True Love Stories With Happy Endings

March 09, 1996|By Ann Landers.

461

Dear Ann Landers: A while back, you asked for unusual stories of how couples met. I hesitate to write mine because it is so precious to me, but perhaps it will be of value to others.

I met "John" at my brother's funeral. It was the darkest period of my life. My beloved brother had been out jogging, and a cocaine addict out of jail on probation drove by and shot him for no reason.

www.deepenglish.com/FastEnglishMy brother's close friends were contacted, and within hours, John, a former Marine buddy, was on his way to express his sympathy. I had met him several years earlier when my brother served in the Marine Corps and remembered him well.

I went to meet John's plane and the instant I saw him I sensed he was someone special. That night when I went to sleep, although filled with sadness and grief over the loss of my brother, I whispered, "Thank you, Lord, for bringing this wonderful man into my life." Before he left three days later, John said he wasn't asking but he planned to ask me to marry him one day. He added that he had told my brother after our first meeting that I was the kind of girl he'd like for a wife.

We were married two years later after a very tender courtship. Our friendship and love grew, and our wedding night was the first we knew of marital intimacy, which greatly deepened our respect for each other.

We have been married 10 years, and I can truthfully say I love my husband more now than when we first married. I treasure what I have shared with you and hope some young girl or man who reads this will choose to put integrity and purity first and build a life on those strong and enduring principles.

S.R., Salado, Texas

Dear Salado: High moral standards never go out of style. Thanks for a heartwarming story that serves as a fine example.

Dear Ann Landers: Here is my "love at first sight" story. You probably won't print it, but I enjoyed writing about it.

When I was 13, Mom and Dad answered an ad in the newspaper for a secondhand bike for my brother. I went along for the ride. The boy who was selling his bike was so darling I couldn't take my eyes off him. We just stared at each other with foolish grins on our faces the whole time. On the way home, I said to Mom and Dad, "I am going to marry that boy one day. He's so nice looking."

Well, guess what? I did marry him right out of high school. We were both 18. No one thought it would last, but we celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary July 10, and we're still going strong. True love never dies.

R.R., Coon Valley, Wis.

Dear Coon Valley: Such a sweet story! Here's another one:

Dear Ann Landers: I served in the Marine Corps during World War II, was discharged in 1946 and decided to visit some Marine buddies.

My first stop was 300 miles from my hometown. "Eddie" and his wife took me to dinner, and he invited his sister to join us. The next day, before catching my train, I turned to his sister and said, "I think we should get married." To my surprise, she said, "OK." We were married a month later

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-03-09/news/9603090040_1_dear-ann-landers-marine-buddies-marry