After having my morning coffee, I turned on the computer to see if I had any e-mail from my daughter. "You've got mail" chirped at me. A click brought up on screen a message no one expects. It was a brief note from a guy that I had dated while in High School, forty-three years ago. We were going steady when he left to serve in the Navy. I sent him a "dear John" letter six weeks later. During the next year, we dated when he had leave. My dad took us from Vermont to Michigan to live. I did not bother to send this guy my new address, so he lost track of me. I went to College and married after I graduated.
He was six feet five, and weight one hundred and ninety pounds when I knew him. He had the walk of a gifted athlete, which he was. He had friends in every click in school. With an IQ of 142, he was quick, had a good sense of humor, and was a gentleman at all times. He did not drink, smoke, or speed. Some of his favorite sayings were: "The world is full of 90 yard men", "Say what you mean and mean what you say", "A promise made is a debt unpaid." I stood five feet one inch and weight one hundred and five pounds.
My girl friends said that if we ever had sex that I would be looking at the center of his chest. My mother said that his family had no money, so he probably would not make much either. My sister, who was in college, said that there were hundreds of guy to be had there. My dad said we looked funny together.
I E-mailed a nice reply to him asking what his life was like. Wow, he had been around. Professional pilot, division manager of a major corporation, own business, and now retired. He had two condos, one in the same town we had met in and another thirty minutes from my home in Florida. He ended his note to me telling me that he always wondered what it would have been like to be my life partner. I sent him my saga.
I went back to the everyday pattern of life for the next month. Then, one day without much thought I wrote to him and said that I would like to spend a day with him. I knew that he was alone for some time each month. He a brief note with date, time, and instructions to dress for boating.
I had no idea what to expect. The man was huge. Not fat, just big. Same soft voice, and gentle hands. We had breakfast at a family place on the waterfront. He had a word for everyone in the place. A small child ran over a plopped into his lap. Two black workman came in. He excused himself and briefly spoke to them. They burst out laughing to the joke he told them. A state trooper chatted with him.