- Scott and Cheryl Rhodes recently celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary, a foundation rooted in religion but it was 66 questions that answered their prayers.
- The children of pastors, and their parents came up with a list of questions for them to answer while Scott was deployed in Iceland.
- They wrote more than 200 letters that are now in two large binders.
- A 'type' of courting ritual that they passed on to their children, only the list grew from 66 to more than 100 questions.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
On this traditional day of 'romance' for so many, I want to tell you a love story... in the form of a letter, many of them. I'm Mike Hart, your senior reporter. Scott and Cheryl Rhodes met at Olive Knolls Church more than 40 years ago, two kids who grew up with fathers who were pastors and while they credit their faith for the foundation of their relationship, it was a series of questions, that answered their prayers. "A couple invited us over for pizza and trivial pursuit, wasn’t into the game, I was into her," said Scott Rhodes. Scott and Cheryl Rhodes met over church softball, Labor Day weekend in 1984... and say they felt something right away. "My sisters all thought Scott was way too good for me, how did you get him, I don’t know," said Cheryl. "I knew she was the one,’ said Scott. The trouble is, Scott was in the Navy, stationed at Moffett Field in the Bay Area. Cheryl’s family was from Arizona and she went to school at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. After meeting each other’s families in November and December, the distance between them would grow. And a chill filled the air. "I was deployed from Jan. 85 to July 85, in Iceland," said Scott. Yes, Iceland. He was part of an anti-submarine warfare unit, hunting subs between Iceland and the U.K. "When he left, we had our first kiss outside my sister’s house, as he left, he said I’ll be back," said Cheryl. Famous last words by Tom Hanks in ‘Castaway’. So, it’s 1985. Cell phones were in their infancy. There was no email or FaceTime. Scott was allowed just one call a month, from a bank of phones, with bad reception. "I started writing letters then, cold long hours." But it was a visit by Scott’s father to Cheryl at Point Loma that laid the groundwork for something more. "I’m drawn to your son, think there could be something there," said Cheryl. And the list was born, 66 questions, a ‘type’ of long-distance courting.
No. 33, what’s the definition of anger?
Question 44, how do you build your spouse’s self-esteem?
No. 36, was about 'nagging'.
The letters went back and forth, from California to Iceland and back. "We can’t do more than 10 in a session, by the time get to May, I was saying I love you so much, need you in my life," said Scott. And when Scott finally returned, he was ready to propose Labor Day weekend. "We were physically together for 45 days, and the rest of that was letter writing," said Scott. They were married on Feb. 1st, 1986. The letters stopped and were left in a bag in a closet for years until Cheryl came across them and created a historical document of their courtship. "We don’t have many pictures, we have this, we weren’t together, recordings in words no pictures," said Cheryl. Today they bring out the binders each anniversary at their favorite restaurant as a lifelong present to each other. And if you’re wondering, YES, they did pass the questions down to their children who are happily married. Only the list of questions has grown from 66... to more than 100!
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