Valentines 2008

Mark and Imelda Burch (maiden name Gasmen)

My wife, Imelda Gasmen, and I were both graduate students at UH and both involved with GSO. We actually met in the GSO office in 1992. After a long courtship, we got married on August 18, 1994. We were married in the courthouse by Judge Marie Milks. To get to her chambers, we had to walk by a room where the SWAT Team was holding a suspect who was screaming his head off. We were too poor to have own our reception, but luckily the GSO reception was taking place in Campus Center Ballroom. We were able to take advantage of the munchies provided by GSO. There was a band playing on the stage called Defcon 5. The band was composed of some of my friends who were chemistry grad students. I told them we just got married so the singer dedicated a song to us. It was "Ball and Chain" by the Gin Blossoms. To show my appreciation of the irony of the situation, I ran up and dived off the stage. Unfortunately, there was nobody in the audience to break my fall. It hurt, but I was not seriously injured. Imelda and I are still happily married and have 2 children, and we both work at UH too! I work in the Environmental Health and Safety Office and Imelda is an instructor in Filipino language. As part of my current job duties, I try to prevent people from hurting themselves on the job and doing silly things like stage-diving.