Right after I graduated high school, grandpa died. He was only 67. It was hard for everyone to watch him suffer like he did. He couldn’t breathe. Grandma had some burial plots in Big Rock, Virginia and that’s where Grandpa was buried (where my dad is buried today) but she eventually had him moved to Bristol so she could visit his grave more. Poor Grandma did not do well when Grandpa passed but she perked up when Uncle Garry and cousin Elaina moved in with her.
That fall, after I graduated high school, I took some night courses from East Tennessee State University; Accounting and Economics. That was enough to make me not want to go back. They were the most boring classes ever. I was also working 3 part-time jobs, including a little pizza joint that used to be on King College Road. Larry S. came in one day and asked the restaurant owner if he knew of anyone looking for a job that could sell advertising. It was for the International Hot Rod Association (IHRA), which was the drag racing sanctioning body at the race track. Of course I said I was (looking for a job) and ended up getting it. That’s how I became the Advertising Director for IHRA and one reason I didn’t want to go back to school. It was also the place I met my husband, Kenny Bruce, who was the media director for IHRA. I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on him. He had been out of town when I first started but stopped by my office when he came back and introduced himself. I was hooked from that first day.
Kenny was 6 years older than me and I was still 18 when we met but almost 19. I flirted like crazy but he was slow when it came to asking me out on a real date. He was older and sophisticated, funny, smart and I had to have him. About a month after we met he had a birthday and he was turning 25. I told him to tell me what cake he wanted and I would make it. He said German chocolate was one of his favorites. I promptly went home and said, “Mama, I need you to make me a cake.” I was still living at home and had never learned how to cook. Mama always liked to cook and have someone else clean up the dishes; still does. She made the cake and I presented it to Kenny and never told him (until later) that I didn’t bake it. I know, it was kind of sneaky but it worked. Not long after, we were working a horse auction for Larry Carrier (the race track owner at the time) and Kenny finally asked me out. Mama and daddy were out of town so I was staying at Grandma’s house because even though I was almost 19 years old, mama wouldn’t let me stay by myself. Kenny took me to The Firehouse (Barbecue) in Johnson City and then we saw the movie Splash.
I don’t remember much of what happened in 1984 globally, but I know Alabama was very popular, along with Wham. Kenny and I saw the movie, Purple Rain, in the old theater on Volunteer Parkway. People were dancing in the aisles. It still gives me chills to hear the beginning of Let’s Go Crazy. I wanted to get up and dance too!
Kenny was from Rocky Mount, Virginia (right outside of Roanoke) but he went to East Tennessee State University (following his sister Linda’s footsteps). Just like me, he was the baby of the family but he had 3 older brothers and 2 older sisters (Wesley, Linda, Mark, Deborah and Phillip). I was a bit intimidated by them all when Kenny took me home the first time. I’m sure they wondered why he was dating a little girl. Mark still calls me “Grundy, Virginia” using a very southern accent when he says it because, apparently, when he asked me where I was from, I said I was born in Grundy, Virginia and I guess I must have sounded a bit countryfied. Kenny’s mom, Lonnie, is a very strong Christian woman. She scared me a little bit at first. One of the first times I ever visited, she asked me to wrap a package. I really mangled that package and I remember her looking at me funny. I was so embarrassed. They were all so sweet but boy did they like to talk. I didn’t have to say much because they always kept the conversation going. Deborah and Linda did most of the talking and his brother Wesley would always be standing at the doorway on the verge of leaving but always finding something else to say. Phillip could have been Kenny’s twin, but he was 4 years older. Kenny’s daddy lived in Martinsville. He had been in a car accident years before and had a back injury. While in surgery, the doctor’s damaged his spinal cord and he was paralyzed. Kenny and his dad would always talk about Nascar. All of Kenny’s family have always good to me.
I mentioned earlier that daddy used to say that he was made to go to church every time the doors were open and that he wouldn’t do that to us. So, we didn’t go to church at all. I always felt like something was missing. Grandma went to Virginia Avenue Baptist Church and I would sometimes go with her when I was a teenager. She loved for her family to go to church with her. Her goal was to fill up the whole pew. Some of my favorite memories of her are standing next to her while she sang her favorite hymns. I can’t sing There’s Power in the Blood without thinking of her. She would hit those high notes with such enthusiasm. She always had her purse full of candy and Werther’s Orignials (caramel) were my favorite. My least favorite was the soft peppermints, which she must have bought in bulk.
After Kenny and I began dating, we would go to church (when we weren’t traveling to the races). David Lay was our pastor. We asked him to marry us and he told us he would but he wanted for us to take classes before we did. While we were dating, we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and were baptized together. Being so young, I had no idea what it took to keep a marriage strong but I knew that I loved God and I loved Kenny. That right there has kept us going for over 37 years.
Karen G. Bruce 