On June 1st, the divorce FINALLY went final. There was a lady in my apartment complex named Sally whom I'd noticed but never spoke to. I told Miimii about her but she looked too young. Miimii had called me to tell me we were officially divorced. I sat down for a minute--it was still sad to know it was over--11 years of my life. Divorce is never happy, but I was finally free. I wandered out into the parking lot feeling melancholy and there was Sally, waving to me from her balcony. I rubbed my eyes--was this a dream? I'd never spoken to her in my life. She yelled,"Are you still married?!" What? Confused, I walked up under her balcony (looking for hidden cameras) and said,"Uh, well, I just got off the phone and my wife told me our divorce was final. How did you know I was married?" She said she used to work at the Food Lion grocery store and remembered my wife and I visiting. I didn't remember her, but she looked sexy up there on the balcony in her shorts, smiling. She told me to come over and talk some time. She was a year older than me--surprise! So this was good. I later found she had a live-in lover who was deployed. I visited a few times to talk but when her boyfriend returned and was rude so I stayed away. I'd been humiliated enough in Korea.

Later when she was hired at a little shopette at the Coast Guard Station up the road I'd drop by during bicycle rides to get snacks and say hi. She was a little wild for me, and taken, but she was always very friendly. She married her boyfriend (whom she constantly complained about) in late 2001 and moved to England. God help them.