My very first love, hers also met in 1965. Our love was deep and real. It survived my time in the USAF. Her twin sister got married May 1969. We fought about marriage. She wanted to marry I did not. Not for fear of commitment but because I felt I could not support her the way she deserved. I dropped her at her home. She worked as a nanny and was a second year college student. She disappeared and I was told she married another. I was heart broken. I would think I saw her on the street. I searched and searched. One time I was driving a truck and thought I had found her walking down the street. It was not her and I cried like a baby knowing I would never see my soul mate again.
I married and married 3 times and drank and drugged. I never forgot her and periodically searched. In 2002 I suffered a near fatal heart attack. My wife left for a woman and left me with two teen aged girls to raise. I had sobered up in 73 so I had lead a healthy productive life. But after 3 failed marriges and nearly dying I lost my will to live. My children were now grown and after 33 years I began to drink. I would pray to die in my sleep. I suffered a stroke and was near death. I wanted one last chance to find the love of my life Phillis to close the circle and say goodbye. I posted notes on Craigslist. I didn’t even know her married name.
Out of the blue I received an e-mail from a free web site. This woman found my Phillis. It turned out we had lived for years in Florida 30 miles away. She had lost her first husband in 88 and remarried and had a very unhappy marriage. She was in the process of getting divorced. We met and found we loved each other even more than ever. It was if no time had passed. Our lives are filled with love and my health has improved greatly. It is so great everyday I wake up with surprise it is not a dream. I could not be more happy if I won 50 million in the lottery.
