Peter – Hello Betty

I don’t remember much about the month after Lois passed, Loyal Reader. I was in a daze, frankly, Loyal Reader.

Slowly I began to tend to things that had to be tended to, for example, I cleaned out her apartment and brought CoCo to Chez Montreuil. I started to go out on a casual basis, to become reacquainted not only with the great indie music out there, but the outstanding people who make up the community. It was a difficult time for me, I felt a crushing loneliness at the end of the night when I returned to my empty apartment.

As a result of the emptiness in my heart, I started to think about dating again. My adventures in this sphere will be the subject of a future column, as they ran the range of emotions.

On Christmas Day, I scheduled an appointment at the Wound Clinic, to help me try to cope with my sadness. I spent my 65th birthday drinking rye and Sprite with the Cat, while watching Steve Zaloga’s lecture on the 12th SS Panzer division and its involvement in the Battle of the Bulge. “Smashing Hitler’s Panzers” is a excellent and informative video, available on YouTube, or right here if you are interested in further information on this topic.

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In the new year, I made my mind up to concentrate on just a few dating sites. I knew exactly what I was looking for in a relationship, and I put my thoughts into action, sorting the “chaff from the wheat”. Carefully I continued to scan the relevant sites. It didn’t come easily, but I know that nothing worth having ever does come easily.

Through this dark time I was sustained by my knowledge that somewhere out there was the woman for me. All I had to do was find her.

And one night, there she was. She sent me a message, a simple “Hello”. I noted that she lived in Orangeville, which was a bit of a distance from me, but I thought that I would be polite, because she had taken the time and made the effort to make contact with me.

We exchanged very few messages before she gave me her phone number, at my request. I told her that I wanted to call her at certain times, as I wanted to demonstrate to her that I was reliable. We talked several times a day, and our conversations were lengthy. We really enjoyed talking about everything and I decided to make my move rather quickly.

I told her that I wanted to concentrate on building a relationship between her and I. Betty was amenable to this, and we took advantage of the pandemic to get better acquainted over the phone.

I called her at certain times during the day, and I remember once when that backfired on me.  I woke up at 20 to 4 in the morning once, my head filled with irrational fears. I looked at the clock and knew that I couldn’t wait 7 hours to talk to Betty. Grasping the nettle, I picked up my phone.

As I punched in the last number of her number in my dark room, I remember thinking that at least I would know for sure where I stood with her now.

Betty was remarkably calm and pleasant for someone answering her phone at 3:40 A.M. . She listened to my verbal torrent and allayed my fears with a few sweet words. Awkwardly and superfluously I then apologized to her for disturbing her sleep. She replied that she had had to get up anyway. Reassured, I went back to sleep. ( I decided not to press my luck by calling her again at 4:10 that morning.)

We did eventually meet, and we got on like a house on fire. There is a wonderfully solid bond between us and the future looks bright.

We have moved to London Ontario and are building a great new life together. CoCo the Fashionable also has taken to her, so things are going well here at Chez Montreuil, very well indeed.

Betty has given me hope for a future which I honestly didn’t think I would ever have. I have been energized to get my driver’s license, I have been energized to get my divorce…. I have been energized to start living again and to seize the moment!

I can’t believe how happy I am, and I owe it mainly to Betty. I also owe a terrific debt of gratitude to all my friends both real life and online.

See you soon.

=PJM=

A confirmed Cat person, Peter dabbled with being a water boy, a paper boy and an altar boy before finally settling on a career with the Canadian federal government.  Once, in his youth, he ate a Dutch  oven full of mashed potatoes to win a 5 cent bet with his beloved sister Mary’s boyfriend. (Of course he was much younger and a nickel went a lot farther!) He has retired to palatial “Chez Montreuil”, which he shares with his little buddy CoCo the Fashionable. He is blessed to have the beautiful Betty in his life. He is not only a plastic aircraft modeller, but a proud “rivet counter”. Military aviation and live music are among other interests of his, and he tries to get out to as many shows as he can. He will be here for your enlightenment whenever the stars align. Profile photo courtesy of Pat Blythe, caricature courtesy of Peter Mossman.