Gregg and I met thanks to Carol Erickson and Hans Mayer. In December 2023 Laura Moriarty asked me to go with her to a birthday party for herself, Carol Erickson and other Christmas babies. At the last minute the party was moved to Gregg's house, and when I saw his Star Trek Christmas tree I was intrigued. Not many people are as nerdy as I am. I was also impressed with a vinyl collection that needs its own zip code. And just like me, he has a decorating style best described as “More is More".

I was also definitley not looking for a relationship and told him so. Being a smart man, he took the hint and just… didn’t push. He played the long game.

Meanwhile, I was pleased to see I already knew half of the guests at that party, even though he and I had never met. They told me he was one of the nicest guys they knew - so already vetted! It turned out we had an almost unfair number of things in common: live music, spirituality, questionable enthusiasm for antiques, and a shared determination for turning serious life challenges into opportunities to learn about and improve ourselves.

From the beginning we had deep conversations about everything — philosophy, science fiction, ethics, ancient obscure TV shows, especially Star Trek.

We still make each other laugh daily, and we get each other’s weird references to obscure facts. In fact, he joined not only my cherished fellowship community at UU La Crosse, but also my trivia team, which is either romantic or strategic — possibly both.

We share the same core values: kindness, generosity, doing the right thing even when it’s inconvenient, and telling the truth. As for our differences — he’s an early bird, I’m a night owl. Coincidentaly, we’ve both run our own businesses which means -yikes! - we both instinctively want to be in charge. We’re sorting that out the old-fashioned way: actually listening to each other and being curious to understand ourselves and each other better.

This is his first marriage at 73. It took him a while to find the right one. He’ll be the first to tell you I was worth the wait. As for me, I'm so incredibly glad I finally realized how much joy we share - and that he's the right man for me.