Here is our story:

I originally met RAW on Ground Hogs day in 1988. At the begining of the year that things finally started to happen in my life. I had an active dating life, (pretty dry before then), I got a job at AT&T, my first new car and moved to the big city out of my parents house. I was 24 years old

I call RAW my sleazy bar pick up. He was in town to see a concert and we met in the bar at the concert venue where me and my friend Rosie always hung out. I was trying to shake him but he wouldn't shake. I was too nice when he wouldn't take no for an answer while begging for my phone number. I could have given him a wrong number but I didn't. I finally gave in because after all, he lived 140 miles away in Fort Wayne and I figured I couldn't get the local guys to call....

He began to call and drive 140 miles to see me. I was impressed. He was a little rough around the edges but basically a nice guy with good intentions.

About 3 months later I met another guy at that same bar who was head over of heels (a little too much, that was my first warning). I wanted to date both guys since RAW lived so far away and we only seen each other every 3 weeks--I know shame on me. Well, how it turns out is that I went to Fort Wayne to see him and for some reason after that he never got in contact with me so I let it drop. I thought that was easy. I end up dumped by the other guy two weeks later.

Now I have neither of them. I send them both a Christmas card that year (the 1st edition of my now famous cards ;-).

RAW calls me (after 8 months). I now live in Chicago (about 200 miles away now). He wants to come up to visit. I write him a letter to tell him why he never heard from me (the other guy) and that it is over with the other guy. I just wanted him to know. I never heard back from my letter. It didn't bother me because I didn't know how I felt about him anyway.

Fast forward to the next year, January 1990. I just come off another dry year dating-wise, and was ready to do something to avoid another dry dull year. I secretly wished someone I all ready knew (to avoid the awkward first date stuff) would just come to my door (I didn't know where to meet anyone and didn't hang out in bars anymore) to sweep me off my feet.

The first week of 1990, I get a phone call from RAW. He apparently mis-read my letter (he thought I was telling him about a guy I was dating at the time and didn’t want to see him). He was just going over some old papers and ran across my letter from the previous year and thought, "she's not mad, I still have a chance with her."

The next weekend, he comes to my door, I already knew him and he sweep me off my feet. Just what I ordered! We did the long distance thing for 3 years before we finally got married and are now living happily ever after; really, 7 years later and I can still say that!