missy and rich met in a bar.

Missy and Rich met in a bar.

It was an inauspicious beginning, to be sure, but as neither of them were raging drunk that night they agreed, and remembered, to meet a second time. (Missy had to push the issue, though.)

Things progressed nicely. Missy brought Rich home to meet her parents and grandmother; Rich joked, on that first date, that he’d be taking her away from her beloved Houston to live in Iowa.

Everyone laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

Shortly thereafter, Missy took a job at a museum in Dallas. Rich visited from Houston on weekends and eventually moved in. He finished his writing his dissertation sitting at her kitchen table.

They left Dallas and traveled throughout Europe for several months. Rich bit the bullet and asked Missy to marry him; she bit the bullet and accepted. After their travels they moved back to Houston and got married. Missy finished her Master’s and worked in a bookstore while Rich finished Medical School.

They moved to Albuquerque for Rich’s Internship year; Missy worked in a museum. They biked and traveled a lot throughout New Mexico. At the end of Rich’s Internship year they bought a tandem bicycle, shipped it to Europe, and rode over 4000 miles in 4 ½ months. They were still married at the end of the trip, however…

…Rich made good on his joke and moved Missy to Iowa for his Residency and Fellowship number one. It was a bit of a shock to her, as she had never lived anywhere that required a heavy coat.

No one in Texas was laughing at that joke about Iowa anymore.

Missy started her Ph.D. and worked at two museums. Rich just worked, and worked, and worked. But they managed to produce Gus the Great so all was forgiven by Missy’s family in Texas—especially when they learned that Rich would take Job number one in Houston.

Thus, the three of them moved back to Houston for Rich’s Job number one.

It didn’t last.

Thus, the three of them then moved back to Albuquerque for Rich’s Job number two.

It didn’t last, either.

Rich wasn’t happy being a General Ophthalmologist; he wanted to be a Specific Ophthalmologist. So, he moved Missy and Gus back to Iowa for his Fellowship number two. Since they were back, Missy realized that she really should finish her dissertation…and she did. And in their very rare spare time, they managed to produce Sophie the Small (but Strong). It was a busy two years.

The four of them then moved back to Albuquerque, for the third time, for Richs’ Jobs number three and four. Missy’s family liked visiting New Mexico more than visiting Iowa, so they were appeased. However…

It also didn’t last.

Things did not work out exactly as planned, again, which opened the door for Job number five in

IOWA!

For the third time, the four of them will move to Iowa City, Iowa where Rich will begin Job number five this August. The joke has now been given new life and is retold ad nauseum. (As history seems to repeat, they are keeping their house in Albuquerque this time.)

Therefore here is yet another address for you to add to your ever-expanding list of addresses for Missy and Rich. As of August 1 (or so) they are:

Missy, Rich, Gus & Sophie Allen
(you’re going to have to ask me for this info…)

As if all of this weren’t odd enough, and as the Allen Family Bermuda Triangle is largely unexplained after all, they actually have the same exact phone number that they had the previous two times:
(and this, too)

Freaky.