, there was a young man, and what appeared to be his girl friend in front of me.

I noticed the young woman. She must have been about 22. She stood about five feet, nine inches tall. However, what I noticed first was the smell of her hair. Her hair smelled like roses, and it was brown, and straight, and hung to her ankles! Yes, it was that long! It reminded me of my high school days, because I sat behind a girl that had strawberry blonde hair that was down to her ankles, and I just loved looking at her. Well, anyway, I kept looking at this beautiful, shiny, long brown-haired woman, standing in front of me.

I started wondering, as men often do. What does her face look like? Well, after a few minutes she turned around, and looked me right in the eye. “Oh my God,” I thought. She had the greenest eyes that looked like emeralds shining in the moonlight. I could not take my eyes off her. I literally, felt my heart miss a beat. I thought I was having a heart attack! My knees grew weak, and I thought I was going to fall right there. And this whole time, our eyes were just locked on each other. I didn’t know what was happening. And I thought, “She must feel this too, because we just kept staring at each other.”

Suddenly, she took her hand, and brushed her long beautiful brown hair to one side and kept looking at me, as she turned back to look at the young man she was with. I stood there motionless. I couldn’t move. I thought, “This woman is truly gorgeous”! I wanted her, but she had a man.

Then it was my turn to order. I could not even tell the woman what I wanted to eat. It took me a minute to regroup. I could not figure out what just happened. However, I do know now what people mean when they talk about “That thing,” or “That feeling.” I had never experienced anything like that. I have never experienced it since, either.

I have seen many beautiful women in my life, and I have dated a few too. However, I never really felt anything when seeing them for the first time. Nothing, like I felt when I saw that young woman. I have thought about her in my mind, many times during my life. And there has never been a woman since, that made my knees grow weak.