Greetings, Before Kathy and I decided to get to know one anther better we had been a part of the same Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses on Minnesota st. for about 9 years and had always enjoyed talking and doing things with each other as friends.   Although I liked her as a friend I didn't have the confidence to ever believe that we could actually be more than "just friends".   Although age differences never really made a difference to me, there is a six year age difference that made it easy for me to continue to just think of her and treat her as a very nice Sister.   I was actually just plain chicken and not confident enough to say anything about my potential interest towards her.   I was  drawn to her as a good friend among many at meetings and gatherings.   It was evident that I liked her though, in the fact that I made repeated excuses to talk to her.

    Through our fun conversations and desire to do more togather I started arranging for her to be along with us in groups when we went to see movies (The early Star Wars & Star Trek Sci-Fi Movies) or when there was a gathering at a Brothers home such as one evening at the Burns Family home after the memorial of Jesus' death, that I made sure Kathy was specifically invited to(we wouldn't want to be leaving our single sisters out would we? ;) 

     I especially enjoyed seeing her share in the work during our Kingdom Hall quick build project in 1997, I liked how she didn't just hang out in the kitchen, but that she was out with the guys working and actually was getting filthy dirty as she worked.  I particularly remember when she was putting away some metal concrete stakes onto a flatbed truck that was up to her shoulders in height, her shirt was just filthy on front, nothing earns a Brothers respect like seeing a Sister get down and dirty with the boys.

   Since I helped out with the sound console at the time, I made sure she got the tapes of the meetings when she was unable to attend due to her health challenges and started dropping them off on my way home as an excuse to say Hello to her, and as a way to get know her better as time went along with our friendship.   When she said she was planning to move, I took her some boxes from Fred Meyer (where I worked).  Although she did not really know where she was going to move, just that she needed to get out of where she was living.   Putting faith in Jehovah, she just started packing and looking for new accommodations and then left the rest to Jehovah.  Actually, the only move she ever ended up making was after we were married (at least she was already partly packed :)

     It got real interesting in June of 1999 at the memorial of a dear Sister Joan Heagy (whose home I had attended book study for most of my years as a youth till that point).   At Joan's memorial I saw Kathy rubbing the neck of a Sister, and as another excuse to say something to her I jokingly said "Hey can I get one of those?".   She said "Just as soon as you propose".   Although I had thoughts along this line about her, I was still reasoning things out in my mind as to whether she was the right sister for me (In other words I was still chicken and making excuses).   Not to be outdone by her rather bold comment, I couldn't resist later when she made notice that I was wearing one of her favorite ties (It had a repeating quarter moon phase pattern on it) so I whipped back with "Well this is the only way that I can get away with mooning you." (it's a good thing we both have the same silly sense of humor or I reckon that a comment like that could have set back a friendship with the wrong person).   That very evening in June of 1999 I got up the courage to call her and we really started talking seriously about our relationship and where it was to lead, as obviously we needed to discuss things by our conversational exchanges earlier in the day.   From there on we had many more long phone conversations and arranged for ever increasing outings together in group settings.   About this time, Kathy was asked to be a chaperone for a young couple in the congregation and to go along when the Sister went to introduce the Brother to her parents.   Kathy asked them if I could come along with them.   While they were inside talking to the parents we talked at length outside while walking around the trailer park, and really found out a lot more about each other in this relaxed conversation.   There were other times when we went along with them to a nearby park down the street where we now live, but it came to a point that we started to decline their invitations to chaperone, as it became obvious that we ourselves were fast becoming more than friends ourselves, and to continue chaperoning for them would have been more like a double date (The other couple did end up getting married just two weeks after we did).   From then on we continued to use groups and established couples to continue our conversations together.

   I proposed to Kathy in August of 1999 at Hendricks Park in Eugene at sunset after a rainy coast drive with the Burns family (The Burns were very helpful enablers to us both in helping to get to know each other on numerous occasions).   As we were walking along on the park trails I slowed down so we could lag behind the Bern’s who were ahead.   Then I said to Kathy “I had a wonderful day with you today, the only thing that would make it better is if you would agree to become my wife.” She replied by saying ”What did you just say? Did you say what I thought you just said?” I repeated (the rather well rehearsed phrase) “I had a wonderful day with you today, the only thing that would make it better is if you would agree to become my wife” At this point her face just glowed as she said “Yes, Oh Yes”.   At this point we had our first kiss to seal the deal.  We arranged to be married late in 1999 at 2:00pm at our local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.  Our reception was in my old Willamette High School cafeteria where I went to school and also the memorial reception for Sister Heagy that got us to seriously talking in the first place was held.

   Now that we are now happily married, we live in Eugene, OR and are now living in the same apartment that my Dad and myself made for me at the Allen's Place home I grew up in as a child.  I used the apartment while I was single with by Brother Earl living on the other half of the house.   We work on fixing the house and yard up as we can.   We look forward to living in the new system in a better home where we can help to make this earth into a paradise just as Jehovah God originally intended the earth to be for mankind, and raising our family together. 

  Kathy and I enjoy many of the same types of things like Ham Radio, Science, Astronomy, Sci-Fi, Camping, Hiking, Black powder target shooting, Music, but currently due to our mental powers, health and resources we are now unable to do these things, but we look forward to doing them once again, and to a greater extent in the near future when Jesus takes active reign over the Earth.   We also at that time look forward to traveling the earth to meet all of our Brothers and Sisters in person.   

 Originally posted as a blog post Updated May 31, 2008 - 

Last update for this section was June 28, 2020

• Help clean the earth,  learn many new things and apply them.

• Build or find a simple home to live with health and peace.

• Meet loved ones in the resurrection and  teach many others. (Kathy's Sister and Paul's mother being among these)

• Find out if a set of twins, one being the second infant that I buried in Spfd. memorial gardens and meet any of there family that may have also survived or resurrected.  If there were is no surviving family and Jehovah is willing Kathy and I have said we would adopt them if they are resurrected.

• Have children together in a world worth raising children to.  (We figure six will be a good start over time)

• Hiking, Camping, Swimming and playing with animals, Horses, Lions and the Elephants.  Al the mutual hobbies we enjoy and new ones we will learn together.

• Take horse and buggy rides together, and with both of our Moms and Grandmoms and their Moms.  Paul's  Mom loved horses, she would love it if we had a Palomino waiting at her resurrection.

• Visit our Brothers and Sisters worldwide by Ham radio.  We enjoy talking to the Friends worldwide when we can and look forward to doing it more in the new system.  A world wide contact sport.

• Play instruments with friends.  We tried getting a head start at learning the Piano but it just took to much effort in the time we currently live.  Paul also looks forward to learning to play various types of Flutes and the Guitar in the new system.  

• Have or be part of a community workshop to build useful items to use in the new world.

• Travel the earth and meet our Brothers and Sisters.

• Be a part in either remodeling or building a ship to sail horizons across seas.  

• Go diving both shallow and deep, both by scuba and by submarine.

• Go spelunking in caves around the world.

• Search the heavens with telescopes.

• Is space travel next?   We would love to see all of Jehovah's creation everywhere.

Posted Dec.11, 2016  -  Updated Nov. 28, 2018,  Oct 6, 2019,  June 28, 2020,  Aug. 6, 23