Hi folks! I have recently come to a very joyous point in my life and I thought I might share it with all of you because without you all and the list, this might not have happened. I wanted to post this here on the VFR list also because it played a major roll in the grand scheme of events. Please read on! And Kevin... please bear with me as you've already heard this one.…

About three and a half months ago I came across a post on the VF/VFR list that Jeannette had sent in regards to finding fellow riders in the D.C. area. She said that she had just purchased her VF500 and was looking for people to ride with. Well, I tried responding back to her through her personal email address and the VF/VFR list. Unfortunately, I did not get a reply back that afternoon so I posted to the VF/VFR list again trying to find her. I finally got a reply back right before Thanksgiving. We got to talking a little by email and had somewhat sorta made plans to meet up for a group ride with her friends on the following Monday. She had also told me about finding local riders through the DC-Cycles list. Well, as luck would have it, I had to work as usual and because of my responsibilities I couldn't take the day off. I was also seeing someone at the time and out of respect for the other person I bowed out. I knew that if I met Jeannette I would end up going out with her. It was just one of those feelings.

Now fast-forward about two months.....It was the middle of January and I was finally starting to get over the flu. My interest in my pc and the VFR had started to perk up again so I decided to start checking out the internet for parts and such. Andrew Reveles(from the VFR list)was just finishing his Project Phoenix VFR so I was getting psyched. I needed(and still need) to find an F2 front wheel to complete the suspension conversion on the VFR. It was then that I came across the DC-Cycles list. I had remembered Jeannette giving me information about the list when we talked before so I decided to join and see if I could get some help finding stuff. I saw a few posts from Jeannette and the interest was sparked again. At about the same time Leon was setting up his Lean Angles contest/get-together out at the Prince William Cnty Pkwy park&ride lot. My VFR was down at the time(waiting for the wheel) but I decided to show up anyway to come out and meet everyone. Most of all I wanted to meet Jeannette. I was still seeing that same person(things were not working out, however) but there was a feeling that I had that I just had to act upon.

I finally got to meet her and basically we hit it off from the start. After talking with her and Collin for a while(I did meet everyone who showed) everyone decided on lunch. We ended up at Bob Evans and I was fortunate enough to sit next to her for the time that we were there. At first we were chatting with everyone at the table making the usual conversations, but then we just started talking with each other. I even shared part of my lunch with her. We then got onto the subject of Titanic. I explained some of my views on it and asked her if she had seen it. When I found that she had not, I told her that I would be glad to see it again if she wanted to go. She told me that she would like to and I left it at that. We also managed to exchange our interests in body piercing's, my nipple, her navel. Things were rolling along quite nicely!! We finished eating and everyone decided to part. Jeannette, Collin, my friend Lenzy, and myself decided to hang out in the parking lot for a while longer. We talked on about a number of subjects. Anything was good for me because I just wasn't ready to say goodbye. Jeannette did manage to talk me into putting the VFR back together so I could come out with it for Lean Angles part 2. We said our good-byes and left. All the way home, the only thing I could do was talk about Jeannette. I must have talked my friend's ear off. I got home and started working on the bike. Three hours later my brother and I (and my Pit Bull, Zeus) were pulling the VFR through the mud in my backyard. I got the bike cleaned off and had it ready for the morning.

I got to the park and ride and the only people there were Ursulina, Collin and his wife Penny, and Leon with his daughter. No Jeannette!!! I was bummed but I figured there was a reason. So we shoot ahead to later that night. I was on the phone with Lenzy and I got this strange page. I instantly knew it was Jeannette so I hung up with him and called her right back. I talked to her for a few minutes and finalized plans to see Titanic that Tuesday. I was very, very happy!

I picked up Jeannette to see Titanic and we were off. It was so nice seeing the movie with her and by the end of the evening I knew I was falling for her. I took her back to her house and after hours of standing in the rain talking and such. While talking to her I noticed that her hands were freezing so I took them into my own and began blowing warmth onto them. At this point I decided it was time to go...but not without a kiss. I caressed her face in my hands and kissed her. I swear you could have heard a pin drop. I felt the earth move and at that moment I knew that fate had finally brought me to my soulmate. I had never felt anything like that before in my life and according to her the feeling was mutual. The following weekend we spent the whole time together. I was in heaven!

Now we shoot ahead again to Valentine's weekend. We had a nice long weekend together, and to make things plain and simple, we professed our love to one another. It was really fast in the making, but we both knew it was meant to be! Finally, I had found the love that I had been searching for all my life and she the same. Well, now it's March 9th and I'm happy to say that Jeannette and I are engaged to be married!! We went out Saturday searching for our diamond and we found it. Now we're just waiting on the setting. I asked for her parents' permission Saturday evening and they happily said yes. When I finally pick up the ring, I will propose to her( I wanted to have it with me of course)! We are to be married on March 27th, 1999. We can hardly wait!!

Jeannette and I would like to extend our thanks to you all on the DC-Cycles list and the VF/VFR list for without them we may never had met one another... and yes... romance and love are still alive in the world today... sometimes you really have to look for it to find it!

-Tom Zell '86 VFR700/750F

-Jeannette O'Brien '85VF500F