Life in Sarasota, Fl was awesome!!! I arrived in December and escaped the cold of the northeast for the beaches of the Sunshine State. I was actually getting a little tan from all the beach time. The 3 weeks we spent apart were tough. I would go to the radio station every night to call Denise. It was a pain to drive over there, but it beat having to deal with a MONSTER long distance phone bill.
I was able to fly back to Philly on Christmas Eve. Denise met me at the airport. We ran back to her place for Chinese food, drinks and lots o' huggin. It was freakin' freezing that night!!!! Cold crunchy snow covered the ground and we were layered up in turtlenecks and sweaters. We agreed that she would come visit me in February. That was the good news....the bad news was that we would be apart for nearly 6 more weeks.
Denise finally made it to Florida as another snowstorm was getting ready to attack the east coast. Sarasota was sunny and 80 degrees the day she arrived. In fact, the weather that week was specifically ordered by the Chamber of Commerce. I would host the morning show, then run back to my apartment to spend the day with my GF at Seista Key beach, followed by a late afternoon visit to the apartment complex hot tub. I learned how to make marguarita's....and that was all we drank. Denise was getting sad about returning to the snow and slush, so I made her AN OFFER SHE COULDN'T REFUSE.
I told Denise that if she quit her (really good) job in Philly and moved to Sarasota, I would pay all of her expenses for 6 months. If you knew how cheap I was back in '89...then you would be impressed by my offer. Seriously.. I was REALLY cheap. Once at a club, Denise asked me to get her a gin and tonic. An hour later she asked me to get her another round. "I already bought you a drink", I declared. She still laughs when remembering that story. Denise also takes credit for freeing me of my cheap-itis.
BTW....she jumped at the offer! Denise went back to Philly and resigned from her job, packed her stuff into a 1986 Nissan Sentra and drove non-stop to F.L.A.
Up next...the famous "bikini volleyball story" that almost ended our relationship!!
