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Revised By Paul Yakes from the article written by Paul Yakes and Deborah Turner and published in the McKenzie Banner on February 12, 2003

 Ours was a chance meeting if there ever was one – the kind someone reads about in love stories or sees in romantic movies. 

It was a meeting that probably shouldn’t have happened, but it did.  It was something far better than chance – we really believe it was our destiny; our fate or luck or whatever that we met.  Whatever you choose to call it, one thing is for sure – our chance meeting was perhaps the best day of our lives.  We thought it then almost twenty one years ago and we still think so.

Our story began on a three day cruise

…from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Bahama Island on April 21^st, 1999, but it really started months before as our lives began to take shape to make our chance meeting even possible.  Some would call it a cosmic force in action or divine intervention – maybe so.  Maybe it was just perfect timing or just luck.  One thing is for sure – we were brought together that day and then time after time on that short cruise and eventually after that for life.  Whatever the mystery, I thank God, my lucky stars or just dumb luck that I for once, was in the right place at the right time.  I felt then and still do feel like the luckiest man on Earth.

I promised my lovely bride I would capture our story on paper one day to share.  It is a story about second chances and starting over.  It is not some made up fairy tale as you might think as you read through our story.  Every word is the truth.  I hope it can somehow inspire you and I hope you enjoy it.  I originally wrote this article with the help of Deborah Turner at the McKenzie Banner in McKenzie, Tennessee, Dixie’s home town.  It was published in the local newspaper on February 12, 2003.

 

I was beside myself with frustration.  I had long since put aside my own loneliness; my professional duties left little time for a personal life. What spare time I had, I devoted to the privilege and responsibility of raising my fifteen year old daughter, Jennifer.  She and I lived alone in a big house in Nebraska.  My other two daughters, Tabatha and Elisabeth had already married and were starting families of their own. So it was Jennifer and me.  We made it work even though I traveled for work a lot.  We were always able to find friends that Jennifer could stay with and for that I am very thankful.

I had devoted my life to my military career.  I was a rated flight officer, a master navigator, in the United States Air force, then stationed at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha.  I’d had the privilege of traveling the world and ended up traveling to over forty five different countries during my flying career.  So you can imagine the logistics of making a career like that work and raising a teenage daughter as a single parent was very challenging.  I’d be lying if I said we always got along.  We didn’t. It was a real challenge.  I was gone a lot and she was, after all, a teenager.  I think they are required, just because they are teenagers, to dispute every word that comes out of a parent’s mouth.  But we got through it and now Jennifer and I, as well as my other two daughters, Tabatha and Elisabeth, have a wonderful adult relationship.  And for that I am eternally grateful.

So when I did have some time, I thought why not use it to do some bonding with Jennifer.  I thought some quality time alone with her would be good for both of us.  I knew I would have to act soon or lose the opportunity forever.  Her interests were changing daily and I saw her going from my little girl to, well something else; something far removed from the innocence we fathers see in our little girls.

The surprise of a Caribbean cruise – three days and two nights cruising out to Grand Bahama was just enough to get her attention.

We set the date and then duty called yet again.  So we had to re-schedule our plans not just once, but two times.  After that Jennifer’s interest waned and she viewed it as just another disappointment.

When the cruise date was finally set, fully two months later than originally planned, Jennifer became excited once again especially knowing she’d have to miss a week of school for the trip in April.  As an added bonus, to make up for the delays, I added a detour to SeaWorld in Orlando after the cruise.  More on that later…..

The day finally arrived and we left Omaha and flew directly to Ft. Lauderdale and did some exploring.  We had a couple of nights before the cruise so we had some fun.  We even went on an airboat ride in the Everglades.

Then we went to the port and embarked on our short cruise.  My first impression of the cruise ship was that it was pretty small.  It was in fact a very old ship that had been refurbished and made into a cruise liner for the sole purpose of doing short cruises like this one.  To me, the small size meant increased opportunities to “accidentally” run into the same people time and again.  I was certainly not looking, but the thought did occur to me that I just may meet someone special.  Little did I know just how special this cruise was going to be?

We checked in.  The purser escorted us to our cabin and when he opened the door, we all three immediately realized that a mistake had been made.

There was only one queen sized bed in the cabin.  So back to the check-in desk to get a different cabin with two beds.  I waited the next few hours while the necessary adjustment was made.  Jennifer busied herself exploring the ship, her energy directed toward the chance of meeting some cute boys, I suspected.

The change meant more than just a new room for us.  It altered our dinner arrangements as well.  Back then, some cruise lines had two primary dinner seatings; an early dinner and a late dinner seating.  Our original plan was to do the early seating, but since we had to change rooms, it required us to change that plan to the late dinner seating.  But when we did finally get to our new cabin, we still had time to get ready for the late dinner.  We had already missed the early one anyway.

We got ready and made our way to the dinner line just outside the dining room, where those already in line waited for the early diners to finish their meals.  I think we were either the last two people in that long line or very close to it.

It was in that long line that I first laid eyes on my future bride.

There she was – right in front of me, my future bride, with her sister and their mother. Little did I know that the love of my life was less than three feet away?  I can still remember the way she had her hair pinned up, the dress she wore; a simple black dress with white flowers, but rather short and I liked that.  Her hazel eyes smiled as she said hello in the most beautiful southern accent I had ever heard.  My hear started to melt from that moment, and does so to this very day every time she speaks.  That was without doubt, one of the most important five seconds of time in my life, for in it I knew she was the one.

Picking up on the conversation between these three new ladies, I casually offered a comment of my own, much to the delight of the women.  The laughter broke the ice and soon the line stated to move. It was time for dinner, but I thought right then that I’d rather skip dinner and just talk to this fascinating woman I’d just met.

While the ladies were escorted to their assigned table, Jennifer and I faced some confusion due to our cabin reassignment, but we did get a full tour of the dining room only to end up at the same table with – you guessed it, these three beautiful, southern ladies.  I must admit I was a bit baffled. It seemed that the string of coincidences just kept building and I liked where it was maybe headed.

Laughing off our astonishment at Jennifer and me ending up at the same table, we got seated and the five of us introduced ourselves.  That’s when I first learned her name, the name of my angel, Dixie and her sister was Rita and their mama was Jerrie.  Dinner was wonderful, I think, for I had a really hard time keeping my eyes off her.  At first she didn’t say much, but as diner progressed we were talking about our jobs and homes and all those things people tend to talk about when they are thrown in a situation like we were in.

While I basked in the glow of my new found heaven, Jennifer couldn’t wait for diner to end so she could check out the rest of the ship, “for boys”, of course.  I reluctantly excused myself to accompany my daughter to the disco in the belly of the ship, but it wasn’t long before I realized that Jennifer didn’t really want me around anyway, especially when she spotted two of “them”.  All I could do was roll my eyes thinking they were “creatures” even stranger than teenage girls.  So I did my fatherly duty and recited the rules again and then thought that she’d be alright.  Besides, where could she go anyway? We were at sea.  So I loosened the leash a little and allowed her to have free run of the ship, knowing that she would be alright. But she did have a curfew and I expected her to check in on time.

So now I was alone on this cruise ship streaming its way toward Grand Bahama.

I barely had time to feel sorry for myself when I looked up to see my other three dinner companions heading toward the disco.  I now had a new found interest in the disco.  I explained that I had lost my daughter to the lures of companions her own age, hoping I’d be invited to join them at the disco.  My devious plan worked –they asked me to join them.  For the next several hours we talked and danced and just enjoyed the tie together. I did not wan that evening to end.

The ship cruised though the night as happy memories of the evening finally gave way to dreams.  By morning’s light, the ship had docked at Grand Bahama Island.  Oh and Jennifer was even early meeting her curfew.  I think we both had a very enjoyable first day of our cruise.

We were only on the island for one day and Jennifer really wanted to go snorkeling so that was our first order of business for the day.  We got on the snorkeling boat and I immediately scanned the crowd and there she was again – too far away for conversation on the boat but once we got in the water I made every effort to could to get close to her.

I spent the rest of the day with Jennifer exploring Grand Bahama’s many attractions and then we caught our ride back to the ship to get ready for the evening’s special onboard treat – the Captain’s dinner, a special event where the waiters dance and entertain the guests and everyone “metaphorically” lets their hair down.

I think we were getting comfortable with each other.  Our conversation was light and friendly.  After dinner Jennifer took advantage of her last night of freedom on the ship and started her quest again.  SO I joined this wonderful group of southern ladies again.

We enjoyed a couple of Las Vegas style shows and ended up in the karaoke room where we challenged each other to sing.

No one took the challenge but everyone had to think, “Why not, I’ll never see her or him again, right?”

How I wish to this day that they’d sung the song they debated for a moment or two – “Mama, He’s Crazy’ by the Judds.

As the evening wore on, we all returned to the disco, but soon I realized that there we were, just the two of us, alone in a room full of people and noise.  None of that mattered for Dixie was all I could see or hear.  I didn’t care that anyone else was around and neither did Dixie.  I intended to make the most of every moment I had with this darling woman; I did think I’d never see her again after that night.  We stayed until the disco closed and ended up playing ping pong – her first time, and then lounging on one of the upper decks into the wee hours of the night. It was perfect; there we were lying next to one another on deck chairs, all alone, cruising the beautiful Caribbean beneath the stars.  I thought how wonderful life would have been if only we had met years sooner.

My daydreams were interrupted when Dixie’s mother appeared – from nowhere at 2 am.  I think she was checking on her little girl, but did so under the guise of making sure we had our customs forms filled out before we docked back at Ft. Lauderdale in just a few hours.

I was very familiar with these forms.  I’d filled out probably several dozen of them during my travels in the Air Force.  After Dixie’s mother went back to her cabin, we sat there and eventually decided to get our customs forms properly filled out.  It was just another reminder to me that this cruise to paradise was nearly over.  She asked me a lot of questions about the form and I did my best to help her, but my real, hidden motive became quickly aware to me.  A little devious, I know, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could help myself by helping her with her customs form.  So I was eager to answer her questions and help her with the form and by doing this I was able to learn her address – or so I thought.

We finally said goodnight around 4 am and went to our separate cabins.  Jennifer was sound asleep, but my sleep was restless as the ship relentlessly chugged its way toward Ft. Lauderdale.  Our final goodbye was just a few hours away.

When we reached the port and docked and people were starting to disembark, my heart grew heavy because I knew this trip would soon be over and I’d never see her again.   Dixie and I only had a few moments before Jennifer, Rita and Jerrie joined us, but while I had those few moments I was able to tell her how happy I was to have met her and how much fun I’d had, that I wanted so much to tell her I wanted to see her again, but never did.  What I really wanted to do a take her in my arms and hold her and kiss her and never let her go. Instead, since we had an audience, we said goodbye and went our separate ways.

The drive to Orlando to go to SeaWorld was long and very quiet.

I hardly spoke to my daughter because I was lost in thought, wondering why I had not told that wonderful woman how I felt.  I couldn’t help but think I had lost my final chance at real happiness.

Back in Omaha, I just could not stop thinking about her and so I finally decided I was going to find her, or at least do my very best to.

I knew her name and I knew her address or so I thought.  I tried the internet and I tried the phone book, but I kept reaching dead ends.  Finally I decided to write her a simple note telling her how much I enjoyed my time with her and how I wished we would have had more.  I also included my telephone number, just in case she wanted to call.  I then pressed my memory hard to remember her address from the customs forms we filled on the deck that night.

I looked at a map of Tennessee and found two towns with similar names and decided that she was from McKinnon.  I addressed my simple letter and sent it to a street address in McKinnon, Tennessee – without a zip code.

I meant to add the zip code but I forgot and dropped it in the mailbox.  I doubted it would ever find her anyway.

Three days later I was preparing for another flight out of the country.  In fact, I had my bags packed and was already halfway out the front door when the phone rang. It was one of those moments when you fight with yourself with the decision to answer the phone or just leave and let it ring.  I decided to answer it.  I dropped my bags and answered the phone.  When I picked up I was at first puzzled by the laughter on the other end, thinking someone had a wrong number, and then I was astounded when I heard Dixie say my name.  I said hello, what a surprise or something like that.  She continued to laugh some more and finally settled down. She laughed so hard I could see her beautiful face with tears running down her cheeks.

Then she told me she had just received my letter.  My first thought was one of astonishment; first at how I had conceivably gotten her address correct and then at how fast the post office had delivered the letter.  But then her laughter continued and I finally had to interrupt her.  I didn’t think I had written anything funny.  She went on to tell me that I did have her name right but that was the only thing right on the envelope.  Now I was really puzzled.  I had, in fact, gotten her street address wrong and of course there was no zip code as I’ve already mentioned.  The real mystery was that I had mistakenly picked the wrong town in Tennessee.  Dixie was not from McKinnon, but from McKenzie, a few hundred miles away.  Absolutely unbelievable and incredible!

We laughed about it for a while and then both admitted we had made a huge mistake not exchanging our numbers back on the cruise.  Bu now, what a story we had.  It is still a mystery and we are both forever grateful for our U.S Postal Service for somehow delivering that simple letter so quickly to the right address in the right small town in Tennessee.

That miracle enabled us to nurture and develop our relationship by phone for several months until I was finally able to visit Dixie in McKenzie, Tennessee after I retired from the U.S Air Force in December 1999, more than eight months after we first met.

We were reunited on the day after Christmas 1999…

when I made my way from Nebraska to Tennessee, by way of visiting my other daughters Tabatha, in northern Illinois and Elisabeth, in northeast Missouri. I dropped Jennifer off at Elisabeth’s and continued my trek south to Tennessee – the second best trip I’ve made in my life out of all the travels I’ve been able to have.

Upon seeing her, I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to actually be with her again.  We hugged and it felt so right, so natural, and so perfect.  Our relationship immediately took off and over the course of the next few months we realized we were DESTINED to be together. 

I proposed to her exactly one year after the first time I saw her standing in  that late dinner line on our little three day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale.  We married in Huntingdon, Tennessee on October 7, 2000.  Her sister, Rita and my daughter, Jennifer, were in our wedding party.  It only seemed right that they be a part of it, since they had been a part of it from the beginning. 

We will celebrate our twentieth anniversary this year.  She is my best friend and I have been in love with her since that day we first met.

So….if there is a moral to this very long love story, it is this:  There really is such a thing as love at first sight – we are proof of that often argued fact. 

We believe it was our fate, our destiny and that our stars were perfectly aligned, that we were just very lucky, or perhaps it was some form of divine intervention.  Whatever it was, we are eternally grateful that we were somehow put together at the right place, at the right time.

Finally, and with all intent to inspire, when you see someone that truly catches your eye and your heart, go for it!  You may never have another chance.  I nearly missed mine.