I had a long talk with someone very close to me the othernight. She told me of events and stories of her life from when she was a little girl. Then she told me of her mom's life. Growing up in another country. Her struggles to come to America as a young girl. How she survived once she got here. It was a very bonding moment and one I am grateful that she shared.

We met online in the fall of 2012 over on the red site and then on blue. We both already had our stable of friends. She had like 700 or so. I had like.. ummm.. let's see.. carry the one.. uhhh.. four.

I had left the online world for two years and had just come back in February of that year. Alys joined in July. We never crossed paths until another friend introduced us. The friendship was immediate. The closeness built quickly and hasn't subsided since. Of course every relationship has struggles, but once I taught her the mantra "Larry is always right" things smoothed out.

We just celebrated our third Christmas together and we have met in different locations many times. Sometimes she comes to me and sometimes I go to her. Our favorite thing is to stay at haunted places. We have some crazy pics and done some crazy stuff while ghost hunting. She loves my equipment. I'm talking cameras and recorders guys, get your mind out of the gutter.

Not many people would understand the attraction or the bond between us. I am 4 years shy of twice her age. She is energetic, intelligent, amazingly friendly, stunningly attractive, breathtakingly sensual and patient to a fault. I am cranky and blunt and just as likely to throw the neighbor kid's bike into the street as buy him a new one. And.. I am completely defenseless against her.

I wonder at this happiness she gives me so late in life. I wonder at the how's and the why's of a destiny fulfilled over and over again throughout time. How else would you explain it? Oil and water co-existing. Fire and ice. A two-seat outhouse. Wait.. where did that come from?

Somehow we make it work. The conjoining of our two separate but equal lives. Paths that sometimes get confusing and chaotic. The memory banks that keep us going until the next time we can meet. Making sure my prescriptions are filled before each trip.

Lastly, I am humbled at the magnificence of love. Always finding a reason and a way, like a flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk. I am in awe at all of the things in our lives that had to happen and the chain of events that brought us together. All because her mother struggled to come to America so many years ago, long before she was born.