When Destiny Hits
"In their very first encounter, Karlys thought Tom was a moving, from-the-heart public speaker when she heard him make a presentation at a large-scale community event in 1999. Karlys remained after the event to tell Tom how impressed she was with his comments. Then, by chance (or secret matchmaking by mutual friends), they ended up serving as volunteer partners at the beer garden during the In The Streets community celebration in September 2000. Upon learning of the “assignment”, Karlys, at first, was a bit apprehensive because Tom seemed to be an intense intellectual and she typically is joy-seeking and very playful. To her surprise, after 3 hours of laughing and joyful conversation, Karlys knew, deep in her heart, that Tom was the person she felt destined to marry. This was a truly unique feeling because for more than 10 years Karlys rarely dated and had grown to love her independence and single life.
In the succeeding months, at opportune times, Karlys subtly reached out to Tom and gave signals that she may be interested in a deeper relationship. Tom, however, being an introvert and shy, did not seem to get the message. Being creative, Karlys invited Tom to join her and common friends at an Orioles game. While they had a great time, Karlys was surprised to learn that Tom was an avid baseball fan and spent more time than she would have liked swapping stories and stats with their friends!
Immediately after that experience, Karlys spent three weeks traveling to China for business. Upon her return, she was disappointed to learn that there were no messages from Tom. Undaunted, and continuing to believe that Tom was THE person for her, Karlys invited Tom to dinner at her house. Karlys knew of course that she was a terrible cook and had nothing to eat in the house (empty cupboards, refrigerator, and unused stove) but felt it was important for the man she would marry to know that cooking was not among her skills! Laughing the whole time, they went to the Common Market and picked up supplies and Tom insisted that Karlys sit and relax while he cooked dinner and made the salad. For the next date, Tom now invited Karlys to dinner at the South Mountain Inn and someone on the staff must have had a premonition, because he seated us in “lovers’ lane”. That night, destiny hit them both, and Tom and Karlys have been a loving couple ever since.
It is almost impossible to believe that these events occurred now 24 years ago, which is testimony to the fact that the 24 years have been a blissful dream full of adventure, mutual respect and support and unconditional love. We appreciate and honor each other every day by living our best independent lives and our very best life as a couple. We consider ourselves to be a “team for good” in Frederick and love being contributors to the well being of this community."
-Karlys Kline and Tom Lynch