PT 1972.11.24 One in 300,000,000

Do you believe in love at first sight? The famous thunderbolt that struck Michael Corleone when he first saw Apollonia Vitelli? The sophisticated, well educated war hero and scion of the American mafia makes a love match with the poor, rural Sicilian beauty? What are the odds? (1)

When I won the draft lottery in 1971, I was a 23 year old with an EE degree from Stanford, already divorced from a 6 month marriage, with a shameful history, already alcoholic, unable to find my place. A broken man in every way, I had sworn off obligations and relationships.

The day after Thanksgiving, 1972, I was finishing Infantry OCS at Ft Benning. I was drinking in the junior officer’s club when BANG! Colpo di fumine! (2)

An 18 year old treasure from rural Alabama. Our backgrounds could not have been more different. My wife’s story is hers to tell, but sufficient to say we were like two impossibly complex puzzle pieces that fit perfectly. When I met her family I thought they were from a different planet. Loving, church going, imperfect as all families are, but nurturing in a way I didn’t know a family could be.

We got engaged 5 weeks later.

Her mother (she carried a gun!) told me she needed three months to plan the wedding, and if we eloped, she would shoot me...

We recently celebrated our 51st anniversary. As we say, 46 wonderful years. (It’s not all rainbows and unicorns; it’s life!) Lots more to say, but for another day.

So sweet, to be struck by lightning. What are the odds?

Thank you, Jesus!

PS: My walk with Him began at Thanksgiving 1973. Lots more to say...

1. The first Godfather movie.

2. Many sources, just search for it. Here’s J.M. Darhower’s take: “When love strikes someone like lightning, so powerful and intense it can’t be denied. It’s beautiful and it’s messy, cracking a chest open and spilling their soul out for the world to see. It turns a person inside out, and there’s no going back from it. Once the thunderbolt hits, your life is irrevocably changed.”

12/27/2024