Bawk, Bawwk, BgAWWK!

Last year about this time, I was working a full-time job, in the middle of an ugly divorce and raising a teenager. After leaving my 8 to 5 job as a printing press operator, I was helping my dad paint a house after work.

Luckily, my mom helped out with my 13 year old daughter quite a bit. We had just moved back into my old home after living with my parents for the past year. It was falling apart. When I wasn't painting, printing or chouffering my daughter, I was replacing floors, mowing, pulling weeds, pruning bushes, cooking, cleaning or sleeping.

My life was disorganized, frustrating and hectic. Out of this chaos came an unexpected urge, a burst of creativity so intense it was like a muse had taken up residence in my head. I was experiencing hypergraphia-the overwhelming compulsion to write. I also wished to be reacted to. I went on line and found Yahoo Personals.

I was starved for a safe method of interacting with people who were in a similar situation as mine but didn't have time to go out or invest in a full-blown relationship. I wanted to take the edge off the loneliness I felt so intensely at times, but safely hide behind my computer screen. I submitted an ad for a pen-pal on Yahoo.

"Are you frequently covered with various unexplained scrapes, cuts or bruises? Insect bites, dirt, poison ivy, grass stains or clippings? A sunburn? Fingernails blackened or missing? Do you sometimes put your clothes on inside out or backwards in the mornings? Hands and bottom of feet calloused? Where's the strangest place you've ever fallen asleep out of total exhaustion? I was raised on a farm and can pick, pluck, peel, snap and freeze anything. I'm also bilingual and speak fluent "Chickeneeze" so, I'd consider it a plus if you had a chicken in the coop, freezer and/or in McNugget form. Can you relate? Great! Write!"

It seemed lots of people could relate and my ad received many responses. Most made me smile, some confused me and one in particular caught my eye. His response was "bok bok bok bok. hahahahaha."

Was this guy messing with me? I'll fix him! I replied; "Do you realize what you just told me?" Translation; You said you had worms for breakfast!" I assumed I would receive an angry or rude response or some sort of run-of-the-mill type, trying to charm me into a hasty face-to-face meeting.

What I received back is similar to sunlight in an area deep within my mind of permanent lightlessness. Among other things, it seems that he not only spoke "Chickeneeze" but even talked to them on his dinner plate for a time, until he noticed people giving him strange looks.

My Yahoo profile quote was "Don't eat yellow snow." I didn't know exactly why I was compelled to use that quote, since most people use a wise, practical or more customary type, but it just popped in my head and I typed it in. He noticed it and replied, "Make snowballs out of it instead." He enhanced it.

After a couple of months of online interviewing and piquing each other's curiosity, we finally decided to meet face-to-face. He suggested meeting for coffee. To be cautious, I informed friends and family where I would be and when. I was a single mom and taking a chance and this was my first date in 15 years.

More to come.......



I'm blessed and full of light.





My story was written in April of 2000. We were married in June 2003.