Sweethearts and Serenades

Summary

For Love and Chocolate: Episode Summary – "Sweethearts and Serenades"

Hosts and Milestone Achieved In this delightful episode of the “For Love & Chocolate” podcast, hosts Tommy and Tara Gallop celebrate a significant milestone. As Mrs. Truffles (Tara) shares with Mr. Truffles (Tommy) at [00:33], “…we got into the top 20,” the hosts express their excitement about nearing podcast stardom. Their enthusiasm is palpable as they discuss increased visibility, including frequent appearances by the TMZ bus on Camden Drive, leading to interactions with curious fans eager for their famous chocolates.

Introduction of Special Guests: Herb and Minerva Snufflegard The episode takes a heartfelt turn with the introduction of Herb and Minerva Snufflegard, a couple married for over 80 years, invited to share their wisdom on enduring love. At [03:27], Mrs. Truffles warmly welcomes them, highlighting their extensive experience in marriage. Herb’s playful disbelief about their long marriage at [04:16], “Oh, my God,” sets a charming tone for their upcoming stories.

Listener Questions and Expert Insights Herb and Minerva engage with listener questions, providing both humor and practical advice. For instance, in response to Jill’s concern about her husband’s TikTok obsession at [05:21], Herb quips, “Tick Tocks? Amazing. It keeps you on time,” showcasing their lighthearted approach. Another listener, Andrea, worries about her boyfriend’s interest in her pumps. Herb reminisces about his own romantic beginnings while addressing Andrea’s question, blending personal anecdotes with advice.

Spotlight on Tony and Christine Alcantara’s Love Story The heart of the episode shines through the love story of Tony and Christine Alcantara. Introduced at [09:16], their journey unfolds through engaging storytelling. Tommy humorously remarks about knowing them for “40 years” at [11:27], setting the stage for their recounting of a serendipitous meeting.

Meeting and Early Relationship Herb narrates how they met at a University of Michigan party in 1984. Despite a rocky first dance for Christine, a chance encounter at the library leads to their second date during the World Series, as Herb recounts at [17:13]: “The crowd goes crazy. I look over at Christine and I kiss her.” This pivotal moment not only sealed their budding relationship but also intertwined it with a memorable championship win.

Proposal and Marriage Herb shares the romantic proposal at [25:01], singing a self-written song as he proposes in the basement piano room: “Will you marry me?” The heartfelt moment is captured beautifully, with Christine reflecting, “Of course I did” at [28:14]. Their wedding in downtown Detroit at St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Church is described as a “little intimate affair” with around two hundred guests [30:39].

Maintaining a Long-Lasting Marriage Tony and Christine offer invaluable advice on sustaining a 36-year marriage. They emphasize the importance of fun, laughter, and small, daily gestures of love. Christine advises, “Putting the relationship as a priority. Foster a connection with each other” at [32:49], while Herb adds, “Having fun together, making each other laugh” at [31:26]. They highlight balancing shared activities with personal interests, ensuring both partners grow individually and together.

Advice for Future Generations Addressing younger listeners, Tony and Christine stress the importance of commitment and patience in relationships. Herb suggests, “You have to give it a chance… maybe if you give it a little bit more time and let things develop a little bit longer, maybe you'll find something that could last” at [33:45]. Christine echoes this sentiment, encouraging listeners to embody the qualities they seek in a partner: “If you want a kind, caring, adventurous, fun, loving person, be that person” at [34:23].

Key Takeaways and Closing Thoughts The episode concludes with heartfelt reflections on love’s enduring power. Tony humorously notes the importance of small acts of love, such as massaging feet and bringing chocolate, as essential elements for a lasting relationship at [35:47]. The hosts wrap up by celebrating the beautiful love stories shared, leaving listeners inspired to nurture their own relationships with the same dedication and sweetness.

Notable Quotes:

• Mrs. Truffles on podcast success: “We're almost podcast stars.” [00:49]
• Herb on TikTok obsession humor: “Tick Tocks? Amazing. It keeps you on time.” [05:21]
• Tony on relationship growth: “Putting the relationship as a priority.” [32:49]
• Christine on being the person you seek: “Be that person, and then you attract that person to you.” [34:23]
• Herb on commitment: “Maybe if you give it a little bit more time… you’ll find something that could last.” [34:23]
• Tony on small gestures: “As long as you continuously massage your lady's feet and legs, you should be okay.” [35:47]

Conclusion "Sweethearts and Serenades" beautifully intertwines personal anecdotes, expert advice, and inspiring love stories, encapsulating the essence of the “For Love & Chocolate” podcast. Through the tales of Herb and Minerva, and the enduring marriage of Tony and Christine, listeners are reminded of the simple yet profound ingredients that make love and relationships flourish.

Transcript

[Mr. Truffles]

From deep in the heart of Beverly Hills, you found For Love and chocolate with Mr. And Mrs. Truffles.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, welcome back to the show, everybody.

[Mr. Truffles]

Welcome back, everybody. You have a big, perky smile, don't you, Mrs. Truffles?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, I have a good reason for it, Mr. Truffles.

[Mr. Truffles]

Why says tell me.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So last week we were talking about how we've come up on the charts, and we were consistently within the top 40, sometimes in the top 30.

[Mr. Truffles]

Crazy.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, hello. This last week. Yeah, we got into the top 20.

[Mr. Truffles]

We did.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And you know what that means.

[Mr. Truffles]

Tell me.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That means we're almost podcast stars.

[Mr. Truffles]

Really?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes.

[Mr. Truffles]

I. I gotta tell you, it is thrilling to be in the company of so many of these wonderful podcasters.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, I think the more thrilling thing is that I'm pretty sure that from now on, when the TMZ bus comes down our street, which they do all day, every day, along with all the other sightseeing buses, Camden Drive is a big route for the big tourist buses.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And I'm pretty sure that we are going to be the main feature now.

[Mr. Truffles]

Do you think so?

[Mrs. Truffles]

No.

[Mr. Truffles]

You don't think we're the celebrity sighting?

[Mrs. Truffles]

No, but we're on our way.

[Mr. Truffles]

It's so sweet when the TMZ comes by. That bus, that big red bus. Tish the dish is kind of our favorite tour guide.

[Mrs. Truffles]

She's a good egg.

[Mr. Truffles]

She is. And she always mentions us. She mentions torture chocolates, she mentions Mr. And Mrs. Truffles, she mentions our podcast. And if I'm out and about, I will absolutely engage. They want to know what celebrities have come through, but at the end of the day, they really want our chocolate. So it's not been unusual for me, if I've got a moment, to actually get on the bus with all of the TMZ patrons and give away some champagne truffles.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah. Sometimes you do a trivia thing.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. Yep. It comes with a price. They have to play my little silly games.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah, you always have fun games to play games also.

[Mr. Truffles]

And it's shameless. But I do force them to download our podcast if they want to explain.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Why we are so big in Peoria.

[Mr. Truffles]

They love us in Peoria. Yeah, but it's all. It's. It's fun. And they all. They have their lanyards, and if they come in after the tour and show me their lanyard, they. They get a champagne truffle. Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah. It's really nice.

[Mr. Truffles]

It's fun. I know that when I go on those, I mean, I don't do a lot of celebrity tours. And.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Have you ever been on a celebrity tour?

[Mr. Truffles]

I don't know, but I mean, if I. If I visit another city like Boston, I know that I did the.

[Mrs. Truffles]

The Boston Strangler tour.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. Wait, you know that exists, right?

[Mrs. Truffles]

I'm not surprised.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, yeah, it was like. The thing is, it's a midnight tour and you visit all these graveyards and. And these, I guess, the homes of victims and.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay, well, that sounds like fodder for.

[Mr. Truffles]

Another podcast, not very Loving Chocolate. There's so many murder and Boston Strangler podcasts out there. Maybe we should get on the bandwagon.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, Mr. Truffles, I think that is a lovely idea.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, we'll call it Love and Chocolate and Murder.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, that's how you get to number one, I think.

[Mr. Truffles]

Clearly. Welcome to Love, Chocolate and murder.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, Mr. Truffles, I'm very excited today, and I think you know why.

[Mr. Truffles]

I think I know why too.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes, we have our very wise sage and illustrious experts, Herb and Minerva Snufflegard coming to answer questions with us.

[Mr. Truffles]

Cannot wait.

[Mrs. Truffles]

I think it's time.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, it's time. Ask the expert.

[Mrs. Truffles]

All right. Well, welcome back to the show. Herb and Minerva.

[Mr. Truffles]

We're so very good to meet you.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So wonderful to see you. Thank you. So good to see you. And for people who, who don't know the Snuffle guards, they experts on marriage because they have been married for 80 years, they're very wise.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Is that right, Minerva? Has it really been that long?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Has it been 80? Indeed.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Oh, my God.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Wonderful. Well, we have some very good questions for you today that I think your long time experience in marriage will make you experts to answer the first question in our mailbag. And of course, these are written to us and I'm going to read it for you guys to answer. Dear Mr. And Mrs. Truffles, I've really been enjoying your show and I'm hoping you might have some advice for me. I have been happily married to Morris for 30 years, but lately he has been worrying me. He has become obsessed with TikTok. He is on TikTok morning, noon and night, watching all kinds of racy things that I'm not sure a 60 year old man should be looking at. What do you think I should do about the Tick Tock? Thanks, Jill. So what do you think about the Tick Tock? Tick Tocks? Amazing. It keeps you on time. You tick tock, tick tock goes that clock.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Oh, wow, that's.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's very insightful.

[Mr. Truffles]

It is insightful.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Thank you. Now I have another Question that I think you guys can really help us with. This one comes from a young woman named Andrea. Dearest Truffles, I am a 30 year old gal with a fairly new relationship. As we've only been dating for about four months. My boyfriend and I had a good laugh early on when we discovered that we actually wear the same shoe size. Problem is that now I've caught him trying on my pumps several times. Aside from stretching out the heels of my pumps, should I be worrying about his preoccupation with my pumps? Sincerely, Andrea. Well, Herb and Minerva, tell us, what do you think about those pumps? Well, actually, that's where we first met. He worked the pumps as a gas station in our youth. He worked at the pumps? He did. And he pumped gas. And he had on a beautiful, very handsome outfit. A pumping outfit.

[Herb Snufflegard]

I did indeed. It was the flyin a and I pumped the gas so well. Especially when you pulled up. I could pump the gas. And I might add, I could do a little small talk with you, but I always made sure your car was filled up because that pumping station was the pride of my 17 year old life.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Was that how you two first met at the pumps? It was. Wow, that's so sweet.

[Mr. Truffles]

You know what, Herb? I don't know if we know how you propose to Minerva.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So I picked her up, put her on the stool, I got down on my knee and it went something like this. Picture you upon my knee with tea for two and two for tea and me for you and you for me alone do nobody near us to see us or hear us no friends or relations on weekend vacations we won't have it known that we own a telephone. Oh, dear. O day will break and you'll awake and start to bake A chocolate cake for me to take for all the boys to see do, do, do, do we can share a chocolate or three A caramel for you and a truffle for me. Can you see how happy we will be?

[Mr. Truffles]

We will be.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, Herb, that was just lovely.

[Mr. Truffles]

I just feel like I'm right there with you at the soda fountain, watching you sing to her and propose. Wow. So beautiful.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Herb, it seems like just such a short time ago. And you know, Minerva, I love you as much today as I did at the soda fountain all those years ago.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, er, okay, Mr. Truffles. Well, why don't we talk about our next romantic couple that we have coming in today?

[Mr. Truffles]

Well, okay, Mrs. Truffles. We have Tony and Christine Alcantara. Now, Tony graduated from the University of Michigan in 1985. Go blue. Then he graduated from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1989. He was an assistant clinical professor of radiology at Wayne State University and Central Michigan University, a fellow of the American College of Radiology, chairman of radiology at Henry Ford St. John Hospital since 2006, and maybe most importantly, director of the Grunions since 2004, a men's acapella group in Detroit that is celebrating its 75th anniversary. Christine also went to the University of Michigan in 1986. Go blue. And worked as a cardiac ultrasound tech part time while raising three boys. Then in her 50s. In 2020, she returned to get a master's degree in social work from Wayne State University and now works as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma and addiction. Together, these two. I'm sorry, sweetie. I don't know if they're lovebirds or if they love birds, but they enjoy traveling, playing golf, and attending live music and sporting events. They've raised three boys with whom they enjoy playing music and share that with others with a yearly Christmas video posted on their ALCAT Cantra Family YouTube channel. And we'll be sitting down with these two bird lovers when we come back with more for love and chocolate. For over 40 years, Toysher has been a staple in the Beverly Hills community. Like so many other families in the community, our family has had a long standing love affair with Teuther chocolates. Over the years, we formed traditions and memories around these extraordinary Swiss chocolates and the enchanting wonderland of fantasy truffle boxes inside our store. Today, our family is proud to be carrying on the Teuther tradition in Beverly Hills.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Welcome back to the podcast.

[Mr. Truffles]

Welcome back, Mrs. Truffles. We've got a very special couple with us today.

[Mrs. Truffles]

I'm so excited.

[Mr. Truffles]

Here's the thing. You know how I say I've known these people for 30 years?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Sometimes you say that like a lot.

[Mr. Truffles]

I've known these two for 40 years.

[Christine Alcantara]

What?

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes, it's true. And you know what else? I think you know a lot about someone by the contents of their pockets.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay?

[Mr. Truffles]

And all I'm going to say is that my friend Tony, and he's here with his beautiful wife, Christine. Tony, at any given time, in his pockets will have marbles, a decoder ring, and a pitch pipe. Tell me I'm wrong, Tony. Tell me I'm wrong. Because he's got a beautiful singing voice and we used to sing in the Friars, which is a male octet out of the University of Michigan. And they came all the way from Detroit, Michigan, to Be with us today.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Aw. Well, welcome, you guys.

[Mr. Truffles]

Welcome, guys.

[Christine Alcantara]

So nice to be here.

[Herb Snufflegard]

We're happy to be here.

[Mrs. Truffles]

How long have you guys been married for?

[Christine Alcantara]

36 years.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Wow. Good for you. That's amazing.

[Mr. Truffles]

A siren or a bell ring, it's shocking to you. 36 years? How did that happen, Right?

[Christine Alcantara]

I have no idea.

[Mr. Truffles]

But together for 40.

[Herb Snufflegard]

It's been 40 years since we met.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Wow. Well, why don't we go ahead and get into it? Why don't you guys tell us how you first met?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Well, we met in 1984, in the fall. It was the beginning of school at the University of Michigan. I was a senior. Tom mentioned that we were in a group called the Friars together. We were in the Glee club together. And at the beginning of the year, I got invited to a party that Tommy's fraternity was throwing me, and another friar went, great party.

[Mr. Truffles]

Who was the other friar that came?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Daryl. Darrell. Daniel didn't care for him.

[Mr. Truffles]

I love Daryl. I'm kidding. Sorry.

[Christine Alcantara]

Nobody says that about Daryl.

[Herb Snufflegard]

They had a great dance floor. I ended up dancing with a beautiful girl. Just so happened that we were dancing next to Tommy, and Tommy was also d. With another beautiful girl. She started to look at me, and all of a sudden, Tommy was introducing us.

[Christine Alcantara]

That's true. Tony's parents and my father went to the same medical school in the Philippines.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay.

[Christine Alcantara]

We had a lot of mutual friends. Like, people at Michigan went, you know, Tony? I'm like, no, I don't. I don't know who. I don't know. And that summer, I had gone to a high school graduation party where the Friars were singing. And so then I knew what he looked like, even though I did not meet him. I just thought it was very odd that we didn't know each other. It just felt awkward. Uh, hu. I thought, oh, that's that guy. Maybe I should meet him. So that if we're ever. It just felt like the right thing to do. So Tommy introduced us at the party.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Tommy introduced you guys. So you were dancing with Tommy, and you were dancing with someone else.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Right.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And then you two started looking at each other.

[Herb Snufflegard]

It was like a nice introduction.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So then later in the party, I was standing on the steps looking at the dance floor. All of a sudden, Christine starts walking up to me, and she says, hey, you want to dance? I said, sure. And so we walk down to the dance floor. I turn around to look at my friend Daryl, and he's like, yeah. And so we danced and we danced for a couple songs, and after that, we Kind of split up and went on to the rest of the party.

[Christine Alcantara]

What happened was this guy, never saw him before, never saw him since. I'm going to be polite. Probably not. Someone from your fraternity had a feeling.

[Mr. Truffles]

Okay.

[Christine Alcantara]

And he asked me to dance. And I'm not going to say no. You know, I mean, it's just rude. I'm not going to say no. So we go to dance. But do you remember the stairs came down? Right. I walked behind. Underneath the stairs so no one would.

[Mr. Truffles]

See to hide him. You took him behind the stairs to dance?

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah, so that no one would see me dancing with this guy. So then I'm like, the song ends. I'm like, oh my gosh, how am I going to get out of this? And I see Tony standing on the stairs. And it was the first weekend of school, right? I said I thought I'll go talk to him and so I can get away from this other cat.

[Mr. Truffles]

Wow.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh my God.

[Christine Alcantara]

So I went up and asked Tony to dance.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's the impetus.

[Herb Snufflegard]

She told this other guy, I see an old friend of mine I haven't seen in a long time. I'm gonna go talk to him.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Right?

[Christine Alcantara]

That's what I did. I know. We just danced and then we danced.

[Herb Snufflegard]

But since she came to ask me to dance, I thought, hey, she's. I'm in a little interested in me.

[Mrs. Truffles]

All right?

[Mr. Truffles]

She's not trying to get away from the creepers. She actually likes me.

[Herb Snufflegard]

A couple days later, I called the tried out house where she was a tried out. So I, you know, didn't have a phone number or anything for her. So I just called the house. Because they have a house phone, right?

[Christine Alcantara]

That's what you did back then.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's it.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

Right.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Who answers the house phone but Christine? I said, can I speak to Christine Armada? This is she speaking.

[Christine Alcantara]

So once again, I'm. I'm being polite. Instead of the phone just ringing and ringing and ringing. I'm just gonna answer.

[Mr. Truffles]

Might be the man of your dreams. You just never know.

[Christine Alcantara]

I didn't really think of that.

[Herb Snufflegard]

But see, so we talked and we arranged to have a date later that week. We went out on our first date after that, which was a boring date.

[Christine Alcantara]

Very boring.

[Mr. Truffles]

It was a boring date.

[Christine Alcantara]

It was the worst date I had ever been on. Yeah. But we went to, if you remember, the Nectarine Ballroom. Do you remember the Nectarine Ballroom? The place to go. And it was long play night, so they played the 15 minute version of Every hell.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, that was.

[Christine Alcantara]

Well, and then like we were. It Was. We were too similar. We were too similar. I'm like, oh, yeah, I've been there. I've done that. Yeah, yeah.

[Herb Snufflegard]

We know this person. We know that person.

[Mr. Truffles]

Did you both feel like it was not a great date?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah, because we knew so many people in common that were like, oh, I refer to this person as my cousin. She referred to that person as sort of her cousin too, or friend.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, yeah.

[Herb Snufflegard]

You know, it was almost like she's like a cousin.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

You guys kind of come from the same tight knit community. Yeah, exactly.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

My mom is Caucasian, so we weren't as part of that as a Filipino community. Yeah. Yeah. So I was kind of outside of it.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Well, I felt like I kind of screwed up, so I had to do something to make up for that.

[Mr. Truffles]

Okay.

[Herb Snufflegard]

The World Series was coming up. Detroit Tigers were in the World Series. So my roommate and I, we said, okay, we're gonna find some dates and bring them to the World Series.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Fun.

[Christine Alcantara]

So we went out. Friday night was our bad first date.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Sunday we ran into each other at the library.

[Christine Alcantara]

And once again, I was polite because I'm like, oh, my gosh, there's Tony. I should probably go say hello to him. Even though, like, that was the worst date ever. So I. Hey, Tony, how you doing?

[Herb Snufflegard]

I said, hey, you want to go to the World Series?

[Christine Alcantara]

Absolutely.

[Mr. Truffles]

Did you know if she was a baseball fan?

[Herb Snufflegard]

I don't think she was a baseball fan. It didn't matter. It was one of.

[Mr. Truffles]

And so you immediately, yeah, of course.

[Christine Alcantara]

I want to go to the World Series.

[Mr. Truffles]

Look at you.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah. Cuz the second date was October 13th.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh.

[Herb Snufflegard]

And I remember that because October 14th was when the Tigers won the World Series. And Tommy and I sang the national anthem at that World Series.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, we did. Wasn't it?

[Christine Alcantara]

Or was it five?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Game five.

[Mr. Truffles]

Game five.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Our date was game four. And then game five. The glee club sang the national anthem. We got to stay for the game. And just a thrilling experience.

[Mr. Truffles]

Vin Scully called it one of the most beautiful renditions he'd ever heard.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yes.

[Mr. Truffles]

As our buses are almost turned over by the rioters after the victory. It was scintillating and horrifying. All of us.

[Christine Alcantara]

That's right.

[Herb Snufflegard]

It was the fourth game of the World Series. Tiger Stadium. We were sitting in the upper bleachers. My mom and my sister were in seats next to us.

[Christine Alcantara]

On our second date.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, wow.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So Allen Trammel hits this home run.

[Mr. Truffles]

Allen Trammell is a professional baseball player and played for the Detroit Tigers for 20 years. His talents helped Them win the World Series in 1984.

[Herb Snufflegard]

The crowd goes crazy. I look over at Christine and I kiss her.

[Christine Alcantara]

It's true.

[Mr. Truffles]

Whoa.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Second date right in front of your mom and sister.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yes, Tony.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, my God. It was like a celebratory, like, yay. It was not a.

[Mr. Truffles]

Was it a passionate sensation?

[Herb Snufflegard]

It was not a proper kiss.

[Mr. Truffles]

Right?

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah.

[Herb Snufflegard]

We ended up having a good time. I think my mom gave me some cash. She said, go take her out to dinner.

[Christine Alcantara]

Ooh, I didn't know that.

[Mr. Truffles]

The blessing.

[Christine Alcantara]

I didn't know that.

[Mr. Truffles]

Filipino blessings.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So we drove back to Ann Arbor. We ended up going on to dinner, and then we went to a movie. It was a long day. A long day.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, still the same day?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

Oh, well, we're driving back from Detroit to Ann Arbor, and his roommate's driving, and he said, what are you doing now, everyone? And I was like, well, I actually have to study. Chuck gave me the worst evil eye in the rearview mirror, and I was like, oh. Or not. And then we went to a movie. I don't know why we went to.

[Mr. Truffles]

A movie after the game and the dinner. You went to a movie? Okay.

[Herb Snufflegard]

I held her hand in the movie.

[Christine Alcantara]

Theater, and it was a good day.

[Mr. Truffles]

I'm sorry, but that sounds like it was moving kind of quickly. I mean, listen, the kiss is intimate, but holding hands. No, really. No, that is. That's a big move.

[Christine Alcantara]

Really, right?

[Mr. Truffles]

I think so. Don't you?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, you know what? It is, especially at that age when you're so young and innocent and, like, the first time someone takes your hand. So, like, wow. Okay, this is on. This is happening.

[Mr. Truffles]

Come with me.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

Ten years in, I still haven't held her hand.

[Christine Alcantara]

I'm waiting for the moment.

[Herb Snufflegard]

And then I think we had a proper kiss as I took her home to the Tridel house.

[Mr. Truffles]

Thank you, Alan Trammel.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Exactly.

[Mr. Truffles]

Good job, man. Without that home run.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah. So after that, actually, the Tridel house, there was a rule. The guys that were dating, the Try Delts, can thank me because there was sort of a second date rule for a while.

[Christine Alcantara]

Like my friends, Right. Oh, it wasn't a good first date. But, like, Christine and Tony, like, maybe I should go on a second date.

[Mr. Truffles]

Wow. You set the standard.

[Mrs. Truffles]

People got second chances. Right?

[Mr. Truffles]

I love it.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So we stayed together, Right. The whole year. At Valentine's Day, I brought the Friars to come serenade her at the Try Delft house.

[Christine Alcantara]

During dinner.

[Herb Snufflegard]

It was during dinner. So all the girls were there having dinner. I timed it so that right after dinner, Friars came To serenade the whole sorority, they put Christine in a chair.

[Mr. Truffles]

I remember this.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah. She was sitting facing the Friars, but her back was towards all the girls and I was hiding in the back. So I had the Friars sing three or four songs and then the plan was for me to come out at the last verse of the last song, which was.

[Mr. Truffles]

I just called.

[Herb Snufflegard]

I just called to say I love you. I was kind of peeking, you know. And in between songs, the girls were just going crazy. Applause and the screaming. Right. When the Friars parted and I came out, it was lost.

[Mr. Truffles]

Like a Beatle, like a Beatles, you.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Know, I'm looking at the girls a little bit. I'm looking at Christine and I'm singing. But you could, you could start to hear the girls crying.

[Mrs. Truffles]

What?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah, they were crying. And we finished the song. All of a sudden I felt like, oh my gosh, these girls think I'm about to propose. So we quickly left the area.

[Mr. Truffles]

But you got out of.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Do you know the other guys that we sang with, Bondo and Tim, they just remember that performance as one of the highlights of the year.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Amazing. So sweet.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So after that, the guy didn't appreciate me because.

[Mr. Truffles]

Right. How do I top that, Tony?

[Herb Snufflegard]

The other girls were saying, oh, you should have seen.

[Christine Alcantara]

What.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah, why don't you sing to me?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah, why don't you sing?

[Mr. Truffles]

That's so sweet.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's so sweet. So you didn't propose then?

[Herb Snufflegard]

I did not.

[Mrs. Truffles]

How long was it until you did propose?

[Herb Snufflegard]

So that was 85. I proposed in 1986 after I graduated from Michigan. In 85, I went to New York. We had one year where we were doing long distance because Christine was finishing up her senior year when I was in first year medical school.

[Christine Alcantara]

You graduated and then you guys went to Europe for six weeks?

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes, we did.

[Mrs. Truffles]

I've heard so many stories about that summer trip.

[Christine Alcantara]

Oh yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes. They were quite the dapper fellows.

[Mr. Truffles]

I mean, we were all clean cut. Young man with our blue Glee club jacket, singing in perfect four part harmony.

[Mrs. Truffles]

55 of us, I think, what's not to love?

[Herb Snufflegard]

55.

[Mr. Truffles]

And there was never an opportunity that we didn't take to sing.

[Herb Snufflegard]

When I was in Europe with the club, Christine met my parents.

[Christine Alcantara]

That's right. I was doing an internship in Washington D.C. and they had a place in Atlantic City. So they invited me to meet them in Atlantic City for July 4th week. So I said, okay, sure, why not? Took the Greyhound bus to Atlantic City. But it was great to get to know his family.

[Mr. Truffles]

Without him, Tony wasn't there.

[Christine Alcantara]

He wasn't there.

[Mr. Truffles]

He went down to see his family.

[Christine Alcantara]

Without him, his parents and his sister to do it. So his parents loved to gamble, you know, and so I learned to gamble that weekend. It was super fun. They gamble really well. And we were at one of the casinos walking out at 5 o'clock in the morning, they're vacuuming, the sun is coming up on the Atlantic. And his parents holding hands. Oh, and I thought this would be a nice family to be a part of.

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, that's so sweet.

[Christine Alcantara]

Right. Talking about holding hands.

[Mr. Truffles]

Right. Yes.

[Christine Alcantara]

The gambling sunsets, they were so adorable. And it was really good to get to know his sister a little bit. And it was really. I was so happy to have done that, actually.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Amazing, actually. Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

You're thinking, I want to be in this family of gambling addicts. One armed band.

[Christine Alcantara]

You know, his father did pull me aside at one point to say, you know, Christine, this isn't how you actually make money. You know, to live on. This is just fun.

[Mr. Truffles]

It's funny money.

[Christine Alcantara]

I said, yeah, I'm well aware of that. But he felt incumbent that he needed to, you know, define that.

[Mrs. Truffles]

He's like, he didn't want to turn you into a gambling addict while his son was in Europe. Right.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah. So that was. It was fun. Commend to people like, spend some time with the family you think you're going to be a part of, because you're going to be a part of them regardless of where you live. Right. It doesn't matter if you're. If they live far away from you, they're still going to be part of the family.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

You marry the whole family.

[Christine Alcantara]

Absolutely.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay. Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

And when did the proposal happen?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Oh, towards the end of medical school, maybe the end of my third year or so. I propose. I wrote a song and I sang it to her, played the piano. Well, it happened. Well, I ended up transferring schools back to Wayne State. I did my third year at Wayne State and in between third and fourth year was when the proposal happened. 1987, I guess. Fall of 1987. And yeah, I wrote a song, played it on the piano.

[Christine Alcantara]

Do you want to say where the proposal happened?

[Herb Snufflegard]

It was in my parents house in the basement where the piano was.

[Christine Alcantara]

Right.

[Mr. Truffles]

Did you see it coming?

[Christine Alcantara]

I did and didn't. I had just realized that day, earlier in the day, I was like, oh, I think it's the anniversary of the day we met or our first date or something like that. And I was like, uh, oh, should I have said that? Did I ruin something?

[Mr. Truffles]

And okay, so you're in the basement. You've got the ring. Yes.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yes.

[Mr. Truffles]

You've got a song to sing. And you playing her down in your beanbag chair. And you're like, just listen to this.

[Herb Snufflegard]

We were sitting on the piano bench together.

[Mr. Truffles]

Okay.

[Herb Snufflegard]

And then after.

[Christine Alcantara]

Because we had to be by the piano.

[Mr. Truffles]

Was the proposal within the song?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yes, it was.

[Mr. Truffles]

Wow. Do you remember the chorus that got you there at the end?

[Herb Snufflegard]

It was, you know, something, something, something.

[Mr. Truffles]

No, no. Wasn't something, something, something. You're gonna sing it to us now?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Uh. Oh, I don't remember all the words. Will you stay with me forever? Will you grow old? Can we grow old together?

[Mr. Truffles]

Oh, Tony, come on. You came all the way from Motown. Let's do this right.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Will you stand by me forever? Can we share all things together? Will you be my wife? Can I count on you whenever? Can we grow old together? Will you love me the rest of your life? We'll have the whole world at our feet. You'll see our dreams will become reality? It all begins to come true when we both, both say I do. But first, Christine Marie.

[Mr. Truffles]

Will you marry me? Tony, that's so good. Oh, that's so sweet. That's really.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So we have that in our beautiful.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's a first voice I've never heard of anyone ever proposed. There was an original song.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's amazing. You know, we've heard some beautiful stories, but I think you guys might win. That is amazing. Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

So you said yes? You said yes?

[Christine Alcantara]

Of course I did.

[Mrs. Truffles]

And now, had you guys looked at rings before or did.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah, we looked a little bit.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So you kind of knew that it was on the table?

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah, I told Tony just to pick the ring, but he was like, no, that's. That's too much. Too much money to, like, gamble. I remember.

[Mr. Truffles]

But he's from a family of gamblers, right?

[Christine Alcantara]

He's not the gambler.

[Mr. Truffles]

So you took a ring shopping before?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yes, we did get an idea of what. What your style was.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah. So then we. He's still in school. You get engaged, and an hour later or whenever they're like. And so when you get engaged, of course, just like. I don't know. I have no idea. But my. Apparently, it was only. My mother raised all of us kids. I have two brothers. You cannot get married till you're done with school. I don't know why this was so important to her, but that's what she said. So I'm thinking, well, he's got another year and a half, right? So we probably won't get Married for a year and a half. We tell our parents and. Well. So when do you think you're gonna get married? And I tell my parents, well, not till Tony's out of school. That's the rule. Like, you can't get married till you're done with school. And they said, no, that's ridiculous. Just get married.

[Mr. Truffles]

It's not a rule.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It's not a hard and fast rule.

[Mr. Truffles]

They wanted to get it moving. Right.

[Christine Alcantara]

Well, I think they knew that we were a good couple.

[Mr. Truffles]

Right.

[Mrs. Truffles]

It's like you were an undergrad. I mean, it's medical school.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah. May. I don't know. And so his parents kind of had the same rate. Just get married, like.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh.

[Christine Alcantara]

So we got married that June then.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So you were 26, I was 25. Christine was 23.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Okay.

[Christine Alcantara]

Whoa, baby.

[Mr. Truffles]

Baby.

[Christine Alcantara]

We were. Baby, we weren't about.

[Mrs. Truffles]

We were about that age when we got married. Right.

[Christine Alcantara]

For the first time. But I mean, we'd already been together, what, three and a half or four years?

[Mrs. Truffles]

We have had so many long time married couples in here that met in college. There's something to be said for meeting young and starting to build a life together when you're young. Yeah, that's how we used to do it in the old days.

[Mr. Truffles]

Right, the olden times.

[Mrs. Truffles]

The old days.

[Christine Alcantara]

Well, one thing is nice. It's easy, Right.

[Mrs. Truffles]

There's a lot of foundation there.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah, yeah. So.

[Mr. Truffles]

And when you know somebody when they were in their late teens, early 20s. Right. You're watching them grow. I mean, as you're growing, Right?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yes.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah.

[Mr. Truffles]

Because we know the frontal lobe isn't fully developed. So you do stupid things, right?

[Christine Alcantara]

Tony never did stupid things.

[Mr. Truffles]

He really didn't. He really didn't. We always looked at Tony was the pillar of virtue and good in the world.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So tell us about the wedding. Where did you guys get married?

[Herb Snufflegard]

We got married in downtown Detroit. St. Peter and St. Paul. There's a Catholic church there. Yeah, we got married at the same church. My parents got married.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Very sweet.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. How big was our wedding?

[Christine Alcantara]

Couple hundred people, maybe.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Little intimate affair.

[Christine Alcantara]

Well, I mean. Right. It was just. Right.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

You know exactly who needed to be there. Yeah. Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

How lovely. And what about the honeymoon? Did you guys take a honeymoon right after.

[Herb Snufflegard]

So we delayed our honeymoon for a couple of weeks until I had a break in between the third and the fourth year. And then we went to London. London and Paris.

[Mrs. Truffles]

How romantic. So sweet. Now you guys have been married for 30 years.

[Mr. Truffles]

34 years, 36 years.

[Christine Alcantara]

It's shocking.

[Mrs. Truffles]

So 36 years in. How. How do you guys keep your relationship, like, so hot and fun and on track? Like, what's your secret recipe?

[Christine Alcantara]

What's our secret recipe?

[Herb Snufflegard]

Having fun together, making each other laugh.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah. Is important. So important. Right.

[Herb Snufflegard]

And just doing things, small things, special things. Not necessarily on a special day because every day is, you know, maybe something a little bit different or a little special.

[Mrs. Truffles]

What are some of the special things you do for Christine?

[Christine Alcantara]

The dishes.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Oh, that is real work, Tony.

[Mr. Truffles]

Way to go.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Oh, I love to do the dishes.

[Mr. Truffles]

I know you do. What about flying his beautiful wife out to do our podcast?

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That is pretty romantic.

[Mr. Truffles]

Pretty good.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Giving her a foot rub or massaging her legs.

[Christine Alcantara]

Just wanting to do something nice for each other and being a couple together. And it's comforting knowing you have each other. We love to do a lot of the same things. We're very like minded in a lot of things. And I think that we also just want to have adventure and fun and are open to, like coming here or going to Atlantic City with his parents or just crazy things. We're always up for something fun and adventurous and we love to do it together. Just, I mean, I've really thought about this. I really think that staying married such a long time is a choice. Things, little things might happen where you're annoyed with each other and you can choose to focus on that or you can choose to remember, oh, he did do the dishes.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Right. Focusing on the good, always.

[Christine Alcantara]

So, I mean, and putting the relationship as a priority. Foster a connection with each other.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Taking time apart from the boys.

[Christine Alcantara]

Absolutely. Yeah. We've always gone away on weekends or longer by ourselves.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's nice.

[Christine Alcantara]

Now, having said that, I think we also do a lot of things on our own and then we bring that experience to share with each other too.

[Herb Snufflegard]

A lot of growth has happened in 36 years and sometimes the growth is together and sometimes the growth is apart because you're going to have different interests. Having the respect to say you have this interest, you should develop that. Allowing someone to develop an interest that is not one of yours. Still coming back and sharing it in some other way.

[Mr. Truffles]

Being supportive of each other.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Mr. Truffles]

Nice having each other's backs.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah, for sure.

[Mr. Truffles]

You guys have three beautiful, loving boys.

[Christine Alcantara]

We do.

[Mrs. Truffles]

When they're looking for a life partner to choose, what advice would you give them?

[Herb Snufflegard]

I think maybe young people these days, I don't think they give things enough of a chance relationships. I think they tend to discard them too quickly.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Right. Because they have this abundance of profiles and so they're too easy to onto the next.

[Herb Snufflegard]

Yeah. I guess if I had advice, it'd be like, what happened to us? You know, you have to give it a chance. Maybe things don't go the way you thought they would the first time, but maybe if you give it a little bit more time and let things develop a little bit longer, maybe you'll find something that could last.

[Christine Alcantara]

I think instead of what they should be looking for in somebody or what a relationship should be is be the person that you would want to find. Right. So if you want a kind, caring, adventurous, fun, loving person, be that person, and then you attract that person to you.

[Mr. Truffles]

Interesting.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's good advice.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. And if you happen to have the worst first date ever, embrace it. You never know what can. Come on.

[Christine Alcantara]

You never know.

[Mr. Truffles]

We're gonna bring Alan Trammell out of retirement. Home run for your tigers.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah. Yeah. Actually, we've been very blessed.

[Mr. Truffles]

It takes work, but I would say for you two, what? I know it's pretty carefree, and it just works. You guys are just. We talked about, you have each other's backs and you respect each other and you love each other and you like to be close, but also you give each other the freedom to fly and be free and come back with a new adventure to share.

[Christine Alcantara]

Yeah. Right.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah.

[Christine Alcantara]

Sometimes texting all day long and knowing everything you're doing, and then when you come together at the end of the day, you know everything. Right. There's no conversation.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. I've been taking skydiving lessons, but I've not told her because I want to share. I want to. Surprise.

[Mrs. Truffles]

I can't wait.

[Mr. Truffles]

I think the takeaway of all this for the guys out there is that as long as you continuously massage your lady's feet and legs, you should be okay, maybe for 36 years.

[Christine Alcantara]

Well, there's that.

[Mr. Truffles]

There is that.

[Mrs. Truffles]

There's that. All right.

[Christine Alcantara]

And once in a while, bring her chocolate.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yes. Bringing it home, Christine.

[Mrs. Truffles]

That's right.

[Mr. Truffles]

That's why we love you. Well, guys, thank you so much for joining us.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Yeah, thank you guys so much for sharing with us. That was fantastic. What a sweet story.

[Mr. Truffles]

Yeah. And I hope that you come back in 14 years to celebrate your 50th with us.

[Christine Alcantara]

Are we that old? I know we're not that old. We're young at heart still. You are young at heart. There you go.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, you both look like babies.

[Christine Alcantara]

You do.

[Mr. Truffles]

You do. And anyway, we'll be right back with more for love and chocolate. This podcast is being brought to you by Beverly Hills Toysher. Chocolates of Switzerland. Beverly Hills Toy Shire at 371 North Camden Drive in Beverly Hills, has been serving up truffles, pralines, dipped fruits, marzipans, and our world famous chocolate bars for over 40 years. So next time you're in Beverly Hills, why don't you come by and visit or shop online at Beverly Hills?

[Mrs. Truffles]

Well, what a sweet day it's been. Mr. Truffles really has songs and serenades and sweet couples just hitting it out of the ballpark.

[Mr. Truffles]

Look what you did. You're like a poet. That was perfect.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Ah, thank you, Mr. Truffles.

[Mr. Truffles]

Well, thank you, Mr. TruFFLES. Well, hey, everyone, thanks again for joining us. And guess what? We're gonna do it again next week. But until then, say goodbye, Mrs. Truffles.

[Mrs. Truffles]

Goodbye, Mrs. Truffles.

[Mr. Truffles]

This show is brought to you by Beverly Hills Toy Shore Chocolates of Switzerland, home of the world's first and finest champagne tropics. Join us next week for more adventures in everlasting love.