Cupid’s Arrow Strikes Englewood by Randy Moore – Once upon a time in the Kingdom of New York, two teenagers named Mickie Zada and Alan Horey met while rehearsing for the school play Oklahoma. Their ensuing relationship was full of smiles, giggles, hugs, and kisses until Alan met another cute girl. That’s the end of the story, or so it seemed.

Love is unpredictable. It can come swiftly like a thunderbolt, or Cupid’s arrow might take a more circuitous route. Take Mickie and Alan for example. Their brief connection ended only to be rediscovered more than 50 years later in Englewood. Here’s the backstory of the arrow’s flight.

After the breakup, Mickie moved to Chicago when her father was transferred. She said farewell to her first love, while Alan remained in Kenmore. Mickie eventually became an employee of a company that manages golf courses. In 2011, she was transferred to Bent Tree Golf Club in Sarasota. A year later, the trouble-shooting executive was assigned to the Myakka Pines Golf Club in Englewood. She eventually accepted an offer to be the GM instead of a contracted manager. “I wanted to stay in Englewood instead of moving again,” said Mickie.

Both Mickie and Alan ended up getting married to other people, and yet Cupid’s arrow was still flying above the clouds on a long trajectory toward its inevitable target.

Neither Mickie or Alan were happy in their respective marriages and both ended up getting divorced. Alan kept thinking about Mickie and wondering how she was doing and if she was married or single. “Mickie lived in my memories and I could not stop thinking about her,” he explained.

Alan decided to connect with Mickie, so he signed up with Classmates.com. He tried to reach her multiple times over 18-months, but she never responded.

One day, as Mickie was preparing for a trip to California, she felt an impulse to check Classmates.com after not being on the site for 20 years. She was surprised to discover a message from Alan. That’s the moment Cupid’s golden arrow made a sharp turn toward Englewood.

Mickie and Alan started talking within minutes and the conversation continued two hours every day for three months. Alan visited the end of August, they got engaged in October, and were married on November 7, 2015 in Avery Point, Connecticut. Cupid’s arrow had found its mark yet again.

The couple are in the process of making Englewood their permanent home. Mickie’s son and three grandkids live here, and Alan is enjoying being a grandfather and exploring his new hometown. As far as Cupid goes, the little guy with wings of hope is busy as ever sharpening those precious arrows.