Linda did not want to talk on the phone until after they had met in person. Jim didn't fully understand but willingly complied - he was the soul of patience! Being blind, Jim couldn't look at pictures of Linda, and without phone conversations, he had only her wonderful and voluminous words to pique his imagination. Linda was satisfied with Jim's thoughtful, beautifully written email messages and the one photograph he had sent her.

When Jim explained that hearing her voice would be the blind man's equivalent of seeing a photograph, Linda made him a recording in which she told a story about a special part of her life. "Once I heard that voice," Jim says, "I knew that this was for real. After losing my sight, and having always been very tuned in to sounds and voices, I knew I would recognize the sound of my mate when I heard it, and somehow I knew, this was it."

Jim visited Linda in West Virginia, where he was greeted enthusiastically by Abbie, her border collie. "The weekend was one of the most special times of my life," says Linda. "Everything just felt so right." Jim concurs: "The visit was magical and enchanting. Suddenly it was clear to me that, even if it took giving up the new home and community I loved, I needed to be with this person." Linda visited Jim in Boulder the next month and was quickly immersed in his cohousing community. She also fell in love with Jim's cat, Tillie, who quickly took to her mom-to-be.

For the next year, Linda and Jim flew back and forth between Colorado and West Virginia about every six weeks or so. Living 1700 miles apart was both a challenge and an opportunity: they longed to be together, but being apart gave them plenty of time to get to know each other deeply.

Eventually, it became clear that something needed to be done on a more permanent basis. Happily, Linda landed a university job in Denver. While Linda was selling her home and pulling up roots, Jim was preparing his home for the joyful arrival of Linda and Abbie. Finally, one year after their first beach date, they were at home together in Boulder.

They still had no plans to marry (both had chronic health conditions and were afraid of what would happen to their insurance if they got hitched). On a whim, Jim made a call to his employer's benefits office; as it turned out, there would actually be some very positive advantages to being married. With that very romantic notion as motivation, they decided right then and there to tie the knot. The wedding was a community-wide effort, with their closest friends helping them throw the party to end all parties, complete with bagpiper! Even Abbie joined in, donning a doggie wedding dress and appearing at the end of the ceremony.

While initially the obstacles seemed daunting, Jim and Linda persisted because they both realized they were meant for each other. "We can honestly say that life is much richer lived together than it was when we were living apart. Individually we had a lot to offer but together we are so much more. We support each other in our individual pursuits - Jim's audiophile and computer passions, Linda's writing.

"Now we are getting ready to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. And we are buying a new house, also located in our cohousing community. We've said goodbye to Tillie and welcomed our new cat, Zoe. All four of us - Jim, Linda, Abbie, and Zoe - look forward to creating new memories in the new house. Thanks so much, Rodelinde. You have brought together two people who would never have met otherwise. We're obviously a real match - and your service allowed us to transcend distance and seemingly huge obstacles to be together."