Denise Roman and I met because my younger sister went to high school with her at Alameda High School. During that time, Denise would come hang out with my sister (along with a friend named Connie Roybal). So Denise and I got to know one another before we ever dated.
Denise was one of the best things to ever happen to me. Seriously. I’d been told all of my life to go to college. My mom had been denied the opportunity to attend college, so she made sure all of her kids at least had the opportunity. She planted that seed very early in us. I’d heard about “going to college” But when Denise said, “Babe, you’re smart, you should go to college”, it took on an entirely different meaning. I was in love with Denise, (who came from a well-educated family). So coming from her, my ears perked up. And they perked up big-time!
Denise had a brain and common sense. Not to mention that she was stunningly beautiful. Dating her opened up a whole new world for me.
She kept me on my toes the whole time we were together. We ended up going to UNC together. During the summer before we left to UNC, she had enrolled in two summer courses. We hung out together and she ended up procrastinating; not working on those courses until it was near the end of the summer. But she did a bionic cram-session and finished both of them in about a week. I was impressed.
After that, we both started at UNC. Fortunately our dorms were across from one another. So we saw each other often. She lived in Harrison Hall and I lived in a single dorm room in Turner Hall. Eventually she got in Turner (same floor) and we were able to spend a lot of time together.
Denise and I both graduated from UNC. She earned a Health Admin degree, and I earned a Sociology: Criminal Justice degree. Denise moved to Denver to pursue a Nursing degree while I stayed at UNC to earn a MA in Social Psychology.
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Denise and I were a couple from 1982-1988. In essence, we grew up together.
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Denise’s family had a huge impact in my life.
Denise’s dad, Gil Roman Sr., was a classy man. He was highly-educated. He held an Ed.D. in education. After that, he served as Undersecretary of Education under President Reagan. He was also the Vice President of UNM in Albuquerque. He was also my academic role-model.
Denise’s mom was Angela Roman (Gomez). From Newton, Kansas. She was married to Gil and they had three children. Gil Jr. Denise. Angelique. After I sustained a spinal-cord injury in a military parachuting accident, she helped me out as I underwent physical therapy. Thanks to Angie, I was able to get integrated back into society.
Gil Jr. was somewhat of a role-model as well. However, in a different kind of way than his dad. Gil Sr. Gil Jr would come home from CSU some weekends. This guy was smart! Today he is a Colorado state judge. Anyway, he and his buddies came home from college and played the board-game RISK with me and Denise. Let’s just say Denise and I got schooled. Gil Jr and friends were acting like generals and discussing the game as though they had just won a strategic military victory. And as they should have, they teased the heck out of us.
Denise and I didn’t enjoy being teased, so during my rehab, she and I played each other over and over until we were pretty adept at RISK strategy. The next time Gil Jr came back and played us again, with the requisite teasing and taunting, Denise and I beat them in 45 minutes! They couldn’t believe it. I fell more in love with Denise after seeing her brain at work. That game was instrumental in my decision to go back to college. Gil Jr. taught me a lot about becoming educated. Thanks judge Gil Jr.
Angelique (Denise’s younger sister) was just a young child when we met. One thing about her sticks out in my head: her smile. I think her parent’s divorce rocked her. But I remember her always smiling. One time we got in a Lego war in her basement. It was wild! We threw every Lego she had and they were everywhere. She was a tough kid. Fun. And boy was she smart. That kid had it going on like the rest of her family. One time she told Denise that we were dumb for going to college. Denise looked at her perplexed and asked why Angelique would say that. Angelique said because she wasn’t going to college; she was going to learn to play the guitar and get on MTV. Then she figured she’d be a millionaire. This was when she was like nine or ten. She did tell me at Denise’s graduation that I wasn’t really that Hispanic because she said, my mouth burned on ketchup! Fun one she was.
*****
pete padilla
petepadilla.com