BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times
TAMEKA & ANGELO HINES
Live: McCalla
Married: Feb. 14, 1993
Met: Fall 1991, at Jess Lanier High School in Bessemer in their 12th grade English class. Angelo remembers he first saw Tameka in their freshmen year, “and she blew my mind then,” but they wouldn’t make a formal acquaintance until three years later.
“Tameka was popular, and I wasn’t… I never talked to her, but I would always talk to my friends about her being ‘the one’. I think God didn’t allow us to talk to each other until the 12th grade when it was time for us to be together,” he said.
Although they had been in the same English class since the fall semester of their senior year, it wasn’t until the spring semester as they drew closer to prom and graduation that their crush intensified.
“I told my high school best friends that I liked Angelo and said ‘I’m gonna marry him and I’m going to the prom with him,” Tameka recalled. “And one day, I had to go to the library to pick up my senior book, and he was walking by and my friend said, ‘she likes you, and wanna go to the prom with you,’ and he stopped and grabbed my hand, and we’ve been together ever since.”
First date: Senior prom, at the Bessemer Civic Center. They wore black and gold.
“One of the things I remember about prom is that we kept our hands on each other the whole time and somebody yelled ‘y’all get a room’,” Tameka said, and they both laughed. “And that night, she found out I had two left feet,” said Angelo, “we only had one dance because we didn’t stay long…”
Angelo and Tameka said they were intentional about how they spent their time that evening because they had “other plans.”
The turn: For Tameka, the turn came the night they held their first conversation. “Angelo was big on poetry, and in my senior book, he wrote this long letter to me confessing that he loved me, my brown eyes, and he put his phone number in there. And our first conversation went on all night long. Once we connected, we were serious, he was and is a safe space for me,” said Tameka.
“She really pulled me out of my shyness … having her in my life at that point let me know that I was in the safest place I would ever be, and for me it was immediate. I knew I wanted to have her in my life for the rest of my life,” said Angelo.
The proposal: Christmas 1992, at Tameka’s parents’ home in Bessemer.
“I came over to bring her gift and ended up surprising her by proposing and she said ‘yes’ (at 18 years old),” Angelo said. “Her mom was actually blown away by us, she knew we had [a deep relationship] and that I really cared about her. I did talk to Tameka’s dad beforehand, and he was supportive. We had been together for a while, and my proposal was well received.”
“I didn’t know the proposal was coming so I was surprised and elated, but I knew that he would be my husband,” Tameka said. “Our relationship was so strong…he was always at our house eating all our food, his grandma would ask him ‘where are you eating at? who’s feeding you?’” she laughed. “So marriage was a natural next step, there was nowhere else for us to go but forward.”
The wedding: At Tameka’s home church, Sixth Ave Beulah Baptist Church in Bessemer, officiated by Reverend Samuel Marshall. Their colors were red and white. “We gave my mama three weeks to put a wedding together,” Tameka said. The newlyweds-to-be had found an apartment and were going to move in together before getting married, but Tameka’s parents said, ‘no ma’am’, and got them over the broom before she left the nest. My wedding dress was even borrowed,” said Tameka.
Most memorable for the bride was her first public kiss with Angelo.
“I was looking forward to the kiss and I wanted a deep dive kind of kiss that shook the world, but my husband said ‘no.’ To know him is to know he’s very conservative,” Tameka laughed. “The kiss was big for me because it was the first time that I would kiss him in front of my mama and daddy, it was symbolic of us becoming one, and I was just so excited about that part.”
Most memorable for the groom was, “seeing Tameka walk down the aisle. And I remember that that was the first time she ever saw me cry, and wouldn’t be the last because I’m always crying,” Angelo laughed “But waiting to receive her into my arms at the altar is a moment that I’ll never forget.”
Their honeymoon was quite the adventure. Angelo’s well-meaning grandmother paid for them to go on an 8th grade graduation trip with St. Frances Catholic School, on a cruise/trip to the Bahamas. “It cost $199, and that paid for us to ride the ship there, but we did not have a cabin. I don’t even know how that worked. I just remember being hungry and sleepy, but we have always been the kind to take lemons and make lemonade,” Tameka said.
“We didn’t have a room on the boat, but we found our way to a lounge, and we sat there and we talked and planned out how we saw our lives, and when we got tired she laid on me and I leaned on her, and we rode all the way to the Bahamas like that. And I think that became the posture of our marriage…that is the way we have faced everything that comes our way, we call it the Hines way,” Angelo said.
Once they got to the Bahamas, “it rained the whole time … But we did have a lot of fun, and I wouldn’t trade that trip or experience for anything else. We still laugh about memories from that trip to this day,” Tameka said.
“Glory to God, we have more than made up for that trip with many more [in general] over the years…,” said Angelo.
Words of wisdom: “The time that Tameka and I have shared together has inspired me to tell others to always be in prayer,” said Angelo, “always ask God what to do. Secondly, laughter. Always be in laughter because it helps you see your way through and see the lighter side of things without things feeling overwhelming and so serious. And thirdly, you have to communicate and forgive.”
“Our love has been a journey, and I love my husband more now than I have ever loved him. We got work, and church, and life, but we do it all [with understanding], and we do as much as we can together so we don’t have to fight to make time for one another. We’ve made sure to nurture what we have, and we’ve found our way,” Tameka said. “You have to forgive and not hold each other’s thoughts against them. Love is tough, and it’s work, but we hate to see people give up without fighting for it. We continue to hold hands and be lovey-dovey because marriage is a beautiful journey.”
Happily ever after: The Hines pastor Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Bessemer, and have three adult children: Angelo, 27, and twins, Kallen, and Kealen, 23.
Tameka, 51, is a Bessemer native and Jess Lanier High School grad. She attended Lawson State Community College, where she earned an LPN [Licensed Practical Nurse], and an associate’s degree in Registered Nursing, Jacksonville State University, where she obtained her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in nursing. Tameka also earned a certificate in nurse’s education and has worked as an infection preventionist for UAB in the School of Public Health and is returning to the classroom where she will teach Health Sciences to high school students in the fall.
Angelo, 50, is a Bessemer native and Jess Lanier High School grad. “A lot of people call us Mr. & Mrs. Jess Lanier… we are always involved in what’s going on at the school and in the city,” Angelo said. He attended Lawson State Community College where he earned an associate’s degree in computer science, and Troy University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and is currently pursuing his masters of divinity from Birmingham Theological Seminary. Angelo works as a systems support specialist at Viva Health in Birmingham, and pastors Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Bessemer.
“You Had Me at Hello’’ highlights married couples and the love that binds them. If you would like to be considered for a future “Hello’’ column, or know someone, please send nominations to Barnett Wright bwright@birminghamtimes.com. Include the couple’s name, contact number(s) and what makes their love story unique.
