A story of love is so easy to come by in movies and songs. It is only a new occurance that it is available on the internet. There are people out there who judge and criticize what they don't know from rumors they have heard. This (in my opinion) is a fascinating and rare story that I don't mind telling to all who wants to hear it. It is the way I met the person whom I adore most, my boyfriend Russ.

It all started in a chat room. I am normally use the IRC. However, none of my friends were on at the time so I decided to use a different server, Dalnet. I went into a simple chat room (probably #chat) and he instant messaged me. We talked for a little while and exchanged e-mail addresses.

After that I never saw him again in a chat room, so we kept in touch through e-mail. We wrote each other off and on for about three months. During that time I found out he was in the Army stationed in Texas. Of all states, Texas (ick).

One day out of the blue he e-mailed me telling me that he was going to come up here to Colorado to visit with a friend of his who was stationed here, and he wanted to meet me on his voyage. I haven't ever met anyone from the internet before, so I didn't know what to think about the situation. He did his best to make me feel okay with the idea. When I received the e-mail it was about two weeks before he was coming up here. In the e-mail he gave me his number, so I called him. He sounded so sweet and kind on the phone. He didn't make me feel nervous about meeting him.

Two weeks had passed and he drove 1,000 miles. It turned out his friend was in Bosnia, but he decided to make the trip up here just to see me. I was so excited about meeting him. Never before have I ever been so nervous, but so happy. We met right after my color guard practice at my highschool. When I first saw him I felt something deep in my gut. We both think it was love at first sight.

We "clicked" with eachother. That weekend is so memorable to me, I'll never forget it. It was Labor Day weekend of 1997. My friends don't understand how I can deal with this situation like I am. But the only way to fully understand, is to be in the situation yourself. I have a feeling it would take a lot of energy out of the "common person." I know I have a lot of dedication and faith in him. I don't think I trust anyone quite as much as I trust Russ.

As of today, and most likely in the days to come, we are still together. It makes me feel so loved when he drives up here from Texas (about 1,000 miles) just to see me. He does this at least once a month. When he is with me, we never leave eachother's side. We can finally be with each other, and not have to deal with the burden of him leaving again in Aug. of 1999. So till then, all I can do is wait for him, and love him.