I did not realize it at the time that 46 years ago God gave me an incredible gift. He gave me Mary. My marriage was on the rocks. We were living in Edgewater apartments in Essex, Maryland. On my way to the parking lot, a cute blonde hippie neighbor asked my help. She had locked herself out of her apartment and asked if I could climb through her window and open the door. I could have been offended that this white girl assumed me, a black guy, knew how to break into her apartment. As I said, she was cute.
After I broke into her apartment, Mary and I laughed and talked for 4 hours; something I had never done with my wife. When my wife took our daughter and moved out, Mary moved in with me. I came home one day and found Mary weeping in our bedroom. Mary said she had a vision of us being together for a very long time. I thought, this relationship is just a rest stop.