Three-Day Courtship Leads to a Lasting Marriage
Frank and Gayle Newby met on a triple blind date in Indianapolis. They have been married for 57 years. StoryCorps hide caption
They've been married for 57 years, but when Gayle Burton first met Frank Newby, she would not have predicted such a long-lasting relationship. It all started on a triple blind date that Gayle dreaded.
Gayle had spent the day at an Indianapolis beach with friends, and she wasn't looking forward to going out.
"My hair was a mess, and I really didn't want to go," she says.
Gayle saw the three men that were waiting for her and her friends.
"Look at the hick with no tie," she told one of her friends. "I bet I'll get stuck with him."
As a matter of fact, Frank was the guy with no tie and Gayle did get stuck with him.
The other dates wanted to grab a burger and a Coke, but Frank didn't have money for it.
"And he just frankly told me, 'I can't afford it,'" Gayle recalls. "Somehow or other that seemed honest to me, and I said, 'Let's just sit in the car and talk.'"
They talked about love and marriage. At the end, they parted ways. Gayle called Frank later, and they made plans for a date. But Gayle stood him up. She had some friends visiting from out of town.
"I waited longer for her that day than I've ever waited for anybody in my life," Frank says. "I don't think that I was really mad — I was disgusted — and I just wrote this girl off."
One night, Gayle called him at work.
"In her little girl voice, she started explaining to me. And the sucker that I was, I accepted the apology," Frank says.
A couple of days later, Frank introduced Gayle to his parents. It was a Friday. On Saturday, Frank told his father to find a minister. On Sunday, they were married.
Frank had $20 to spend on their three-day honeymoon. They found a motel for $3 a night, and they feasted on hamburgers and beer.
"I've never once regretted a three-day courtship," Gayle says.
Produced for Morning Edition by Katie Simon. The senior producer for StoryCorps is Michael Garofalo.