In October 1996, Jeffrey Larson drove more than 400 miles from Minneapolis to catch a flight in Kansas City. His friend Rob had bought him a ticket to visit Phoenix.
“It was a standby flight, and he can check, you know, whether or not flights are available,” Jeffrey said. “He said Chicago looks full; go to Omaha or Kansas City.”
Jeffrey chose to drive straight through Omaha to KC. That choice changed the rest of his life.
“I noticed her right away because she was this beautiful, cute little redhead,” Jeffrey said.
A five-hour delay brought him face to face with Salesia. They were both flying Southwest back when they had open seating.
“My plan was to get next to her so that I could sit next to her on the plane, and that’s exactly what happened,” Jeffrey said.
“I was definitely right away after that three-hour trip like, ‘I want to see him again,’” Salesia said.
That three-hour flight turned into a first date in Phoenix. Salesia still has the note Jeffrey wrote her on a napkin, a poem complimenting her smile.
“After that day that we spent together, I actually called my mom and said, ‘I found the man I’m going to marry,’” Salesia said.
That first date turned into travelling home together. The two changed their flights so they could fly back. When another delay stuck Salesia at Kansas City International Airport, Jeffrey came to the rescue.
“I was driving home to Minneapolis, and I said, ‘Why don’t I just drive you home?’” Jeffrey said. “It was kind of on my way, a little bit out of the way, and she’s like, ‘OK!’”
That drive home turned into a 30-year relationship. A blizzard stranded Jeffrey in Omaha and left him with no other option than to stay with Salesia in her parents’ house.
“Six months after that flight, after visiting each other on the weekend to Minnesota, he packed up his life in Minnesota, left his family and moved here,” Salesia said.
A year later they were engaged and a year after that, the couple got married. Now, Jeff and Salesia have six kids, a painting company and a lifetime of memories.
“Just seeing how he has grown so much over the last 30 years and the father he’s become and the amazing husband,” Salesia said.
Their daughter Gracie said the relationship has never been turbulent. She said she grew up in a home full of love and patience.
“They were always making time for each other and showing us what it was like to really be in love,” Gracie said.
She said those qualities are now prevalent in her own life.
“I think that they just really influence what I want to look for in a person,” Gracie said. “Kindness and the effort that they put into one another.”
Now, the Larsons are celebrating their 30th anniversary on the same airline that brought them together. The couple hopped on another Southwest flight Thursday to remember how it all started.
“They should’ve kept that open seating so that people can meet randomly like that,” Salesia said.
By Izzy Fonfara Drewel
