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YourHub.com \\ Franktown \\ Stories \\ Holidays \\ Valentine's Day

A twist of fate brings couple together

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Contributed by: Julie Whitman-Zai on 1/30/2007

If I hadn't torn my ACL, I might never have met my future husband. In 1987, I was in graduate school in Bloomington, Indiana, working on a doctorate in English. One afternoon, I was out playing tennis with a friend, jumped up to hit a lob, and--snap--I crumpled to the ground with severe pain in my knee.

My physical therapist put me through the paces on a stationary bike, helping to strengthen the muscles around the damaged ligament. He was quick to suggest that I take up a sport that had little lateral motion like swimming or fencing.

My friend, the same one with whom I'd been playing tennis, had been an epee fencer as an undergraduate and mentioned that our university had its own fencing club. So one evening I took myself off to the club, planning just to watch and get a sense of the sport.

As I walked up the stairs to the open door of the vast gym, I was hit with the acrid smell of sweat and could hear the clanking and sliding of metal. The room was separated into three sections by huge sheets of white canvas like the dividers in hospital rooms, giving the place a surreal quality. Scattered about were pairs of people in fencing masks, either dueling or practicing footwork. I looked around for someone in charge.

To my right, I could hear someone giving instructions to another. The man was bent forward away from my direction, dressed in white fencing knickers and a t-shirt. All I could hear was his voice. It was gentle and soothing with a hint of an accent I couldn't place.

After a moment, the man turned around. I don't remember what song was popular on the radio that year, but I do remember one current event from that time: Afghanistan was close to driving out its Russian invaders with the West's help. This man, my future husband, had a rich, ethnic background and was part Afghan. But that evening, all I noticed was his smile. He smiled with his eyes, revealing a genuine kindness about him. He welcomed me to the club and got me started on some footwork. We were friends for quite a while and slowly, over the next few years, grew closer, and finally married 3 1/2 years later. Nearly twenty years after meeting in that gym, we are still married and his smile reminds me of all the reasons I fell in love with him in the first place.

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Showing 1-5 of 5 comments

Submitted By: Sandy Clifton

posted on 1/31/2007 @ 5:51:20 PM

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That is really random! Great story

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Submitted By: Fairlight Baer-Gutierrez

posted on 1/30/2007 @ 5:05:02 PM

Rated Story

Fencing is a very original connection! Thanks for posting, Julie.

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Submitted By: Joseph Kirchmer

posted on 1/30/2007 @ 4:01:23 PM

Rated Story

Great story, Julie!

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Submitted By: Travis Henry

posted on 1/30/2007 @ 2:40:59 PM

Rated Story

You need to add a photo of you two lovebirds!

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Submitted By: Tabitha Dial

posted on 1/30/2007 @ 2:30:03 PM

Rated Story

What a great story. Thank you for sharing it with us.

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Showing 1-5 of 5 comments

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Julie Whitman-Zai

Franktown , CO

Julie Whitman-Zai has posted 1 story and 0 comments since joining on 1/30/2007. Julie Whitman-Zai 's average story rating is 5.

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