How We Met Each Other

Free Web Site - Free Web Space and Site Hosting - Web Hosting - Internet Store and Ecommerce Solution Provider - High Speed Internet

H o w W e M e t

Kimber and I met each other through the Internet, sort of. A few years ago I put a profile upon the Christian Matchmakers site. I was looking for someone I could write and email. Shortly thereafter, I received a letter from Betsy Berg (see picture below).

She was a former West Point Cadet who had left the Army and was working with G.E. in Spain. It was evident from the letter that her writing skills were exceptional (Betsy has the ability to write so expressively that you feel what she is saying and get mental pictures while reading it), and I knew right away that here was someone with whom I could exchange letters.

Betsy and I wrote to each other almost every other day. The letters were very long (10 to 12 pages). Yet, we never really progressed beyond becoming really good friends. We were alike, but yet very different. Betsy was a blessing to me in ways that I cannot begin to recount and I like to think that I was a source of comfort, laughter and support for her as well. We exchanged email for over a year and got to know each other very good. I think we honestly enjoyed each other's writing content and style. We also offered each other a sympathetic ear, companionship and friendship, as well as an objective source for guidance and advice.

Eventually, the emails dwindled and became more of an occasional hello and what's new. Then, they suddenly picked up again. During July 1998, I experienced a bad breakup with a girl that I really liked. Betsy was there to provide me with counsel and comfort and support. She jokes about the fact that she's my biggest fan. Sure does seem that way to me. <lol> During the renewed correspondence, I found out that Betsy had met a guy by the name of Ralph Jackson and that they had really hit it off. Ralph is a Captain in the Air Force, lives in Navarre, Florida, and flies a C-130 gunship. Betsy and I continued to trade emails about our social lives and my lamenting about not meeting a girl with whom I could start a relationship.

Then on October 25, 1998, out of the blue clear sky, Betsy asked how I would feel about meeting someone by email. She went on to say that she had a really great friend in Washington, D.C., who she thought I really would like. Betsy knew Kimber from the singles group at their church in Erie, Pennsylvania, and gave me some information about her education, current employment, age and personality (which was great of course and we all know what that usually means, right guys? <lol>). If Kimber agreed, Betsy would give me her email address and I would have to write her (Its GUYS FIRST here though). The funniest thing was Betsy's description of her as "a Christian with a wild side." Although clueless then, I would soon learn exactly what this meant.

I agreed to write to Kimber yet I don't recall why. Generally, I hate blind dates (I had a blind date once.....ONCE) and the reference to being "setup" with someone has dubious connotations. Think about it. Typically, a setup is what you do to (1) criminals so you can arrest them, or (2) people you are playing a joke on or otherwise intend to embarrass. So, needless to say, the idea of being setup is not something I enjoy. On October 27, 1998, Betsy sent me 2 pictures of Kimber and her email address.

Had it not been for these pictures, I would probably never have agreed to the deal or actually followed through on it. Betsy indicated that she loved my Southern Boy accent. So she felt Kimber would like it too and suggested that if I liked her after writing her, I should call and use my "honeyed, 'made in the South' accent" to win her over. Like I said, Betsy is one of my biggest fans and is a hillariously funny individual. If I listen to her, my head will get larger and my hats won't fit.

On November 10, 1998, I received my first email from Kimber. I think I sent my email to her on the 5th. I found out that Kimber had an education degree, was a professional Nanny (a.k.a. young and pretty Ms. Doubtfire - LOL), and wanted to be a therapist (OH NO, PSYCHOBABLE and TALKING, just what a true dyed in the wool, red-blooded American Male needs). I did find out that Kimber LOVES Baseball. Her favorite team is the Cleveland Indians. The Atlanta Team is known as the Braves, so this was good news as I felt switching from one to the other would be like saying 6 of one or half a dozen of another. Both teams have Native American themes, so it should be easy to go from one to the other. I tell her constantly that I LOVE the Indians second only to the Braves......what I did not tell her was that I love them because I think that they are the only team the Braves can beat in the World Series.

She also is a KENTUCKY WILDCAT Basketball fan. Me, I love the DUKE BLUE DEVILS. BTW, the 1991 Duke-Kentucky game where Duke won it on a Christian Laettner shot was the GREATEST GAME I've ever seen. If you think otherwise, I'd love to hear from you about what you think was the greatest game. She also loves MOTORCYCLES and here is a photo of the one I had at the time. Its now gone and boy do I miss that bike!

Oh, when I asked Kimber about her wild side, she said that she fell somewhere between Pollyana and Madonna. Good Answer!

Now HERE is where things get weird. For reasons beyond my comprehension or ability to explain, I did not email Kimber again until May of 1999. That's right. Over 5 MONTHS after our first contact. All I do know is that it was not because I found her uninteresting. To the contrary, I found her fascinating. Perhaps there was some residual fear and anxiety remaining from my prior relationships and the distance also. Whatever it was, it took 5 months to resolve in my mind. Interestingly, it was at that time that an opportunity to move to D.C. arose. This prompted me to write her because it would no longer be long distance. The funny thing is that Kimber tells me know, the 5 months was the amount of time it took for her to resolve some things in her mind as well. So, it seems that an introduction was made, a positive impression created, and then God took 5 months to prepare each of us for the other and for a relationship. To be perfectly honest, I did not expect her to respond. And she almost did not because I sent the email from a yahoo address that had a psuedo name rather than my own. Consequently, since she did not recognize the sender, she almost deleted it without opening it.

However, God's will was at work and contrary to her normal practices, Kimber opened the email. Even more miraculous is that she responded despite not having heard from me in over 5 months. Well, as you probably have guessed, I didn't get the position and did not move to D.C. However, by the time I found this out, I had become interested in Kimber and was on my way to falling in love with her. Interesting to me is how God uses circumstances to help us overcome things. Here, He used a possible move to DC to overcome my objections to a long distance relationship. He also used a friend made on a Christian Internet site to introduce me to the woman He had for me! Finally, He kept us apart but interested until we were both ready (mentally, emotionally and spiritually) to become involved with one another.

Things at this time were going really good. After emailing each other for about 5 weeks, we started talking on the phone. Kimber found be to be quite a riot. I am always full of either funny jokes or funny stories. I've got a story for just about everything. So, the phone calls went great too. Now, due to time constraints, we pretty much talk on the phone and forego emailing each other. Just takes up too much time. Its still fun to do it though. I found out in late May that I would be going to DC for 3 days for a Trust Regulations Course. Kimber and I decided it was now time to meet. So, we made plans to have dinner the night of my arrival. I was to leave Atlanta around 3:20 and arrive in D.C. around 5:20. Kimber was to pick me up at the hotel at 6PM. Little did we know that our modest and simple plans were soon to be drastically altered. Upon arriving at the airport, I found out that the Radar at Hartsfield had gone down purportedly due to a power outage caused by a lightning strike. My plane was delayed by about 4 hours. We took off after 7pm and I arrived at the hotel around 9:30PM. So dinner at 6 was shot. Being good soldiers, though, we endured and overcame. Ultimately, we wound up going to some cheesy diner in the area at 10:30PM.

The next night was no better as I was to take the METRO to Bethesda and meet Kimber there for dinner that night at Tara Thai. Unfortunately, in following Kimber's directions I got lost somehow and walked around for an hour before I found the coffee shop where I was to meet her. When I got there and asked the employees if they had seen a little short blond-haired girl, they said that she had left about 5 minutes earlier, presumably either to go look for me or just call the whole thing quits. I did the only thing I knew to do and that was head back to the METRO station. Fortunately, I ran into her at the entrance to the station. She was near tears thinking that I had stood her up. I quickly pointed to a map given to me by a building security guard to try and help me find the coffee shop. She also noticed that I was red-faced, out of breath, and sweaty; the look of a man who had been wandering in the sprawling D.C. desert for an hour or more. So, as you can see, we have had some obstacles and difficulties to deal with, but they say (and I don't like the saying but I hear it frequently) that what does not kill us, will only make us stronger. Yeah, Right!

Main Page