" For my 30 year vow renewal in Hawaii
Here are a few words from my Heart " Carl

Ever heard the song Living on Love by Alan Jackson? This is a story about two young people, from different countries, who didn't have anything, who said our vows and spread our wings.

I was stationed back in 1992 at Ft. Bliss, Texas. Soldiers partied across the border in Juarez, Mexico. During this time, partying is when I first laid eyes on my true love, Cecilia. Though at the moment in a dimly lit nightclub, (Spanky's) late one night is when I mustered enough courage to ask Cecy to dance. I didn't know it was true love. I didn't speak Spanish, and she didn't speak English. I was asking my friend to translate for me. I said to myself, If I would like to be alone with her, I will need to learn the basics. Needless to say, I learned Spanish pretty fast. In just a matter of four months, we were already having a great time together.

1993 came, and it was almost time for my first enlistment to end. I knew that if I left the Army, I wouldn't ever see her again, as I would be sent back to California after enlistment. Well, I decided to stay longer and commit to the army. In doing so, I had more time to be with her. We saw each other almost every day for a little over a year, and then, in August 1993, I asked her to marry me. It wasn't the best proposal in the world, by far. I went to ask her parents for her hand in marriage, but she wasn't there, and I was told that she had gone to Ft. Bliss to visit me. Needless to say, it was a very awkward moment when I asked her parents permission to marry her. It was pouring rain that day. I went to my barracks and asked the watch if anyone had seen her, and they said no. I was so worried, as she was nowhere to be found that rainy evening. An hour passed by, and I peeked outside my room, and that's when I saw her walking towards me, drenched in rain. I told her where I was and what I had done; she was shocked and wet. This is when I popped the question, "Will you marry me?" Lucky for me, she said yes.

Being young, we didn't have enough money to have a traditional wedding. I was being sent to Korea for a hardship tour, and all I could think about was her. I wanted to take care of her, but communication would be hard if she continued to reside in Mexico. So, in February 1994, we got married quickly in a courtroom with just a judge and a random witness so that I could have her as a dependent and she could stay in the Ft. Bliss area, and I knew we could constantly be in communication while I was in Korea. By the way, she was pregnant with our first child when I was sent overseas. It was rough that she had to go through everything with the pregnancy alone, without a husband to support her, in a foreign country that she could not understand due to the language barrier. I was fortunate enough to have understanding leaders that I was able to return to see our firstborn come to this world.