August 15, 2018
Larry Rogers admits it - he began delivering meals to score points with a woman he liked. “She was a volunteer and I wanted to date her. I thought if I joined her, I could impress her,” he recalls with a laugh. And his strategy worked– just not the way he planned.
That’s because the target of his affection “moved on to greener pastures,” Larry says. She left and he kept the meal delivery route. Not long after that, Rose Rowland, an old high school friend of his, started working for Travis County, the same place Larry works. “Larry said ‘hey, I do Meals on Wheels on Friday, do you want to join me.’ I started and I got into it,” says Rose. The two would deliver meals and then go eat lunch together. “Lunch became dinner, and dinner became weekend dating, and the rest is history,” is the way Rose describes their budding relationship. The couple eventually got married and still delivers meals together every Friday.
They drive to clients’ homes in their bright yellow convertible Ford Mustang. More often than not, the car’s top is down as they navigate their meal route. “The clients love it. They’ll ask us to turn up the radio and wave as we drive away,” says Rose.
She and Larry plan to keep volunteering for us as long as they can. “For me, it’s fulfilling to help people. I love greeting people, bringing a smile to them, giving them a hug if they’ll accept one,” says Rose. “I consider what a great thing Meals on Wheels is and I just want to do anything possible to support it. That, and I love spending time with her,” Larry says as he points to Rose. His strategy worked, indeed.