The Louisiana Art and Folk Festival of Columbia, Louisiana is held every year in mid-October. It is a small, sweet venue featuring local talent in the form of original art, crafts, music and food. My friend, Caroline Youngblood, was there with her paintings and I stopped by her booth, sat down, and we engaged in typical small talk as we smiled at the passersby. There was movement that caught my attention in the booth next to us that was vacant when I arrived. There he was!
I met Lacey about nine months previously at the Schepis Museum in this same small town when he and his former wife at that time were holding a book signing event in conjunction with the art opening that featured the original drawings he created to illustrate her story If I Were a Cat for Only an Hour. To be quite honest, I was immediately attracted to him. He was tall, slender, with a shock of curly hair and amazing green eyes. What really caught my attention, though, was his manner. He was gentle and soft spoken, while at the same time exhibiting an inner strength of a person comfortable with himself. However, this was clearly a casual meeting. He obviously had some sort of relationship with his former wife since they were working on projects together. I had a foreboding feeling there could be complications if anything were to develop between us. I let it go, and thought no more of him.
Back to the future, there he was!
Caroline had become engaged with a potential customer so I naturally struck up a conversation with Lacey. (Insert wiggling eyebrows here.) I couldn’t help but notice how engaged he was while we were talking–that is how he is with people, completely available and understanding. I knew right then and there this was the kind of person I wanted in my life. I don’t believe in love at first sight, but, somehow, I just knew. We exchanged FaceBook information and parted ways.
When I got home, I announced to my family, “I just met the man of my dreams.”
(I later found out that Caroline and Lacey were long time friends, and even collaborated on the promotional materials for the LA Art & Folk Fest, similar to the poster above.)
More Stories:
The Man of My Dreams – The Story of How We Met
How did you meet Lacey? We would love to hear your story.
Two days before classes for the Fall Quarter 1977 at Louisiana Tech, was the chaotic dorm move-in day. Dropped off and immediately abandoned by my closest living relative, I stood staring at the hazy gateway to the rest of my life. I only had a single suitcase containing all my worldly possessions, so move-in was rather quick and uneventful. I was the first in my room on the 3rd floor of Jenkins dorm. My slight fear and trepidation of the pending unknown, tinged with a touch of giddiness was thicker than the August heat. As I was pondering my condition, the moment was broken by a gangly kid walking into the room, also with a single suitcase and an afro. We exchanged awkward pleasantries and then, as quickly as he had arrived, he left. Five minutes later, he re-entered the room, but this time with an easel and wooden case of paints under one arm and some canvi under the other. Though quite naïve, I at once surmised Lacey was an art major.
Thus began my experience of my first college roommate and my revelation into the boundless world of fine arts and alternative P’sOV.