How did you meet your better half?

[newbury]

In 1982 I was a Wetlands Scientist for the Army Corps of Engineers, based in Alexandria, VA but working Fulton, Ms. on a litigation project where the Corps was having problems with Weyerhaeuser on the Tenn-Tom project.
She was a lawyer for the Corps based in Columbus, MS. Cute (5' 1" and eyes of blue) and smart as a whip. We were holding a field meeting in Tupelo with a mix of about 30 people, scientists, canal construction people, and a sprinkling of lawyers. It was about July, IIRC.
What clinched my interest in her was she was willing to go to the field sites where we were looking at flooding and places where the thalweg had changed.
She came along. In the swamps, in the Mississippi heat of the afternoon, mosquitos, snakes, snapping turtles, the occasional gator and brambles where a rabbit wouldn't go. And the water at times was up to waist deep on ME (I'm 6'2").
Now we had not expected many of the people to NOT go on the wetter trips, but she came along. Perhaps half the group declined.
When we were leaving the last site we were at least a few hundred yards from the road and in the swamp (about waist deep remember) most people were slogging back carefully, picking the high spots.
I just started going the straightest way I could. Got about 20 yards away from the group, and DARN something had a hold of my belt!
Now I had not been looking for attack from the rear, rather looking ahead to avoid cottonmouths and holes.
She had been following me and grabbed on because the water was getting too deep.
Hasn't let go since.
Married on 2/29/1984, next February will be our tenth anniversary.

 

[NoTrespassing]

In 1982 I was a Wetlands Scientist for the Army Corps of Engineers, based in Alexandria, VA but working Fulton, Ms. on a litigation project where the Corps was having problems with Weyerhaeuser on the Tenn-Tom project.
She was a lawyer for the Corps based in Columbus, MS. Cute (5' 1" and eyes of blue) and smart as a whip. We were holding a field meeting in Tupelo with a mix of about 30 people, scientists, canal construction people, and a sprinkling of lawyers. It was about July, IIRC.
What clinched my interest in her was she was willing to go to the field sites where we were looking at flooding and places where the thalweg had changed.
She came along. In the swamps, in the Mississippi heat of the afternoon, mosquitos, snakes, snapping turtles, the occasional gator and brambles where a rabbit wouldn't go. And the water at times was up to waist deep on ME (I'm 6'2").
Now we had not expected many of the people to NOT go on the wetter trips, but she came along. Perhaps half the group declined.
When we were leaving the last site we were at least a few hundred yards from the road and in the swamp (about waist deep remember) most people were slogging back carefully, picking the high spots.
I just started going the straightest way I could. Got about 20 yards away from the group, and DARN something had a hold of my belt!
Now I had not been looking for attack from the rear, rather looking ahead to avoid cottonmouths and holes.
She had been following me and grabbed on because the water was getting too deep.
Hasn't let go since.
Married on 2/29/1984, next February will be our tenth anniversary.

Very nice story, and bonus, you only have to buy her a gift every 4 years.

 

[newbury]

Very nice story, and bonus, you only have to buy here a gift every 4 years.

And have not missed one yet. I dread the consequences.

 

[yooperdave]

As a 30 year old man in the current commodification heckscape that is modern dating apps, I always found these stories interesting. For example:

My paternal grandfather met my grandmother on a blind date because he had a car, apparently she was pretty standoffish to him at first because she didn't really want to be there, but she warmed up to him.

My father was asleep on the couch when my mother saw him for the first time, he had been lifeguarding at a local lake and was catching some Zs when she stopped by with her cousin to visit my aunt. (Their first date, they went canoeing and he flipped the canoe but that's another story.)

Match.com Our first date was May, 2010. We are still happy to be together. I love dogs, and that was the deciding factor I just found out! Her dog loved me, and the rest is history.

 

[TractorTYMe]

In the early internet days of mid 1990's, I was minding my own biz surfing the web, and a lady in MT paged me for a chat. She was married with two kids and lived in NW MT. We kept intouch steady for a few months talking about cultures and life. I had another vacation venture that didn't pan out, so she invited me over to stay with them the 3 weeks while I travelled around the NW of the US in summer of 1996. She told me she wanted me to meet someone, it was a single mother that she had grown up with, we got set up for a date. In 1998 I moved over from Norway on a K-1 fiance VISA, today we have Silver Wedding anniversary.....the rest is history

 

[Torvy]

I met a Norwegian foreign exchange student from Bergan. We dated in HS...wait, didn't marry that one. Sadly, she passed a few years ago.

Met a girl when she was dating a friend of mine. She made it clear at some point that she wanted to upgrade...dang it, didn't marry that one either (though we have an arrangement that if we are ever single again, we will grow older together).

Met the most cantankerous woman at work. Her job was to keep the department lean. Mine was to get the department as much as we could in budget talks. Been married to her 33 years this month. ****** invaded Kuwait the day before the wedding. Our wedding newspapers have a big headline.

 

[lilranch2001]

In the early internet days of mid 1990's, I was minding my own biz surfing the web, and a lady in MT paged me for a chat. She was married with two kids and lived in NW MT. We kept intouch steady for a few months talking about cultures and life. I had another vacation venture that didn't pan out, so she invited me over to stay with them the 3 weeks while I travelled around the NW of the US in summer of 1996. She told me she wanted me to meet someone, it was a single mother that she had grown up with, we got set up for a date. In 1998 I moved over from Norway on a K-1 fiance VISA, today we have Silver Wedding anniversary.....the rest is history

This one did not go in the direction I assumed it was heading!

 

[JasperFrank]

Cyber stalked an old college girl friend for twenty years. Found out she had gotten a divorce from the guy that stold her away from me. This guy turned out to be a bit of a jerk. So, I cold called her up for a date, and an invitation to travel to Italy as a travel partner with no strings and all paid for. She accepted... her dating life, after the divorce, she said was pretty miserable. We've been married for 17 years, and have traveled, many times again, extensively in Europe.

 

[Torvy]

Cyber stalked an old college girl friend for twenty years. Found out she had gotten a divorce from the guy that stold her away from me. This guy turned out to be a bit of a jerk. So, I cold called her up for a date, and an invitation to travel to Italy as a travel partner with no strings and all paid for. She accepted... her dating life, after the divorce, she said was pretty miserable. We've been married for 17 years, and have traveled, many times again, extensively in Europe.

Wow, I have casually cyber stalked old college girlfriends just to see how they are doing. I never made a collage of them though. I guess she saw it and was OK? Maybe she was impressed with your dedication.

 

[lilranch2001]

You self admitted stalkers may want to be careful in case anyone around has something bad happen to them, on NCIS, it people like you they always look at first!