August 21, 1996. A day that stands ever burned in our minds. 5:30 A.M. I was reading the newspaper at the dining room table when I heard sirens going up Gulf Blvd. They sounded so loud. Actually louder than usual. We often hear them going up and down Gulf Blvd. since it has no traffic lights and access is limited. This time, however, the sirens stopped abruptly. I thought it was strange, but didn't pay much attention until I heard two more sirens stop very close by. I walked out onto the deck and saw smoke coming from the west. I put on my flops and walked up to Gulf Blvd. OH NO!!!! SkipJacks was on fire. An old wooden building built in the 20's was no match for the inferno assault. I ran back to the house and called Sondra. "SkipJacks is on fire!!!!" "Oh my God Your kidding." Sondra was in shock.

I awakened Janine and we ran up to see our beloved SkipJacks on fire. We had been there the night before. We were the last customers of the evening. Cracked Conch to go. My favorite. Now it was gone. Chris and Sondra arrived in 20 minutes. They were in tears as they watched their dream go up in smoke. They had put everything into SkipJacks. This was their first time of owning a business. Now it was gone. As the morning passed more of the people that worked with us showed up. Each crying harder than the last. We huddled like sheep against the wolves. Crying and wondering what had caused such a tragedy. A faulty light fixture had blown and started the fire. Now it was gone. Worst of all Our reception was dead. No SkipJacks, no job, no reception, and no money. Where do we go from here? Had the cosmic fairy dust worn off. Was this an omen from the gods we had offended them? My god we had just found a glimmer of hope and it was snuffed in a flash. Despair frothed like a swirling pool of tragedy in our lives. We had lost it all. Where do we turn. Where do we go. A prayer was in order. Where's Clarence when you need him. Was it a wonderful life? Or was this all a dirty trick to fuel the flames of our destruction. It had to get better.

When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, Right? What does one do when life seems to have handed you nothing? Do you make nothing? Nope, you stop looking for handouts and find your own path. The next few days were as traumatic for us as any we had faced. We always felt that our love for each other would allow us to face the strongest adversary. Losing everything was a mighty blow to our financial situation, yet our love stood strong as a fortified bulk head against a towering storm surge. We would make it, just didn't know how.

We sat for a few days in a fire induced stupor. Janine was in tears as we emptied SkipJacks of its booty. All the fresh products had to be eaten as soon as possible. We had a fish fry the next day. Many of the people we worked with huddled together and enjoyed the last of the food. Janine kept saying "They have to come back, They just have to come back." as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She loved working at SkipJacks and now it was gone. Three days past and she still was in shock. Janine was offered a job at Keegan's down the road and she accepted.Though, feeling like a traitor, she did start to make a few dollars. At least we would not fall into the abyss of financial ruin.

What do we do about our wedding. The questioned begged to be asked and answered. We thought through the many options and found an answer. We would have the celebration at our house. (actually we really used the courtyard and carport of Kim and Tom's house) We only live a block from where we were going to get married, so why not? It could work. We would make it work!!! With those arrangements set, we were able to forge onward with our plans.

Each day was precious to us as we glowed in the love for each other. Janine was in her glory. Now the issues were at least manageable. The issues of when and where to have the wedding, who to invite, and where to have the celebration were settled. The next rally of issues leaped out to be answered. Attire, type of service, who was going to perform the service and of course the menu for the celebration sprang up for resolution. Attire seemed first to be addressed. Janine knew she did not want to wear a "Gown". It didn't fit her style or her desire. A white bathing suit would be really cool. It would seem, since we lived in Florida, she could go out and find one easily. Wrong. We spent two weeks looking and could not find what she wanted. She was panicked. Less than two weeks till the wedding and she still did not have an "Outfit". The other pressing issue was she really had to find two suits. The "Matron of Honor" also had to have a suit that was similar yet in a different color. Where do you find two suits in way different sizes, one white and one in a different color. Sizes became as much of an issue as anything. Janine has been the same size six for over 20 years. However, the "Matron of Honor" had grown a bit to a size we would not reveal to our closest friends. Suffice to say it was not huge nor was it in the petite area either.

One morning as Janine was getting ready to go to work, she sat in tears fearing the bathing suit idea had to go by the wayside. I told her I would come up with a solution. That morning I found a custom suit shop that claimed they could make her a suit in two days and they had lots of styles to choose from. I called Janine and she was elated. We drove to the shop the next day. Janine was acting like a child going to bed on Christmas eve with dreams of sugar plums and fairies dancing in her head. She was going to have her wish. The rain was unusually hard that day as we ran into the shop. We spoke with a clerk who said they really did not carry white suits anymore and we should consider another color. However she did suggest "Burning Bridges" owned by Dominique was just around the corner and could be the answer to the dilemma.

The rains had stopped as we pulled into the parking lot. Dominique was standing by the door. She had just opened her shop and had not established a large clientele. Janine describe the ideas she had about the wedding and Dominique almost squealed with excitement. Her first wedding outfit. Janine tried on some types of suits Dominique had designed and we picked out a one piece Marylyn Monroe halter type suit. The straps would lace down the back and hang with crystals on the end. A white sarong would accent the suit to perfection. Wow!!!! Janine was in heaven. She chose a seafoam green color in the same style for Kim. The attire was set.

Three day to go. Janine and Kim had whipped their collective emotions into a cappuccino froth. The menu had been set, the justice of the peace was in place. The out of town guest had arrived and the party was about to begin. So were the rains. It rained the rains of Florida. Lots of rain. A low pressure had developed off the coast and it was expected to sit there for days. Spinning off small pockets of rain showers at will and drawing a bead on dabeach. You have got to be kidding me. Rain and an outside wedding! Not cool. Now what were we to do? We could not change our plans. We would just have to make the best of it

Through all of the turmoil of our lives together, Janine and I have never had an argument. I guess if we were going to have one this was the opportune time. My patience with the incessant worrying had reached a fever pitch. Janine and Kim fed each other in a symbiotic frenzy. One would think of a problem and the other would worry about it. The worrying hit a climax when Janine launched a salvo about some mundane issue about if so and so would not do this what were we to do. I lost it. I even raised my voice to a Tom Hanks style rage from " A league of their Own" where he yells at Gina Davis while she is crying out on the baseball field. "There's no crying in Baseball." "No more worrying!!! I've had enough. You two have worried every little detail to death. No more worrying. I've had it!!!" Janine sat in tears. "You've never yelled at me before." "You never gave me a reason to." I can't help it." "Get over it." A calm seemed to come over her. She realized Kim had imposed her frenetic frenzy on Janine and she had fallen into her ways. She took a deep breath "You're right." She smiled and we held each other closely. We were still OK.

We went to get the keg and some food for our weekend blast. Tonight would be hot dogs and burgers. A good old fashioned American barbecue with all the fixins. Our friends from the UK had never been to one before. They loved it. As we drank the beer and ate the food a large rain shower from the low pressure spun through dabeach. Just an inch of rain. We could live with that. As the rains fell we huddled under the carport and shivered as the temperatures dropped into the sixties. We got everyone sweatshirts and watched and waited for the rains to pass. The skies cleared in an hour and we continued the party.

The skies threatened on and off that day. Around eleven Kim, Tom and Janine started to create the festive atmosphere for the coming event. We strung white Christmas lights from our house to theirs for illumination. We also bought large citronella candles to put around the perimeter for bug control. As they strung the streamers under the carport for our "Dance Floor" I was watching the Weather Channel. A strong line of thunderstorms was headed our direction. Lots of rain and lightning. I went outside and told them not to put up anything since it would be ruined by the storm. They took down everything except the lights and within an hour it was pouring. Pouring!!! Lots of rain. It rained for hours as Janine and Kim went about the final preparations for the big night. Around two the skies seemed to open and the sun came out. Was this an omen of clearing? Had Clarence gotten our message? Well the prediction was more rain. Would it hold off or rain on our parade. Who knew.

The parade of deliveries started. Food, flowers and other sundry items came about on time. The sun started to shine and the mood was becoming festive. People who lived around us started to drop in for a cold draft. Kim, Janine and her Mom started the primping for the event. Tom (our best man and Kim's husband) and I sat down stairs enjoying the afternoon. A few drafts took the edge off the day. Once the "Girls" announced they were out of the showers. Tommy and I could get ready. We got dressed and were ready to go. The crowd was already forming on dabeach as Tommy and I drove up in the Miata. We parked the car at the beach access and both of us grabbed a beer. We sat and talked with our friends as we waited for Janine and Kim to arrive. Wasn't this cool. Waiting for the woman I love and enjoying my friends. The skies were clear. A few clouds hung on the western horizon. This was going to be a great sunset. Clarence are you listening? It was a great sunset. The crowd settled around the sea oats and we all waited for the Janine's arrival. Where is she? Why is she taking so long?

We had done it. We were married!!! Now the fun begins. The party was to come. It had all worked out. We did it! The miracle of a first date continued. In all the time that had passed we have never been apart. Not one day, not one night. Was this great or what. Only in the movies. Right? Nope. This is all true. Every word. The suspense is over. We made it. Since this story has gotten a bit long, this is our last installment for a while. Stay tuned though (With a great BIG Smile) We hope you have enjoyed the ride. We sure have. So many people have written us to thank us for sharing our story. We only hope that we have been able to give back to the world something close to what it has given us. Our message to all who read this is "Don't give up." The road you are on may seem a bit bumpy and hard to deal with. But when you find the right person to be with, the ride can be so much fun. We have struggled and survived. We have battled the elements and won. We wish all of you the same. Good Bye for now and thank you for reading. All our love, Michael & Janine

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