On Life and Love after 50 eNewsletter
By Columnist Tom Blake
October 7, 2022
Senior Love in Galveston
Champs tell me they love hearing senior later-in-life romance success stories from other Champs. Here’s one today, with a little south Texas flavor.
Champ Kim emailed: “I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Texas in Lake Jackson but moved to London at age 13. I returned each summer to stay with my dad and play with my friends. I married at age 25.
“I was married for 30 years. In 2017, I was divorced, and I returned to single status at age 55. I joined Plenty of Fish (POF). After nine ‘dates’ on POF I was pretty sure it truly was a mad, mad, mad world, and most of all I wondered, ‘Are you kidding me?’
Plenty of Fish love story
“Galveston Island is small (32 miles long by 2.5 miles wide) and there were several of us singles fishing out of the same dating pond. In 2018, I saw a profile picture I loved – a guy on a boat running from a storm. He was bald (I do not do bald unless it is natural), but his profile looked fun and adventurous.
“I found Ray on POF in 2018. He also grew up on Galveston Island but unlike me, he seldom left. Our ages were only six months apart, hence we had been at the same concert venues, parties on the beaches, in the cow fields, and in dance halls when we were younger.
“We knew a lot of the same people, and we were revolving around each other, but we never met. Online dating can be maddening for sure, but it worked for us.
“Ray was married for the second time in 2015 but was divorced after two years. Both of our divorces were final in early 2018.
“We talked on the phone from late spring and into the summer. We wanted to meet, but summer is my busiest time for work, and I had a trip planned for September. We agreed to meet after my trip. We also agreed to turn off our POF profiles until that time.
“This gave me time to check his background. I had two things going for me in that regard. First, I have a wonderful friend who is two degrees removed from knowing all Galvestonians, so Ray was checked out by my friend. “Plus, I was a law enforcement dispatcher for Alaska State Parks and very good at investigation.
My friend uncovered information about Ray’s ‘high school’ first marriage as well as other interesting tidbits about him and I found some good stuff in my own queries as well.
“Knowing things about a person before going on a date is good because you can judge right away how honest a person is going to be. You also can learn about a person’s relationships, court records, employment, and what hearsay is being said about the person.
“He emailed me precisely on the day I got home from my trip. I put off meeting him in person for one week, and then met him at his house on September 28, 2018. When I pulled up in his driveway, the look on his face was like a puppy’s when you get home from work.
“He opened the gate and seemed mesmerized as if he were thinking, ‘You are finally here. I have been waiting for you.’ He has the most beautiful green and brown eyes.
“The night we met we stayed up all night, as young kids will do. Neither Ray nor I ever had children and people we know who have kids tell us we are seniors who still act like kids. They have been telling me that all my adult life!
“Ray was forthright with everything that night; he said his second marriage was a real doozy. He verified what I knew about him, and he didn’t hold back. Were there some red flags for me? Of course, but I had been left behind in a 30-year marriage and was ready for an adventure. I went from vanilla to chili pepper. Woo-hoo! We’ve been together since.
“Fortunately, I have lived all over the world and traveled extensively and am very adaptable. Ray has not traveled much and has spent most of his adult years working and living in the Gulf.
“We now have a new puppy and are moving forward in these crazy times. I was fortunate to have met Ray before Covid – we made it through that and an election together. He also grew his hair out.
We just went to a 62nd birthday party for his best friend. I taught his friend’s son when the son was in the 8th grade; we have stayed in touch over the years.
All is well on Galveston Island with Kim and Ray. It’s as if Glen Campbell was singing about them in his 1969 song, “Galveston,” which was written by Jimmy Webb.
The video of the Galveston song by Glen Campbell can be found on YouTube.
On Life and Love after 50 