Harry Gibson with a photo himself and wife Marian Gibson: Danny Fulgencio
Most of you romantics out there have a favorite photo of your Valentine. Some keep those treasured images close to their heart, maybe in a locket. Others proudly display them in a pretty frame on the living room wall. And some of those photos, and the stories behind them, are so darn heartwarming or hilarious that they must be shared with the audience of the neighborhood’s most popular magazine (that’s us, right?). To the subjects and senders of said snapshots we offer a hearty “Cheers!”
‘We had this great love affair’
“We just knew; we had this exchange of looks and thoughts,” says Harry Gibson (provided photo)
Neighbor Marcia Phillips stumbled across this picture of her parents, Harry and Marian Gibson, while sorting through Marian’s belongings after Marian died four years ago. “The way they look at each other exemplifies a lot of passion and happiness,” Marcia says of the photo, “and I just love the life in my mother’s eyes.” To Harry, now 83, the exchange was nothing out of the ordinary. It was simply the way they looked at each other, he says. “All our lives, we could be in the biggest banquets, and she’d be dancing with somebody and I’d be dancing with somebody, and we’d make eye contact, and it was there,” he says. “We just knew; we had this exchange of looks and thoughts. Sometimes we’d be thinking about the same thing and not even be together, so we had this great love affair.” The photo was taken at the Lone Star Showman’s Club in Dallas shortly after they married in 1967, Harry says. Harry and Marian worked together at a cook shack at the State Fair of Texas during fair season, making food for fairgoers during the day, and then for the carnival workers after hours. The couple was always up to something, Marcia says. “Marian and Harry were very active in our community,” she says. “I have a lot of black-tie-type portraits of them, but nothing that was spontaneous like this one.” Since Marian’s death, Harry has become something of a figure in his neighborhood in East Dallas – possibly due to the fact that he hosts “happy hour” on his front porch every evening, to which he invites friends and neighbors to drop by for a drink and a story or two, or 12. Many of his stories — most of which are true — involve Marian. “Marian and I were lifelong sweethearts,” he says.
‘He indulged my silliness’
Dan Hoolwerf, submitted by Melissa Grove
Melissa Grove says she feels “lucky and loved” when she sees this picture of her husband, Dan Hoolwerf. “For years my body has been getting slowly weaker due to muscular dystrophy,” she says. “Because it is getting so hard for me to travel, my husband designed an accessible pool that is not only functional, but also very creative and cool.” He designed it just for her at their home in East Dallas, complete with “Melissa-friendly” bar stools at a swim-up bar and kitchen, as well as a perfectly sized table in the water where the couple can eat, entertain and read. “There is no detail he did not think about for days on end, and that is why it turned out perfect,” she says. “He indulged my silliness and let me call it ‘Playa Vista Resort,’ and just shook his head playfully when I told him I built a website, playavistaresort.com, to amuse myself.” The picture was taken right after the pool was finished. “And he has an enigmatic Mona Lisa smile about him because he knows he has made me very happy,” Grove says. “It is symbolic of all of the celebrating and fun we still have to do together. I look at it and know we will always be happy together, no matter what happens. It makes me smile because it represents the beautiful life and home we have built together.”
‘This beautiful woman I love’
Terry Reed, submitted by Jack Reed.
Neighbor Jack Reed has this picture of his wife of 27 years, Terry Reed, framed on the nightstand next to his bed. “I love this picture because it so beautifully represents this beautiful woman I love,” he says. “She is relaxed, happy and at peace, which is the very state of mind I strive to put her in whenever I can.” The photo was taken the first time Terry joined Jack at his favorite live-music event, The New Orleans Jazz Fest. It was a hot and crowded day, so the couple walked through the “spritzing tent” to cool off, Jack says. Jack says he has attended the Jazz Fest for many years and was happy when Terry finally agreed to tag along. “It was a real bonus that she enjoyed it almost as much as I did,” he says. “I am hopelessly in love with her smile and this beautiful face. I count my blessings that she has agreed to grow old with me.”
‘My heart swelled’
Christine Carey and Greg White
East Dallas neighbor Christine Carey sent us this picture of her and her boyfriend, Greg White, which was taken the day their relationship “leaped to a new level,” she says. During an outing, the couple drove to Rockwall for a hamburger from Boots Burger. But, there’s a catch to eating at Boots: the owner sells burgers until he runs out of meat, and then he calls it quits for the day. Carey suggested that if they arrived in Rockwall to find the rustic joint meatless, they should simply snag one of the call-in orders that belonged to someone else. “Greg agreed without hesitation to steal someone else’s lunch, and my heart swelled,” she says. “I had a buddy in crime.” Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), their mischievous plan wasn’t necessary. “We were able to get our burgers without a problem,” she says.
‘Lady beside me’
Viki Aymond, submitted by Rex Aymond
Rex Aymond submitted this picture of his wife, Vicki, from their wedding last April. Rex and Vicki both graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School and were friends for more than 44 years before their union. Rex says this is his favorite picture of Vicky because “at age 60 Vicki could still let her inner girl show through in her happiness and excitement, and because I was the one who brought it out of her.” The couple dated for only a little more than a year before they married, Rex says. “From our first date – to hear Guy Clark at Poor David’s Pub, no less – we both knew that we didn’t ever want our friendship to end and we wanted to share ourselves with each other.” Guy Clark has been one of Rex’s favorite songwriters and performers since he first heard him in Austin in 1974, he says. “I always wanted to feel about someone the way he did about Susanna.”
In one particular song, Clark sings that he has “a tattoo with her name right through my soul,” and that as the “lady beside me” she was “the one I have chosen to walk through my life like a coat from the cold.” Rex quoted those lines to Vicki at the couple’s wedding reception because “now I truly know what Guy Clark was feeling when he wrote those songs,” Rex says. “And no matter how low I may be, Vicki, I look at my favorite picture of you and I smile, and I know it will all be fine as long as we’re together.”
Amy + Dwayne
This picture of Amy Bynum and her husband, Dwayne King, was taken on their wedding day 10 years ago. Bynum remembers that they were dancing to “Ribbon in the Sky” as a tribute to her husband’s late mother.
Juanita + Derrick
This picture is a bit blurry because it’s a picture of a picture, but neighbor Juanita Rojas says it’s her favorite picture of her darling, Derrick Askins, because it “reflects a simple moment of happiness captured. Though time has passed and things have changed, my love will remain eternal,” she says, and then adds: “It’s a pretty funny pic, too.”
Diane + Mark
Neighbor Diane Tombs Weiss says she and Mark Rayshell dated in high school, but then went their separate ways. They reconnected via social media and “are now making up for lost time,” Tombs Weiss says. “Moments big and small are captured with a gratuitous ‘selfie,’ ” she says, “with most pictures chopping his head off.” This one was taken in the backyard of Tombs Weiss’ house in Little Forest Hills after Rayshell planted more than 150 tulips for her.
