Southern Hospitality and Love

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY AND LOVE
by David Welch

The story of how I met, and then fell in love with my Valentine
might be what some people would say is an odd way of meeting, but in
our case it has worked for us.
God has a plan for all of us though, and we understand we are
together because God brought us together for a reason. I have never
questioned God for the health troubles I've had to deal with, and try
an live in the present. I look forward to the future, but never blame
God for what troubles I've had during my past.
My name is David Welch, and I've been a diabetic since I was
four years old. Since I was 23 I've had many health problems --
blindness, loss of my kidneys, open heart surgery, and now I'm in a
wheelchair.
The one thing I have enjoyed doing since my health has declined
is to use my computer with a screen reading program for the blind.
One evening, I downloaded a program I had heard about called
Freedom Chat, which was for blind people. Chat programs are
something I really never enjoyed, but I'm so glad this time I tried
it out. I didn't call anyone when I got online, but I received a
private message from a young lady asking who I was. We started
chatting and we both had health problems and felt comfortable with
our conversation. Come to find out she was legally blind in one eye
and completely blind in the other, along with being deaf in one ear.
She had Lupus which had created many of her health problems.
We chatted several times as the weeks went by, but neither of us
thought much more of it than just a friendly conversation. I found
out that she was from Thailand, but had become an American citizen
nearly twenty years earlier. Her name was Nualanong Pumyam, but
wanted to be called an American name, Nicole.
Nicole mentioned to me that she was in school still working on
her English, and computer skills using JAWS, the same screen reading
program that I was using, and I thought I could help her out with her
school work. We spent many evenings on the phone, with free long
distance service, working on the computer skills, and her English. I
had no problem helping her with her computer skills -- but hey, I
probably need a little help at times myself with English!
The one thing I kept telling her, was she should never trust
anyone that she chats with. I told her many times she should go out
and enjoy her life, but never agree to meet some guy that she was
talking with over the Internet. I wanted Nicole to understand that
meeting someone she had been chatting with over the computer could be
very dangerous!
As time went by the two of us started feeling much closer, and
she said she would love to see what Kentucky was like. We managed to
arrange for a plane ticket so she could visit Glasgow, Kentucky,
where I live.
Yes, we did exactly what I had been preaching for her to never
do, and brought her to my hometown.
With help from my brother driving me to the airport in
Nashville, we picked up Nicole. It didn't take her long to notice a
big difference between the people in San Jose, California, and the
southern hospitality of the people that she would meet here in
Kentucky. She said the people in Glasgow all seemed so friendly, and
she fell in love with the town.
The visit turned into a move to Glasgow, and she has never
returned to California since.
Actually, as I mentioned, Nicole fell in love with Glasgow, but
we fell in love with each other as well. We have been together now
for four years, and we have built a good life with one another, and
on July 5, 2009, Nicole became my bride.
I may not have the ability to always provide her with material
things, like other men might give their girlfriend or wife, but we
certainly give each other loyalty, respect, happiness, and most
significantly... love!