Randomness Leads to a Lifetime of Memories – Part I

Preamble
This blog segment consists of two parts that describe a couple who first met at Ray’s Place in Kent. The Mmorgans have returned there almost every year since turning what they love into what they do. Part I describes how that first meeting happened. Part II in January will describe their 35th anniversary celebration at Ray’s Place.

A Random Meeting
Friday night on December 9, 1990 was a graduation celebration for Colleen. She and a few friends went to Ray’s Place to unwind and enjoy being college graduates. She commented, “I wasn’t looking for anything special.” A few minutes later, she noticed Eric at the bar. Colleen joked to her friends, “I think I just saw my husband.”

Eric “wasn’t looking for anything special” either when he visited Ray’s that evening. He just wanted to wind down from the week and watch football. Three hours later, he and Colleen were sitting next to each other at the bar. Colleen broke the ice by asking what time it was. Casually, without a word, Eric just showed her his watch. Really? Come on, Eric! He recalled, “I had no game.”

After meeting at Ray’s, they decided to stop at a diner to get more acquainted. The more they talked, the more comfortable they became. They both have a good sense of humor and love laughing at themselves and life in general. Eric considers himself a “chronically happy, positive” person. Perhaps that began to shine in the guy with “no game.”

The more time they spent together, the more authentic the relationship became. Their first date was a News Year’s Eve gala at the Akron Civic Center. The following May, Eric proposed, and they were married in 1991. They lived and worked in the Kent area for the next 33 years, raising their sons, Christian and Zack. Their first grandchild is expected in April. Also for 33 consecutive years, they have returned to Ray’s to sit at “their” barstools and celebrate their initial meeting; 2024 was the exception, as they were relocating to Myrtle Beach.

The Journey
Colleen and Eric are both KSU alums (Colleen earned her bachelor’s degree; Eric a master’s). Like many KSU students and alums over the years, Ray’s was their go-to place. Testimony to this is KSU Homecoming, where each year, hundreds of KSU students and alums celebrate together.

Affection for Ray’s was chronicled in the book, “Meet Me at Ray’s,” which includes 200 memories from customers and employees sharing their love for Ray’s Place. Charlie Thomas, Ray’s Place owner, (another KSU alum), was Grand Marshall of the KSU Homecoming parade in 2013.

Meeting someone special at Ray’s was the most common story shared in the book. Colleen and Eric’s story opened the book because I thought their story captured the meaning of Ray’s to so many, many customers.

Colleen and Eric set up an “Our Journey” photo mural in their home. The Ray’s exterior photo below from 1990 is at the center since Ray’s is the focal point of their lives together. Ray’s meetings last.

Another Random Meeting
Another December 9, 33 years after their initial meeting, Eric and Colleen randomly bumped into me, the author of “Meet Me at Ray’s.” A friend and I had stopped in after a KSU basketball game. This random meeting was featured in the “Road Less Traveled” series for “AroundKent” magazine that summarized their 33rd anniversary visit to Ray’s.

Colleen shared a thought in the article about the random meeting, commenting, “You captured the flavor and more importantly, the aspect of ‘coincidence’ and ‘fate’ that typifies our meeting 33 years ago.” That meeting was as random as their initial meeting. The 35th meeting is the subject of this and the January segment. Unlike the previous meetings, this one was planned.

Random Lifetime Memories
2025 was the 35th anniversary of their initial meeting, so Eric and Colleen returned to Ray’s for a special celebration. Many friends, classmates, colleagues and family joined them for an open house at Ray’s. And, as often happens at Ray’s, other customers and employees joined in, as well. Ray’s is a very friendly place. Abundant randomness.

Americans seemed obsessed with predicting outcomes. Predictions from gambling to weather to sports to elections to the stock market seem ingrained. Perhaps we take comfort in thinking we can predict the future?  Randomness flies in the face of that.

Randomness has a special meaning for the Morgans. They enjoy the spontaneity of it. It adds excitement, spice and energy to life. In randomness there is no plan… only  surprises and laughter. It creates what I call the Fluttery Feeling, when time seems to stop and boundaries disappear. You feel like you are just riding along with the natural, organic energy of life. No worries or problems of any kind. Colleen describes it this way:

“Each time I open those wooden doors and see those Christmas ornaments hanging from the ceiling, it seems like time stands still. Thank you, Ray’s. See you in December.”

Part II of Colleen and Eric’s journey into randomness details their 35th anniversary of meeting at Ray’s Place that launched their journey.  Stay tuned.

“Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale.” ~Hans Christian Andersen

Photos courtesy of Eric and Colleen Morgan