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5 <meta name="Author" content="Andrew DeFaria">
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17 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>Dear
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18 Olga,</font></font></font></i></b>
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19 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>Never
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20 in a thousand years would I have thought that I would meet a woman like
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21 you! You are so poised with grace and beauty. You are kind and loving and
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22 appreciative. You are intelligent and feminine and interesting. You are
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23 a true lady who has a firm grip on my heart.</font></font></font></i></b>
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24 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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25 remember back before I came to Kiev for the first time. It was very exciting
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26 for me and my hopes were high that I might meet the girl of my dreams in
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27 the city of my mother's birth. But this is typical for me. Deep down I
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28 am an optimist and I easily believe the best will happen. But in my life
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29 it is not always the case the best does happen. So I usually look at what
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30 may mess that up. I also often attempt to play down what might be so that
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31 I don't get disappointed. Before I came out to Kiev I remember thinking
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32 to myself and planning: What will I do if this doesn't work for me? For
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33 years now I have not be able to find anybody special where I live. Will
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34 I remain alone until I die?</font></font></font></i></b>
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35 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>The
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36 time I spent in Kiev was truly wonderful. I was like a kid in a candy store
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37 - there were many beautiful women there and the all were kind and they
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38 all accepted my invitation to go out. You must understand this just does
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39 not happen where I live. If anything it is the exact opposite here. But
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40 quickly I learned that I was still not making any real connection to any
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41 of the women. It is hard to really get to know somebody in just a few days.
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42 And, along with being feminine, the women are a lot more reserved about
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43 themselves and do not open up to somebody else that quickly. But I was
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44 having a great time so I did not think of my trip as a total loss. If I
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45 came home with no perspective wives at least I had a good time.</font></font></font></i></b>
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46 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>And
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47 I remember when I met you at the second social. I remember seeing you as
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48 I was visiting all the tables. I remember coming back to your table and
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49 sitting down next to you. At the time I didn't realize that that was your
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50 table. I remember looking to my left and seeing you there and I got nervous.
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51 But we talked for a while and you were very pleasant to me, which eased
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52 my nervousness. I remember you showing me your photos and when you showed
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53 me the photo of you at your work I didn't know what to do. It was a very
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54 provocative picture and I didn't want you to think that I was just interested
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55 in you for your body. I guess I was embarrassed.</font></font></font></i></b>
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56 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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57 believe I came around to your table later and asked for your number and
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58 if you wanted to go out. I needed to work up the courage to ask you. I'm
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59 glad you were still there otherwise we wouldn't have went out.</font></font></font></i></b>
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60 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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61 remember our first date together. I had just had a date with a nice girl
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62 and her son that afternoon. Nothing special. I got back to the hotel to
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63 change for our date. I had made up my mind that I wanted to take you to
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64 the Renaissance, to a fancy place because I considered you a classy lady.
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65 When I came down to the lobby you were late in arriving. My first fear
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66 hit me. Up until then all the ladies were nice and eager to go out. It
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67 was unbelievable to me that I could take out so many beautiful women. Then
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68 you were late. I began thinking that perhaps my luck had run out, that
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69 you were much too good for me and that you wouldn't show up at all.</font></font></font></i></b>
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70 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>While
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71 I was waiting there an embarrassing thing happened to me. The lady I had
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72 a date with that afternoon arrived at the hotel dressed to go out. Seems
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73 she was going out with one of the other Americans but he was also late.
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74 So here we are, me and her, stuck in the lobby because our dates were late
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75 and we were trying to avoid each other. Finally I went up to her and said
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76 that it was alright, that the men are doing this and it makes sense that
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77 the women are doing it too. Normally I would have been angry, hurt and
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78 crushed if that happened to me but here in Kiev there are many beautiful
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79 women. And I have the most beautiful woman coming here to meet me for dinner.
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80 Eventually you arrived and we went to dinner.</font></font></font></i></b>
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81 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>The
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82 restaurant was just fabulous and you looked great. I remember getting wine,
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83 which is something I rarely drink. I remember telling you not to worry
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84 about whatever the evening ended up costing and that I just wanted to go
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85 out to a nice restaurant with a nice lady and have a good time. I made
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86 you promise to not worry about it. I had learned that Ukrainian women worry
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87 about how much money a guy spends on them and I didn't want that ruining
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88 the evening. I remember starring into your eyes as we talked and that the
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89 rest of the restaurant seemed to melt away. But I still found it difficult
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90 to look you directly in the eye for a long time. To me it was just too
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91 intense, too strong a feeling. The atmosphere was very romantic and I was
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92 just getting swept up in the moment. The wine was kicking in (well at least
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93 the portion that I didn't spill on the tablecloth! Talk about embarrassing!)
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94 and my blood was flowing. I was complimenting you often and I did mean
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95 every compliment, but I felt like I was worrying you. I remember telling
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96 you that you were definitely one of the women that I wanted to see again
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97 and to continue to talk to. Turns out you were the only woman that I said
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98 that to.</font></font></font></i></b>
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99 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>The
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100 passion and fire that was in my heart at the restaurant managed to cool
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101 itself down a little bit on the taxi ride home. I started thinking that
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102 I messed up the evening by being too intense and you appeared to be nervous.
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103 When we got back to the hotel and said goodnight I gave you a little kiss
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104 and what I remember was that you turned to your cheek slightly. It all
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105 seemed rushed as you were talking to the taxicab driver. Before I knew
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106 it you were off in the taxi. I went back in the hotel thinking "Well you
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107 blew it Andy by going overboard! You'll probably not see her again because
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108 she doesn't seem to be interested in you. Oh well, you can't win them all".
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109 The rest of that night was not particularly pleasant for me.</font></font></font></i></b>
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110 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>That
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111 weekend I had two women come into Kiev that I was speaking to before through
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112 email. One, Svetlana, was staying in my hotel and the other, Elena, was
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113 in another hotel. I had told Svetlana about Elena and said that I would
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114 not be able to see Svetlana very much during that weekend. Svetlana was
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115 staying until Tuesday and Elena was only there until Sunday. Svetlana said
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116 she understood. Turns out that Svetlana was not at all like I expected
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117 her to be. She was too young and immature. The whole weekend she was trying
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118 to cling to me and I was not interested.</font></font></font></i></b>
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119 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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120 didn't enjoy the last social on Friday very much. At this social I had
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121 my tux and got some roses to pass out. While I had fun trying to be Mr.
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122 Charming, I did not get a single phone number at the last social. I didn't
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123 see anybody that I liked or was interested in. There was nobody here to
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124 compare to you. I was really hoping to see you there but you didn't show
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125 up. I guess that was good because Svetlana was hanging around me most of
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126 the night anyway.</font></font></font></i></b>
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127 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>Elena
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128 was also young. I was more interested in Elena than Svetlana. I spent a
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129 good portion of that weekend with Elena (remember I was still thinking
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130 I'd never see you again). But Elena was elusive and secretive. Then I caught
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131 Elena in a lie and I didn't appreciate that at all. In the end I sent Elena
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132 off on a train and told her that I would not be contacting her anymore.</font></font></font></i></b>
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133 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>At
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134 this point it was pretty depressing for me. All the socials were over and
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135 I still didn't have anybody I was seriously thinking about. And the person
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136 I was really interested in, you, was not interested in me as far as I could
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137 tell. Well I still had some more phone numbers and women I could take out
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138 but I felt certain that I would be going home without knowing that I had
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139 somebody that was a good possibility.</font></font></font></i></b>
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140 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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141 finally got enough courage to call you again and see if I could make a
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142 better impression on you. I remember thinking that I need to make a date
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143 with you that was more casual and try to take you on a more sporty date.
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144 I thought of horseback riding or bicycling. I tried and tried to find a
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145 place for bicycling but I could not find one. And, as we now know, my lead
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146 on the horseback riding was not all that good.</font></font></font></i></b>
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147 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>That
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148 second date started off badly with the weather not being cooperative. But
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149 still we managed alright. And that long taxi ride out to what was supposed
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150 to be a horseback riding place! My heart sank when I said that we would
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151 not be able to ride horses. I kept thinking she must think I'm a dope!
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152 I can't even arrange a date! But again we muddled through.</font></font></font></i></b>
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153 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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154 don't remember when we went up to my hotel room exactly but I remember
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155 that I wanted to show you my pictures and let you listen to my CD. I remember
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156 you listening to the CD. I made sure that I put on The Reunion because
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157 it's a particularly romantic song. You had the headphones on and was swaying
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158 to the music slightly. All I could do is watch you. Your face looked so
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159 lovely as it had your thoughts of romance on it. I remember leaning down
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160 close to your face and I wanted to kiss you right then and there. But then
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161 I remembered that I'd said that I wouldn't try anything. And here we are
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162 alone in my hotel room, you're sitting on my bed and I'm going to kiss
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163 you passionately while you're listening to a romantic song?!? What will
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164 you be thinking? You'll think that I'm just breaking my promise. I can't
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165 do that to you! I respect you and I want you to like me and be able to
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166 trust me when I make a promise to you. Let me tell you it was a hard thing
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167 to maintain control at that moment. Then you opened your eyes and we both
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168 got startled! It was funny and embarrassing but for some reason, by then
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169 I felt a little more comfortable about it.</font></font></font></i></b>
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170 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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171 remember we also went to see that movie in Russian. It's a good thing that
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172 I had seen it already in English and that it was an action film instead
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173 of a film with a lot of talking. By this time we were feeling more comfortable
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174 with each other and I felt good about that. Didn't we also go to that dance
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175 club later on? I remember that we started the date at around 1 in the afternoon
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176 and you didn't go back until around 11 or 12 at night. I was beginning
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177 to feel much better about you and that perhaps I was making a good impression
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178 on you this time.</font></font></font></i></b>
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179 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>But,
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180 for me, I knew there was something special going on when we were standing
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181 outside of the hotel and kissing. It was like neither of wanted the night
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182 to end. And when you came back into the hotel because I had forgotten to
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183 take care of the taxi all I could think about was that it was not just
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184 me who had lost his mind, thinking not of what needed to be done but instead
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185 thinking of only you. That's when I realized that you were having the same
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186 feelings that I was.</font></font></font></i></b>
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188 <p><img SRC="/Olga/P1010143.jpg" BORDER=0 height=295 width=400></center>
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190 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>And
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191 our final date was really good too. I decided not to try to get the bicycles
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192 or to search for horseback riding again. I thought sailing would be better.
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193 It was very nice. It was peaceful and quiet and beautiful. I remember feeling,
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194 as we gathered our stuff up in the boat and got comfortable, that I will
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195 do this again with you many times in America. That walk we had was nice
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196 too. At that point we really felt like a couple to me. It was getting comfortable
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197 for me now. I was not as concerned with looking like a fool, I was interested
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198 in looking at you and learning more about you. And that taxi ride home
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199 was wonderful. Gregory was doing a great job playing those romantic songs
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200 and this time I was not nervous about being romantic.</font></font></font></i></b>
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202 <p><img SRC="/Olga/P1010131.jpg" BORDER=0 height=269 width=400></center>
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204 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>Remember
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205 that we tried to find Sean and Elena to go out dancing? It's funny when
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206 you think about what has happened with them and us now.</font></font></font></i></b>
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207 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>When
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208 we were in the dance club later that night and playing the slot machines
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209 I again remember getting a picture of doing this with you again in America.
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210 Maybe Vegas or Reno.</font></font></font></i></b>
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211 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>But
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212 when the night was ending I was getting sad. Not only were you leaving
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213 but I was leaving too for America. What was to happen next? I said that
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214 if I met anyone I really felt I had potential with that I would resist
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215 getting engaged right then and that I would instead talk with them on the
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216 phone and in email and come back to see them. Was that a mistake?</font></font></font></i></b>
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217 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>Well
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218 I sure felt it was a mistake when I was on that long flight back to the
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219 US. A couple of the American guys were talking about the people they met,
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220 and John was already engaged and filing papers. Another member of the group,
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221 Greg, was mesmerized by a lady and was going to get married. I started
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222 thinking "What did I do? I should have Olga fill out paperwork too!". I
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223 couldn't stop thinking about you. I saw your perfume in the magazine but
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224 I wasn't able to get it on the plane because I only had travelers checks.
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225 But I knew that I would get you that perfume. I started thinking about
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226 all the romantic things I could do for you.</font></font></font></i></b>
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228 <p><img SRC="Roses.jpg" height=264 width=400></center>
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230 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>When
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231 I got home I immediately order you flowers. And I started calling you.
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232 With every call our love has been growing stronger. I couldn't wait to
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233 get back out to see you. I felt so good when I got the tickets because
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234 I knew that I would definitely be seeing you again.</font></font></font></i></b>
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235 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>As
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236 the days went onward I knew that on my trip back I would ask you to marry
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237 me. My first idea of how to ask you was to go back to the Renaissance and
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238 have them make you a cake that asked you to marry me. I wanted it to say
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239 "Da" and "Nyet" but in the end they just pub "Yes" and "No". I tried for
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240 a few weeks to get the number of the Renaissance and finally got it. I
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241 called them to arrange the evening but my Russian was not good enough to
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242 do that. I emailed a few AFA interpreters asking them to make the arrangements
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243 for me but no one returned the email. I was getting desperate when I called
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244 AFA and asked them for help. They helped me make arrangements for Wednesday.</font></font></font></i></b>
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245 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>The
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246 trip out to Kiev in September was long and made even longer by my detainment
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247 in the airport. Not only had I gotten only 2 hours sleep on the 20 hour
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248 flight to Kiev I was forced to sleep on a cold steel bench in the airport
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249 that first night. I was tired cold and frustrated by the security officers
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250 and other people in the airport who would not let me into the country to
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251 see you. I could not page you and I could not reach you at your home either.
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252 The frustration broke me down and I was an emotional wreck.</font></font></font></i></b>
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253 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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254 had to travel back to Warsaw for my visit and 2 days that I could have
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255 spent with you were wasted. I called you from Warsaw and emotional wreck
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256 and crying. It was like I was a starving man shown a gourmet dinner but
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257 not allowed to eat. Luckily the Ukrainian Embassy processed my visit quickly
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258 and I was able to make the next mornings flight back to Kiev. I said to
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259 myself that I would not call you until I was past customs this time. When
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260 I called you I remember your surprise when I told you I was past customs
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261 and you could pick me up. The wait for you to pick me up was almost unbearable
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262 but at least I knew that we would be able to spend some time together.</font></font></font></i></b>
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263 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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264 was getting a little angry with you being late but when you arrived all
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265 of that went away. I was so glad to see you finally, so much so I spilled
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266 coke all over you and your purse as we hugged for the first time in a long
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267 time. I'm glad you were able to get that out.</font></font></font></i></b>
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269 <p><img SRC="/Olga/P9210052.JPG" BORDER=0 height=300 width=400></center>
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271 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>We
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272 settled in to the apartment and all I could think of was that that night
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273 was Wednesday, the night we were supposed to go to the restaurant! But
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274 I decided that it was just too soon to do that now. We spend our first
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275 night together and it was truly wonderful. The next night we were to go
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276 to the restaurant. I was hoping I could make adjustments to my plan for
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277 that night. They had put us in that nice, romantic corner booth and I thought
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278 "maybe the restaurant remembered us and will be all ready for us even though
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279 we're a day late". I excused myself saying I was using the bathroom to
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280 make sure that things were still on. It's a good thing that I have been
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281 taking Russian lessons because they helped me to talk to the security person
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282 who got the waitress for me. They told me that I was supposed to come last
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283 night and I explained my problems at the airport. It looked like they would
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284 not be able to make the cake and I started thinking of other ways I could
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285 make this work. Then the waitress had an idea of how they could still make
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286 the cake and I returned back to the table. I remember coming into the main
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287 room again with a smile on my face. I quickly wiped the smile off my face
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288 so you would not suspect anything just as I came past the curtain that
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289 draped our booth.</font></font></font></i></b>
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290 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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291 had also thought that you must be thinking that I would ask you to marry
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292 me because we had spoke of our life together in America already on the
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293 phone many times and here I was taking you back to a fancy restaurant,
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294 the restaurant of our first date. So I had a diversionary plan. I had gotten
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295 you that necklace to divert your attention and to satisfy your curiosity
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296 should you be thinking that I was about to propose. It seemed to work nicely.</font></font></font></i></b>
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298 <p><img SRC="/Olga/P9210057.JPG" BORDER=0 height=300 width=400></center>
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300 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>When
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301 dinner was done I suggested desert. You said that you weren't hungry and
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302 I said that Ukrainians always have desert! At that time the cake arrived.
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303 You were in shock and didn't know what was going on. I worried because
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304 it was a little hard to read the question that was on the cake. And as
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305 is typical your answer did not immediately come.</font></font></font></i></b>
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307 <p><img SRC="/Olga/P9210054.JPG" BORDER=0 height=300 width=400></center>
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309 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>Of
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310 course I had to ask you the question myself. I was relieved to hear you
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311 say yes. It took you a while to notice the ring on the candle.And then
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312 we danced cheek to cheek and it was wonderful. When we got back to the
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313 apartment we also danced to "When You Love Somebody" and there was magic
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314 in the air for me.</font></font></font></i></b>
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316 <p><img SRC="/Olga/P9240088.JPG" BORDER=0 height=533 width=400></center>
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318 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>The
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319 rest of our time together was truly wonderful too, with roller blading
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320 down Krushatic, the shopping together, strolling around, making dinner,
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321 washing dishes and taking showers together. I even got to take care of
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322 you when you had a stomach ache. It was only when I was leaving did the
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323 anger returned and I said to myself "If I didn't have that Visa problem
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324 getting in I would be able to spend another two days with her". We parted
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325 at the airport and I remember how you just disappeared after I went through
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326 customs. All I could think about was to get busy, to get started with the
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327 Fiancé Visa paperwork and to get the house ready. I want to get
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328 you here as soon as possible so we can start our life together.</font></font></font></i></b>
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329 <p><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>And
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330 now I'm coming out again in December. I guess I just can't keep away from
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331 you - and I never want to be away from you for such a long time again.
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332 My love we will be together in December again and we will have another
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333 wonderful time. And soon you will be in my arms in America, in our house,
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334 safe, comfortable and happy as we start our family and life here.</font></font></font></i></b>
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339 <blockquote><b><i><font face="Freehand591 BT"><font color="#FF0080"><font size=+2>I
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340 love you very much and miss you dearly,</font></font></font></i></b>
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341 <p><img SRC="Signature.gif" BORDER=0 height=37 width=200></blockquote>
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projects / clearscm.git / blob