Gayle & Mickey


	In 1960 and 61, I was traveling and also working in Holland. When I decided to return to the United States, I decided to first take a trip to the Soviet Union. While traveling there, work began on the Berlin wall. No one in the U.S.S.R. knew about it and so I got caught right in the middle of the conflict when I was trying to leave through Berlin. It was very frightening experience so, right then, I decided to try to work for peace if I could when I got out. For that reason, when I was able to leave and flew to the U.S., I stopped in Washington D.C. to apply for a job with the Peace Corps. They immediately hired me to be as Staff Coordinator for the Peace Corps in Cameroon, Africa.
I went home just to finish some business classes and then to say both hello and good-bye once again to my family. When I went to say good-bye to my sister she said a young doctor lived right next door to her. She said she had told him of some of my travels around the world and he wanted to met me when I came to see her.
My sister said he would probably bring one of her children's toys home as an excuse to come over. Her children liked him very much and often left toys in his home when they went to visit. Sure enough, after just a few minutes the doorbell rang and there was Mickey looking rather shy with a child's toy in his hand. Just to tease him, my sister said, "Oh, this is just a baby-sitter!" He looked so disappointed, she just laughed and introduced us right away. Within minutes he asked me out to dinner for that night. We had a wonderful time together and I thought how sad it was that I should meet such a fine young man just as I was leaving for a new job in Africa.
The very next morning, however, he came over and asked me to marry him and not go to Africa!! Everyone was shocked and could not believe he would propose after just one date. (Of course, if he had not, I would have been gone.) They were even more shocked when I said yes! I know many people thought such a marriage could never last, but next year we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary!
Of course, I did not go to Africa, but Mickey and I built a medical clinic in the poorest region of Oregon where there had never been a doctor. We worked very, very hard there for 16 years before moving here to Snohomish where we are now. Our time in Oregon was four times longer than I would have worked in Africa so I did not feel guilty about not having taken the job.
----- By Gayle, " The story of how Mickey and I met" 11-3-2001