Never too late for a date

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, July, 2006 | by Michael Vitez

Kaitlin Thuer, 19, arrived at her grandfather's apartment complex the other day, right on time: 2 p.m.

He walked out with his cane.

"Hi, Pop-Pop," she said.

"Hello, dear," Ed Diamond, 87, said.

Kaitlin gave her grandfather a kiss.

"We have to call Alice," he said.

"I know," Kaitlin said. "I have her number."

"We're going to be at least a half-hour late."

For 13 years, since their respective spouses died, Ed Diamond has been dating Alice Welsh, 80.

For years he drove on dates. When his eyes went bad, she drove. Then, when she started falling, moved into assisted living, and gave up driving last year, there was only one way to keep the romance alive:

Ed's grandchildren offered to drive.

Kaitlin,...