Dennis' and Andrea's Web Page
Dennis was born earlier this century on a farm outside Topeka, Kansas. His parents were wealthy aristocrats who had forsaken the life of benefit dinners and honorary degrees to enjoy the simple pleasures of life on the farm. They taught Dennis to hold a sickle, and he became the best sickle-wielder in that part of Kansas-- even winning the Clark County Sickle-Wielding Contest in 1961.
As he grew in age and wisdom, he monitored world events very attentively as he wielded his sickle. Although he loved his parents deeply and appreciated the wonderful opportunity they gave him on the farm, Dennis slowly came to realize that a whole world existed outside the humble confines of the farm. He began to yearn for the day when he would get his chance to make his mark on the world.
Finally, one day, he was introduced to a young woman named Mathilda. She suggested that they go see a movie that evening, but since she and Dennis could not agree, they decided to throw a dart at the movie listings and see whatever movie the dart hit. As fate would have it, the dart fell on The Graduate.
As Dennis watched Mathilda squirm and fidget in her seat and try to get her hand somewhere it didn't belong, he realized that she was not the woman for him. In the midst of this, however, he heard the line that would irreversibly change his life-- "Plastics."
"That's it!" he shrieked to himself. Leaving Mathilda to make love to the seat, Dennis ran from the theater and went straight to the Topeka Plastic Company. He smashed the window of the personnel office-- to this day a plaque commemorates the event-- and completed an employment application. The manager was so impressed with this display of initiative that Dennis was hired the very next day, and he quickly worked his way to executive vice president.
Meanwhile, in another part of the country, the woman who was destined to become Dennis' wife was born. Andrea, as they called her, soon displayed a talent for repairing television sets. All through her childhood, she impressed her relatives and friends with her amazing abilities. Still, she too felt that life had more to offer her. She spent much time researching ways that she could improve her lot.
Finally, by the time Andrea was fifteen, the technology in television sets began to change; tubes were being replaced by transistors; and Andrea had to accept the sad truth that her talent did not extend to such newfangled devices. After some hard times, one day she saw an elderly man standing by the side of the road selling artificial flowers and said to herself, "Hey, I can do that better than he can."
She scraped together what little savings she had left and offered him $5,000 for his business and built it into the largest such business in all of Trout Creek, New York. Even with all that success, however, she still felt an empty pang of loneliness in her heart and hoped that someday it would go away.
In 1992, Andrea went to the National Convention of Artificial Flower Dealers, which was being held in Topeka that year. While she was milling about the convention hall between activities, she decided to go to the nearest road, State Highway 213A, and sell some flowers to raise lunch money.
Dennis drove past and spotted this quiet, shy woman and decided to stop, although he did not realize why at the time. As he was purchasing some flowers, he engaged Andrea in some lively and spirited conversation. They both realized that they were meant for one another, so they both quit their jobs and moved to Sakonnet, Rhode Island, where they now live with their twelve children and a koala. To support their family, the eldest son works in a coal mine. It's rough for them at times, but they realize that nobody could have it better than they do.
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