The Old Guy.
Hmmmm...
How to sum him up in a few short sentences?
Never mind.
I can do it in one.
He is the gentlest, kindest, most loving, caring, honest and decent man
I have ever met in my life.
Really.
And now....
I'll tell you how we met.
See, I had come over to Australia to marry a man who had been one of my pen-pals for close to 20 years.
( I would go in to this further, but I dislike even thinking about the jerk now,
let alone talking about him.)
Anyhoo...the relationship with "pen-pal guy" didn't work out and here I was, living in Oz,
and lonely as hell.
Our little local paper has a column that used to be called
"Country Connections"
where men or women can place an ad...
You ring their message bank, leave a message and then they get back to you.
I found a guy who sounded ideal, who had listed stuff like
"Country boy at heart, Likes fishing and camping , and the quiet life"
Wooo Hoooo ! That sounds like my kind of guy!
This could be Mr Perfect!
But when I went to make the call, I couldn't get through.
So I waited a few weeks...
and checked the paper again...
But sadly, the ad from "Mr Perfect" was no longer there.
So I picked another ad that didn't sound quite as ideal as the first one, and I managed to leave a message this time.
"Hi, my name is Tater, I'm 45 yrs old, 5'9" and I love fishing and camping"
Which was totally enlightening and was almost guaranteed to elicit a return phone call from a love-starved male, you know?
Most men would drool over this kind of in-depth information.
The problem was, after three weeks, no one had gotten back to me.
Well darn it !
There went my one-and-only attempt to use a dating service to find true love...
I think I might just have to start ringing around and see if
the nunnery was accepting new applicants.
But then... I got a phone call!
The guy who was calling, apologized profusely to me and said that I had actually called and left a message on his friends message bank,
but the other guy had decided that I was too tall for him...
So he had passed my number along to the guy who was currently on the phone .
To tell you the truth,
I was less than impressed with the whole passing my phone number along thing
but I figured,
what the heck...
This guy has a nice, peaceful voice,
so I might as well talk to him for a while.
At least he was more fun to talk to than the cat.
And he was marginally more entertaining than spending the evening
picking my toenails yet again.
About 5 minutes into the conversation, this guy tells me that he had placed
an ad in "Country Connections"
several weeks previously,
but he hadn't met anyone he had "clicked" with.
So when I asked about his ad, it turned out that his ad was the very same one I had tried responding to in the first place!
The one I had circled with a red heart!
Is that destiny, or what?
We ended up meeting....
And the rest is history.
On June 1st, we'll have been together for 10 years
Almost 10 tears ago, I thought that he was
the most gentle, kind, loving, caring, honest and decent man I had ever met.
And I still think so today.
(insert cute little cupid-y, falling hearts here)
The End
33 comments:
O Tater! That is the sweetest story and something I, of course, never knew! He has such a kind face. :)
I'm SOOOO glad you met someone worthy of YOU! And glad it all worked out because you, know if you BOTH decided not to take your vows of celibacy, you could you know, get married or something, but, whatever. XxoOxoOX!
I'm glad that you finally decided to make your story public!
I hope that you and "The Old Guy" (who by-the-way, I think is adorable) feel the same way about each other 30 years from now...just make sure that you keep the Crisco in stock!
You know that I HAD to say it!
I absolutely love the fact that he will be seen in public carrying your beautiful "shoe" bag. Any man who can do that AND smile is definitely a Keeper:)
Love this story!!!! So glad that the two of you found another!! :)
It's Kismet. Do you live in Camelot? What a story with a very happy ending! Maybe I should move to Australia, nevermind my daughter wouldn't let me cause I wouldn't be here to feed her!
I love reading 'how we met' stories. Glad that moving to Aus didn't end up being a big mistake after all.
So happy you're happy!
What a great story, and he doesn't look like an old guy at all.
Hello TM
Love conquers all they say
He looks rather nice - does that beard tickle:))
Enjoy the time you have together
Take care
Cathy
Awwww, that's sweet. Is this a recent picture? Looks like he's in an airport terminal. Are you on your way to the States? And what is Robin talking about--vows of celibacy?? And lastly, I never pictured you at 5'9"! I've got to do a mental picture re-make! LOL
P.S. My word verification is "killus!" Sounds scary. So lets turn that into something more positive like "killing me softly with his love."
What a nice story, I wish I would of been able to meet the both of you when you were out. I've heard so much about you from Josh that you feel like an old friend. I know my Mom and Dad would of loved you too. Your Old Guy reminds me (looks) of a couple ole biker friends of mine. Even though they ride Harley's and wear leathers with a patch they still are some of the nicest guys I've ever met.
Robynn, The question is... am I worthy of HIM? I had to wait 45 years to find this guy, and wouldn't you know it... Menopause hit me like a ton o' bricks!
Marry him? In his dreams! ;-)
~~~
Libby, It's the Crisco that's kept the relationship what it is! How did you know that I liked baking pies??? ;-)
~~~
Gramma 2 Many, He carried that bag for me, through the complete trip - simply so I could keep my hands free and take photos of everything! It was then, that I decided to keep him! ;-)
(he wouldn't take photos of me in the dentists chair though)
~~~
Andrea, Me too! He's the best thing that ever happened to me. And... he does dishes! Poorly, I might add, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it! ;-)
~~~
SassyDog, So just come for a visit then ! You've always got a bed here. And the Old Guy can wait on us like we're princesses!
~~~
Narelle, between the Old Guy and the friends I've met since coming to Oz, I've been truly blessed!
*wink wink*
~~~
Kathy, He doesn't feel like one either! I mean.... ermmm, he does ACT like an old guy either!
~~~
Cathy, The beard is as soft as a Bunny fur and it doesn't tickle a bit! ;-)
~~~
Homestay Mama, That photo was taken when we went to California last year. I need to take some more recent ones though.
"vows of celibacy" ? I was going to join a nunnery, remember? ;-)
~~~
Sherri, Th Old Guy IS an old biker, but I made him give it up.
He still does some functions, but he's not riding anymore unless he gets a trike! The old Harley was sold a few years ago, but he doesn't miss it.
And honey... If your mom and dad were anything like you and Bec... I know that I would have loved them too!
What a sweet story!
He looks like such 'fun' hon. You hold him tight my friend.
My part time lover (are they lovers if you're not getting any? ... oh sorry - sidetracked!)tells the story of how we met - "We met in rehab." Don't you love it? There is a bit more to it than that and they don't have rehab for chocolate so I wasn't 'in' rehab. (And if they did have rehab for chocolate, I wouldn't go anyway.)
Oh/Uh (how do you spell that word that isn't really oh or uh) - my verification is poper. How cute. I love verification words.
What kind sweet eyes he has and such a genuine smile. I'm happy for you. I can ONLY imagine the tale you could tell about the cop... so, I am so glad you have found peace with a gentle soul. Love him carry that shoe bag and smiling. REAL men are secure in that way... but, I know YOU know that.
So glad for you.
I think you are a very lucky lady, Katie, to have found such a wonderful companion! He's a keeper, alright!
I thought I recognized an ole biker face :)
That is SUCH a sweet story! Thanks for sharing it :-)
How hillariuos! I'll have to post a pic of my hubby. He saw your and he said it figures he waits and holds her bag while she shops. You really brighten my day.
Tater I love the old guy too...only mine is not in Oz but here in Moaningtana. He sounds just like your old guy. We too are old people lovers as our kids say.
I love you love story!
There is a special someone out there for everyone. And sometimes you need to go to the ends of the earth to find them.
Sigh...... AH.
Jen
What a great love story!
That is a very nice story. Thanks for sharing it.
Eat your hearts out ladies I have met Katies'old guy several times over the years and he is every bit as nice as Katie says he is.
I've also known the pen friend for many years that Katie came out to meet the one good thing he did was to bring you over to meet me.
The rest as they say is history.
That is such a sweet story! I am so glad the two of you found each other.
Great story, Tater! I'm a believer that it's better to be alone than with a jerk. Sounds like you held out and lucked into a prize. Lucky girl!
awwwwwwwwwwwwww love it!! thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing your old fella with us. Lucky you and can't forget how lucky he is to have you.
Salmon patties post? I guess you had second thoughts about posting it. I thought my brain was playing tricks on me when I came by to check out the patties and read something completely different.
I am breaking the rules getting back on this computer today. Will turn it off again shortly I promise. I only came on to check today's temperature, but while I am on here I might check my email and blog, and others and daycarer and......
xTania
I AM lucky... luckier than I ever thought I could be! ;-)
When he leaves at night, he always says "I love you Katie" and then pauses...
so I say "Well, honey, I don't blame you at all!!!".
I know that we BOTH hit the jackpot, which unfortunately probably keeps us from winning the lottery... People just don't get lucky enough to win both in the same lifetime! ;-)
That is such a sweet story! I can't believe it worked out that you were calling his friend and ended up with him. It was destiny! I really love that he's holding your pink bag!
Nancy, I actually had a bet with a friend... That he wouldn't carry the bag for me. So I just asked him to hold the bag while I took a photo of it.... and I made myself an easy 10 bucks!! ;-)
Aw, what a heartwarming love story - sounds like it was meant to be. May you and the Old Guy enjoy many more happy years together.
p.s. I came over by way of Jen's post today. What a nice way to start the morning!
What a remarkable story. I found you thru Jen's post today. What a lovely blog you have and such a pleasure to visit.
What a touching story! I am glad you two have lasted. I was just wondering how you ended up in Australia. Now I know. I was going to ask otherwise.
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