Angelina

It finally occurred to me that Angels might know more about love than I do. I had done a reasonably lousy job of running my own love life when I decided to turn it over to the Angels.

It all began innocently enough when I said to my girlfriend, Shelly Jo, "I think I'm ready to meet somebody. Do you know anyone?" She thought about it for about half a minute and then said, "Well, I do know one guy, but he lives in Los Angeles."

I lived in Honolulu. Most people would definitely consider 3,000 miles of ocean an obstacle to intimacy. But something made me ask, "What's his name?" "Matthew Gray," she answered.

It was at that moment, the Angel spoke to me, saying simply, "That's him. He's the one you're going to marry."

Without missing a beat, I repeated the Angel's words to my girlfriend. I said, "That's him. He's the one I'm going to marry. Call him up and tell him I love him and he has nothing to worry about."

Well, needless to say, Shelly Jo was a bit surprised. She had not told me anything about him other than his name. I wasn't even particularly emotional about it. I just had enough trust to at least repeat the Angel's words, although at the time I didn't at the time I didn't tell her it was an Angel who told me them.

The Angel then showed me that Matthew and I would have a radio show together. We would be the co-hosts and the theme of the show would be on love and relationships. The Angel said it would be light and entertaining as well as informative and would teach people how to love and communicate with each other. The Angel gave me the image of the end of the Burns and Allen show where George Burns ended by saying, "Say Goodnight, Gracie."

I was in television and it had never occurred to me before to consider being on radio, although I was definitely interested in the subject of male/female communication and how to make loving relationships work. My own life was close to disaster in that area.

It turns out that not only was Matthew a talk-radio host, a few months earlier he had jokingly said to his friend, Shelly Jo, "Find me a great lady, I think I'm ready for the real thing."

It took Shelly Jo about a month to get the nerve to call Matthew, who is a total skeptic, and tell him that she had a friend in Honolulu who says she's in love with him and that they are going to get married. But finally, after some prodding, she made the call.

"Matthew...are you sitting down?" she began. She told him the whole story. He listened and was quiet for a rare moment. "Maybe you ought to give me her phone number," he said.

That night he called me -- and not a moment too soon. The next day I was leaving to go to New York for a month. Oddly enough, there were two men friends there from my past who for the first time wanted to become lovers. I had been celibate for some time, and if I hadn't spoken with Matthew the night before I left, I definitely would have been tempted by these two delightful, loving friends.

But history was already in the making. Matthew and I began talking on the telephone. At first I thought he was nice, but I didn't really feel like he was the one. He seemed a little too much like a slick "L.A. smoothie" for my down-home tastes. But he was definitely a good talker and we began a very exciting and expensive daily telephone relationship.

After four months of really getting to know each other --and increasing the profits of MCI, we still had not seen each other in person. However, we certainly knew more about each other's dreams, values, tastes and fantasies than either of us had ever known about any lover before.

Friends on both sides of the Pacific were urging us on. "When are you two going to finally meet?" After many attempts at a date with destiny, the door finally opened for a first meeting. I was on my way to Texas to attend a conference, and I had an hour and a half lay-over in the City of Angels.

Suddenly the mixture of emotions of meeting the man who I had already agreed to marry -- sight unseen! -- was upon me. My thoughts ran the gamut of the esoteric to the mundane. Not the least was putting my girlfriends through the saga of "what should I wear?" Matthew was getting advice from his buddies; should he hire a limousine, a violinist, a chamber orchestra? Should he bring roses -- four dozen -- one for each month of talking -- or just one? Everyone had an opinion! Matthew was a professional chef and he finally decided on an elegant picnic basket of my favorite treats.

Our nerves were so scrambled with anticipation that we actually had a long-distance telephone argument that lasted until 5 AM and almost ended our not-even-started engagement. But, we resolved the issue and the next day I got on the plane to L.A. I wore one outfit for the five hour flight and changed in the tiny bathroom just before touchdown. One of Matthew's strange requests was that I arrive without wearing any underwear. (One of those guy things, I guess...)

At 11 PM I walked off the plane and we fell into each other's arms. When we opened our arms and our eyes, the L.A. airport gate had cleared. We were finally able to put sight to sound, and touch and taste together. We had a divine picnic at the empty gate. And what followed was an amorous encounter that is the stuff that only dreams are made of. By the time we had to give that final kiss goodbye, the windows were steamed, and we realized the ground crew on the tarmac below had witnessed quite a show.

I arrived in Texas and the next night the Angel came to me and told me the name of our future Baby. He said his name would be Noah. I had never considered that name before, although I have a fondness for reading baby name books.

After the conference I returned to L.A. for ten days. Matthew met me once again at the Los Angeles Airport. A wild idea washed over us, of making the cross-desert drive to Las Vegas to the "Chapel of Love." It seemed deliciously old-fashioned to be married before we consummated our love.

However, the voice of reason took over. We decided that getting engaged before anything happened had the element of ceremony that we were yearning for. We needed to go get a ring. We didn't want to spend our first Angelically-inspired day together shopping, so he gave me a list of stores to choose from. I picked a store and said "the first ring I try on will be the one." I still wear that very same Yin-Yang ring over six years later.

To make a long story short, one month later, Matthew left his radio show, his home and loving family in L.A. He was crossing the Pacific Ocean to live with me and my cat, Wolfie, in my tiny apartment in Honolulu.

Our first obstacle was the fact that Matthew was highly allergic to cats. Thanks to homeopathic remedies, Matthew and Wolfie are now best friends and frequently share the same pillow!

Cut to the chase... Matthew and I have that radio show here in Honolulu. It is called LOVE LIFE. We talk about love, romance, passion, communication, personal growth, intimacy and everything in life worth loving. The show is a pure delight and filled with practical tips on how to make love all the time - no matter what you're doing.

Every night we end our show almost exactly as the Angel had told me we would. We take a mushy moment to say, "Goodnight sweetie." I thank my Angel every day for the love in my life and for the Love that's now on the air. If it wasn't for that Angelic intervention, not only would we have never met, but even if we had met, I don't think we would have ever gotten together.

I have learned that true love may at first not always be recognizable. I lovingly recommend following the guidance of your own personal Angel! Remember, they want to talk, but their words are softly spoken, so make sure you are carefully listening.