July 1977: My dad was 20 and spent most of his time managing his afro and a McDonald’s in Cleveland. My mom was 18 and had recently given birth to my older brother. He had a mini afro.

The young couple was looking to get married. The owner of the McDonald’s where my dad worked agreed to have the wedding at his restaurant for free. See, McDonald’s was the s**t and a lot less common than today. (There were fewer than 5,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide, compared to over 36,000 now.)

Anyhow, the store remained open during the ceremony–McDonald’s doesn’t play when it comes to their money–but the ceremony was outside of peak hours, so my parents had most of the outside area to themselves, even as restaurant guests looked on like, “I can dig it!”

They were married at McDonald’s on the 23rd of that month. Four kids and nearly 40 years later, they’re still together. And of course, the McDonald’s on Lee Road is still there, too.

My parents today:

-Dewan Gibson