Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Storycorps: Ben and Bernice Finn

BenF: My two best friends were Hank and Eddie. Hank had a girlfriend. Eddie had a girlfriend. I had no girlfriend. So. Eddie approached me one day and said, 'Would you like to join us with a blind date?' So I said, 'Sure, why not.' In those days you wore a suit and a tie when you went on a date.

BerniceF: Right.

BenF: I didn't have a suit to my name. So, I bought a suit to match the tie that I had.

BerniceF: Did it have apples on it?

BenF: It had apples on it, yes.

BerniceF: I remember that.

BenF: I was very nervous. And, uh, she was so pretty.

BerniceF: I remember that day very well. And, no, you weren't pretty. I remember Jeannette and I going into the ladies' room and she says, 'Well, what do you think?' "He's nice.' You know, what am I, I didn't know.

BenF: We walked out into the cold night air.

BerniceF: And, I took your arm.

BenF: I was thrilled by that, you know. Mmm, she must like me, she took my arm.

BerniceF: And the reason I took your arm is you seemed nervous. And I wanted to make you more comfortable. We were all hungry. And we went to a coffee shop. And everybody's ordering hamburgers and drinks. The orders are going around and, and it's Ben's turn and he doesn't order anything. And I say to myself, 'Oh my God, I bet he doesn't have any money.' So there I am starving, and I ordered black coffee, because I was afraid my date didn't have any money. So, you owe me a hamburger. What was the reason you didn't order anything?

BenF: I have no memory of that. Maybe it was I didn't have enough money, maybe I was just cheap. I don't know.

BerniceF: Ok, I'll buy that second...

BenF: Ok

BerniceF:...explanation. It's been quite a ride, and..

BenF: Going on sixty years, is it. That first night I fell in love with her and I've been in love with her ever since.