1-STOP One very lonely Powell River’s
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wedding night In 1977, two pragmatic intellectuals found each other through a matchmaking service. True romance caught up to them soon after.
BY ROBERT HACKETT
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8 February 2024 • qathetliving.ca
A
ngelika and I spent our wedding night over 5,000 kilometres apart. We did not meet again until the following year. And had you asked me my bride’s full name the day after our wedding, I would have got it wrong. Our story began when Angelika (“Ika”), a high school language teacher in Kingston, Ontario, decided to buy a piano. Searching the classified ads under “P” in the local newspaper, she came across Prestige Introduction Bureau, a matchmaking service. Sounded intriguing. Not yet having found a suitable partner, she signed up. So had I, after months of a hermit-like existence studying for graduate school exams at Queen’s University. No Internet in 1977! Ika received calls from five gentlemen and went out on the town every evening for a week. The morning after one date, a young girl in her class piped up, “Miss, Miss! You went out with my brother last night!” Gulp. Quickly gathering her wits, Ika replied, “Yes I did, but I won’t again, because he smokes.” Ultimately, I was the lucky fellow selected, evidently because I used the word “likewise” during our initial phone chat, making me sound suave and sophisticated – at least to a language teacher! As a brilliant tactician, I avoided mentioning beer-swilling nights with my fellow political science apprentices in smoky local taverns. The following year, we moved in together. We knew we’d marry, but we procrastinated. With family in BC, Ontario and Europe, we couldn’t decide when and where to tie the knot. Until December 15, 1980. Flipping through the income tax guide, I came across a “marriage exemption” clause. If the higher-earning partner made less
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MILES BLACK on piano,
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than $400 between the date of marriage and the end of the year, they could claim their mate as a dependent for the whole year. Seriously? That would save us about $850, enough in those days for a basic honeymoon. Ika asked a colleague who taught business if this was for real. “Yup,” she said, “that’s why accountants get married Looking for a wedding or Valentine’s gift? Visit us in Lund!
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