Special to the Times/News

We never know when that really "right one" will come along; the person that captures our heart, stirs our soul and helps us reach for the stars of life.

I met mine at a gas station, then Stockdale and Butler Auto Repair in Des Moines.

Gordy Byers stood about 5 feet, 10 inches tall with broad shoulders and a heart big enough for both of us, and my children, too. He was a giant among men for integrity and loved by many.

My eyes caught sight of him about the same time his did of me. There was no instant magic, as movies might have us expect, although his infectious laughter made me smile. I said good-bye thinking that's the end of that. Not so.

One evening he saw me having dinner alone at the Four Winds Restaurant, now Mandarin Kitchen, and asked if he could join me. For us, both ironically in the throes of divorce from long-time marriages, this was just the beginning.

"Love is the sweetest of dreams and the worst of nightmares." (Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream)

I tell folks who ask that my first marriage was just training for the real thing. Sometimes we get another chance, yet, none so great as love.

Gordy was a well-read man of considerable people-savvy. We spent hours sharing innermost thoughts. "How was your day?" he'd ask, and he really listened when I told him.

With his love, like Miracle Grow to a starving, struggling plant, I blossomed to believe in my own potential and became a happier fulfilled person.

For readers, or people you know, who may be in an abusive relationship, I'm sharing a personal experience hoping it inspires a new beginning.

Before I met Gordy, I was married to a man who for 20 years constantly put me down, saying how imperfect I was, how nothing I did was right, how I'd never be anything.

Sadly, I almost believed him.

One day, I realized I would drown as a person in that poison unless I got out - and now. With two young children and little support, this was a major decision. Yet, when that opportunity came and with the strength of my faith in the good Lord, I took it.

It's said that a great love story is when the power of love makes one or both partners better people.

Years later I told Gordy, "I want to thank you for being a father to my children and loving them." He looked in my eyes, took both my hands in his, saying, "They are part of you, part of the package, there was never a question in my mind."

I fell in love with him all over again.

On Dec. 20, 1990, five days before Christmas, my husband, Gordy Byers, suffered a fatal brain aneurysm. The last words we said to each other, never, ever, dreaming they'd be our last, were, "Good Morning Honey, I love you," and "I love you, too."

Speak only words you will want to be remembered. When you do, there are no regrets.

An unknown author's email, "If I only knew," inspired me to write this column and poem from my heart. This will publish the day that would have been our wedding anniversary.

Live Today with No Regrets Tomorrow

By Earline Byers

Live everyday as though it's our last,

And someday we're sure to be right,

Take time to say I love you now,

With a smile, hug and kiss tonight.

It takes only a moment,

To make most folks feel mighty glad.

And a lifetime to remember,

The times we made them sad.

Take time for friends and neighbors too,

Say, "I'm sorry, Thanks, That's okay."

And when you do there'll be no regrets,

Should the good Lord call them today.

I know for I've lived it and am happy to say

There'll be no regrets this our anniversary day.

Though my Gordy's not here now, I always knew,

How blessed I am that he loved me too.