Dating/Marriage

[Rachel Bray]

I dated my husband through High School (my parents broke their 
own rule of "no dating until you're 16" because they adored him) 
and then lived with him when I was 22 and married him when I was 
25.  I worshipped the man.  I adored him with every inch of my 
being.  My family accepted him with arms wide open.

Then in September of 97 we went home to visit our parents (we 
lived less than 1 mile away from each other growing up) and I took 
a nap.  When I woke up about an hour later, I asked where Mike 
was and was told that he went to a friend's house and that he said 
he'd be back in an hour or so.  I walked to my parents' house and 
spent the evening with them....no Mike.  THE NEXT MORNING, he 
called and said he was in Columbus and that he had to take care 
of some business with his band and he'd be back in Wheelersburg 
in a couple hours.  He showed up at my parents' house, took me in 
the back room and said "I've filed for divorce." and walked out.

By the time I stopped screaming and passing out and in the right 
mind to think again, my mom drove me back up to our apartment 
and it was stripped clean of everything except our twin bed we kept 
in the guest room, my clothes, my personal collection of CD's (he 
took the ones we both listened to), and the dining room table.  
Everything was gone.  He had gone up the day before and put it all 
in storage somewhere.  I was divorced three months later.  His 
claim, irreconcilable differences.  We had not been fighting, we had 
been getting along just fine, as always....he was just bored, I 
guess.  And with his boredom, he took everything we had 
(MASSIVE movie collection and huge home entertainment center, 
living room furniture (which included the new couch that was my 
Christmas gift from him that past year), washer and dryer, bed, 
dressers, desks, the PowerMac, tons of books.  He stunned the 
families and destroyed his relationship with many, many people 
who called him "friend" at one time. 

He was 27 when we married.  And obviously he wasn't "old" 
enough.  I was 25 and knew when I was 18 that I wanted to spend 
my life with him.  

So, basically, what I'm saying is, age has nothing to do with it.  My 
parents married when my mom was 18 and my dad was 21.  And 
they just celebrated their 32 anniversary.  My grandparents married 
at 18 and they've been married now for 55 years.  You just never 
know.

*whew!*  Sorry I rambled.  And sorry I put all that out there.  
Sometimes when I talk about it, I tend to ramble because it's still 
very very painful to talk about.  I've not dated anyone since, I've 
destroyed a friendship with a really great guy because he wanted 
to date and thought sickened me.....it's been awful.


Rachel Bray
The Ohio State University
Fees, Deposits and Disbursements

Oh, the thrill of the chase as I soar through the air
With the Snitch up ahead and the wind in my hair
As I draw ever closer, the crowd gives a shout
But then comes a Bludger and I am knocked out.

"I don't know who Jim Henson is but I've heard he has his hand in a 
lot of things around here." - Kermit the Frog, 1972