John,

I have read and re-read all your cards on this romance thing. You are lucky. You are a romantic who has to proclaim it to the world. And finding Betsy and having a captive Archipelagan audience is more than you deserve!

I think all of us should share our "romantic" stories. You shouldn't be the only one who has found "true love" and then lived to write about it! An aside: every time I use "true love" I am reminded of the movie "The Princess Bride". While it may not be an Emmy winner, it is one of my favorite movies.

So, here is how I fell in lust - oops, Love, with John R.

We met the first time when I accompanied a veterinary friend on a job interview. She was interviewing for a position at an emergency clinic and I had nothing better to do. John was there searching for drugs to give a recovering GDV (gastrodilation volvulus) dog. I even remember the dog-a white standard poodle. He was looking for lidocaine to give IV.

He was gorgeous in his surgical greens. His freshly scrubbed hands were tearing through a very disorganized drug drawer. I remember Angie saying that was the first thing she would clean up. We didn't say more than "nice to meet you", but it must have been enough, because one month later when we ran into each other at our local veterinary association, he remembered meeting me and didn't remember Angie (and she had been hired at his place!).

He was the speaker at the meeting, so we had little chance to talk. I asked if he would take avian surgical referrals. He said yes, and gave me his card and an article he wrote on avian beak prosthesis. I was hooked!

It took about another month, but one day, in walked a sun conure in need of a mandibular beak. It was too good to be true. I raced to the phone. Would he take the case? Could I assist? He was quick to accept and proposed the surgery be done at my clinic. He said he would feel more comfortable if I ran the anesthesia.

It was difficult to concentrate on the surgery. He was so good! He sculpted a beautiful beak for the little buzzard. We were like kids when the bird recovered from surgery and immediately started eating. It was a time for celebration. I invited him to my apartment for a lite snack and some hot tub soaking. He accepted. I don't remember eating anything. We sat in the hot tub and talked until both of us were wrinkled like Shar Pei dogs. The next evening he invited me out for a celebration dinner for a surgery well-done.

The dinner was wonderful. I remember eating and talking and giggling. He told me about the raptor program he helped with when a professor in Missouri and I described avian medical cases. We entertained ourselves by identifying the dinner chicken anatomy. We had so much in common!

After dinner we walked around the downtown mall, just holding hands. When we finally reached a pause in the conversation, he broke it with "Did you know that people need eight hugs a day?" As I had been separated from my husband for over a year, I was in a serious hug deficiency state.

The rest is history. He is the best hugger I have ever met!

The events described within are true with just a touch of tongue in beak!