Special for 50plus LIFE – On Love and Life after 50 March, 2016 issue
Pennsylvania couple met
online years ago. Still going strong
By
Tom P Blake
Nearly
every Friday for 15 years, I’ve published and emailed a weekly newsletter called On Life and Love After 50. One of my
long-time subscribers is Pat, who became a widow shortly after the newsletter
started, and lived in Shickshinny, Pennsylvania.
In
2005, Pat, sent me an email saying she had met a wonderful man named Len on a
website called BikerKiss.com. She wrote, “I had not heard of that website until
a girlfriend, who had just bought a motorcycle, told me about it. I went on it as
sort of a joke. Len is also from Pa., however, he lives 85 miles away. He is
61. I am 65.”
Pat
stated that Len had not dated since his wife had died two years before and she had
dated, but, “not very successfully,” in the three and a half years since she had
lost her husband.
“Why
was he on BikerKiss.com?” I asked.
She
said, “Although he’s not a biker type, he has a Honda motorcycle. After a few
dates, we knew there was no turning back. Love is wonderful the second-time around.
We are like two kids--holding hands, laughing, motorcycling, and enjoying the
simple things.”
In
2009, I included Pat and Len’s story in “How 50 Couples Found Love After 50,” a
book I wrote that revealed how 50 couples had met later in life, and to give
hope to singles that finding a mate is possible. Pat and Len’s story had two important lessons:
long-distance relationships can work, and, when people venture out of their
comfort zones, positive results can occur.
To order How 50 Couples Found Love After 50 - check out the bookstore on the Finding Love After 60 website or email Tom for an autographed and personalized copy
From
time to time, I follow up with the couples featured in the book to see how they
are doing, and to get an update on their lives. Last month, I checked in with
Pat and Len.
She
wrote, “Len and I are still together, into our 12th year now and
still going strong. And we’re still riding. Since 2005, we’ve covered close to 175,000
miles across the USA and Canada. Len has the same model of bike, but there have
been two bikes since the original.
“Our
current bike is a very sweet ride with a custom-heated seat that makes
long-distance riding comfortable, especially in those chilly temperatures that
we hit in early spring and late fall in the higher elevations.
“Our
life as a couple is one of great contentment; we spend a lot of time together
but we also do things apart from each other. I’m busy with volunteering at our
library. And, yoga takes up a few mornings each week. We both love music and go
to many concerts; we have eclectic musical tastes so there is always something
new and fun to listen to.”
Pat
and Len live in Bethlehem Township in the Lehigh Valley, near Easton. Pat mentioned that Len surprised her this
past Christmas with an Alaska cruise for June, 2016. They spent 10 days there
in 2007 on the motorcycle. They are looking forward to seeing Alaska from a
different perspective.
Pat and Len on a motorcycle trip to British Columbia
Pat
said, “We are truly blessed. We found the right person at the right time and
life is good. The most important thing to me as I have gotten older is having
someone to laugh with and enjoy all of the crazy, silly things that life is
made up of. Quirkiness is a good thing.”
Pat
and Len found love where they least expected to find it, which often happens to
older singles. They also met the challenges of a long-distance relationship.
And
now, in their mid-70s, they are active, still on the bike and very much in love.
And, BikerKiss.com is still operating.
If
you see an older couple in the Lehigh Valley whiz by on a motorcycle, wave! It just
might be Len and Pat, living the good life and happy they met nearly 13 years
ago.
Note from Tom: To sign up for the
complimentary On Life and Love After
50 e-newsletter, visit www.FindingLoveAfter60.com and click on join our newsletter.
For
information on How 50 Couples Found
Love After 50, visit Tom's bookstore at FindingLoveAfter 60. com or contact Tom by email (tompblake@gmail.com) or visit Amazon.com. This article appeared in these 50plus LIFE newspapers in March, 2016:
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