CHAPTER 1
Life After Being "Divorced On The Redneck Riviera"
The tempests in my life after I turned sixty opened up a whole new light at the end of my tunnel of darkness. Now the lights are so bright they almost put my eyes out. In the life of Linnie Delmar or what I refer to as my life in "Linnie's World" when we get older bright lights in any room aren't always our friend even on a good day. This bright tunnel of life brought me some happiness and at times some sadness as well. I was on the top of the world knowing that I had accomplished yet another goal on my famous bucket list. That goal was to complete my first book "Divorced on the Redneck Riviera" and have it published by the time I turned 60. I turned 60 on August 8 my book came out the following September 2010.
"Yea" I can check that off my bucket list just like I did when I went zip lining in the north Georgia mountains with Rodney, my beloved son, and white water rafting in Tennessee that same year of turning the "Big 60". I also took a cross country trip with some friends (8,600 miles) on a motorcycle. We drove from Fairhope, Alabama to the West Coast of California and managed to see most of the National Parks along the way and back. My blue eyes always open to something new and exciting. The way I look at life with my heart wide open is still true today seven years later. My adventuresome soul of never a dull moment is still my motto that keeps me going strong each and every day. I still have goals and to do list everyday in hopes to accomplish everything on that list and then some. My drive to push myself is still with me every morning when I wake up until I go to bed at night. With the satisfied feeling that I've done as much as I can do for others especially for my family, clients, and for the love of my life, my husband Denny!
When my book came out I was expecting to be rich and famous within weeks of its release and of course be on the best sellers list in no time at all! That was my thought in Linnie's world of positive thinking. I also thought that the name Linnie Delmar would be a household name within the year just like Dolly, Cher, Winston Groom, or Danielle Steele. Thinking that everyone that read my book would think of it for what it was good ole adult Southern humor. Also as well as a good chick book to take to the beach no more or no less! To say the least in the real world and not in "Linnie's World" none of this happened the way I thought it would. I've had a few people say that I shouldn't have told so much about my personal life. Not leaving out one detail about the mistakes I made by marring the wrong men. It was these mistakes that messed me up and put my good reputation in question but in reality it only made me wiser to the way the world really is!
Some people, mostly older ladies, told me that the last thing they want to read about is how pretty God made the male autonomy. I was expecting that to happen due to not everyone loves the male autonomy and thinks of it being beautiful as much as I do. Before I published my book I asked my publisher should I take it out about the male anatomy. I told him that I have a lot of clients who are good ole Southern Baptist ladies and they might not want to hear about all that. My publisher laughed and told me they might not like to hear about the male anatomy but I assure you they are going to keep reading. He was right because most of my friends and clients said that they couldn't stop reading and they finished it in one sitting. They laughed out loud with joy and some cried with sadness wondering if Linnie was ever going to find "THE ONE"?
For these people that did read my book I say thank you for your support. I appreciate you buying my book "Divorced on the Redneck Riviera". You are the people that I knew would find humor, find adventure, and only after a few pages would figure out the good side of my sense of humor and respect me for who I am as a good person with a kind heart for everyone. You are the ones that have an open mind and a forgiving heart to see all the good in me and forgive all the mistakes I made 25 or 30 years ago. We all make mistakes when we're young, and stupid about the world out there just waiting to be explored.
By anyone's standards I've had an extraordinary, exciting, fun filled life compared to most people. Remember the book is written about Linnie Delmar and the world she lives in and not the so called real world. Judge for yourself what is real and what is not from Linnie's point of view. I'm just glad they enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it! The main reason I wrote the book was to gain Mama's approval. I wanted Mama to tell me that I was smart and also pretty.
Of course I'm still waiting for that day to come! Even at age 90 she still kept me on my toes and called me out on any and all the mistakes I made. Sadly Mama passed away on June 1, 2015 and I still miss her dearly. I wanted to show her that I wasn't the so called "Blue Baby" after all. I felt like Mama thought I wasn't as smart as I could have been? Actually I was the only one who thought that I was "The Blue Baby" when I would make mistakes! I was trying to justify my mistakes and blame others for all the wrong things I did along my journey of life. Not Mama or anyone else just me for some reason or another thinking that about myself!
I never had a self confidence issue. Actually I've probably had too much dignity and self confidence most of my life. I still think I'm sexy at age 68 and when I look at my naked body in the mirror I say to myself "Linnie you still rock!" All of this of course is done with dim lighting and without my glasses on! Remembering that bright lights aren't a girl's best friend under any circumstances! At times in Linnie's world I still see that size 8 to 10 and still see the signs of a tiny waistline. In reality, now that I'm getting older, I'm also trying to convince myself that looks aren't everything. In Linnie's world I feel like I look better than most women when I walk into a room due to the way I carry myself. Ladies remember it's the way you carry yourself that your confidence speaks louder than words or your looks ever will. Present yourself to the world like you are the most special person in the world. So again in "Linnie's World" I still feel like that when I walk into a room. I own that room and I can work that room just like I did in my younger days because of the self confidence and the way I carry myself always with dignity and pride!
I feel like people love me for who I am and not who they want me to be and I love each and every one of them right back! They feel my self-confidence and my presence trying to be in the moment with all I try to do in life. Also I'm in the moment when I do my job of pampering stressed out people on a daily basis and especially in my personal life with Denny.
Yes one year after my first book came out "Divorced on the Redneck Riviera" I finally met "THE ONE!" Thank God the days of hearing that tiny voice, asking me "I know he's out there, so where is he?" is gone forever! My mistakes are fewer and screw-ups are less because I now put forth my best effort with everything I do in life and the people in it. I've always given it my all but I've noticed in my older years that I pay attention to details now that I'm trying harder to do it the right way the first time around. In my younger days when I did something wrong I would just do it and say to myself "well if I screw up I'll deal with the consequences later". My motto now is, "May you have the "BEST" life has to offer and may your "BEST" continue be shared with others!"
When the first copy of my book "Divorced on the Redneck Riviera" came to me in the mail I felt as happy and excited as Carrie did in the movie "Sex and The City" when she got the first copy of all the books she wrote as Carrie Bradshaw the author. I immediately took it over for Mama to read. I waited for days for the shit to hit the fan while Mama took her sweet time reading it. During the entire time while writing the book I never once let her see or read the manuscript. I wanted it to be a surprise to her and surprise it was!
I finally got the phone call I had been dreading that she had read the book! I walked in the door of Mama and Dad's home nervous and afraid. We locked eyes as she gave me that go to hell look that she was so famous for. I braced myself for what I thought would be the biggest ass chewing of my life. Instead she held out the book and said to me, "I think you have a little money maker here I LOVED IT!" Words can't express how happy it made me feel for her to say she loved the book that took me over a year to write. My happiness was beyond belief and I felt like I had won the lottery! I said to myself thank you Lord Jesus. ... mission accomplished!
Now I can check this off my bucket list and move on to my next project! Writing another book, like I'm doing now, was out of the question. I was so tired that I knew it would never be on my bucket list of goals and accomplishments to write another book again! Well people NEVER SAY NEVER! I also said that I would never get married again throughout my first book. I was single for over twelve years and happy with my single life. I had Mama, Dad, my son Rodney, my little dog Coco, and last I had my Harley Davidson (BIG BOY) sitting in the garage ready for me to ride anytime, anywhere. What more could a woman want?
Since the time that my first book came out my life has changed in so many ways. I'm happy to announce that I finally did find "The One" and the right one found me about a year after my first book came out. His name is Denny and he turned out to be the man I want to spend the rest of my life with. When people ask me where did you meet Denny? I tell them that my Dad walked in my front door and said to me "I met the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with!" We got married on Valentine's Day 2012 in our favorite city of New Orleans. It was a perfect day in every way! Rodney told me he would never walk me down the aisle again (3 times for him was enough). Thank God he changed his mind and he did walk me down the aisle for the last time.
I knew Denny was "The One" the day Dad brought him in my front door and introduced us (January 23, 2011). When I first laid eyes on him and him on me we both knew at that moment it was love at first sight! Dad called me on the phone before he brought Denny over. That's when he said in a soft low voice "I have met the man you are going to spend the rest of your life with". Of course I said REALLY Dad? Although I knew Dad wouldn't say that if he didn't mean it! Two weeks earlier Dad told me "I'm going to find you a good man before I die". I laughed and since Dad was in his eighties I told him Dad you had better get started looking time is a wasting! Dad is a man of his word and low and behold he kept his word and he found Denny for me!
He and Denny had been talking for over two hours about Denny renting a rental property that belonged to Mama and Denny redoing the kitchen cabinets in one of Mama's beach condominiums in Orange Beach and of life in general. I'm sure Dad of course was drilling him for additional personal information not pertaining to rentals or construction. Denny's a custom contractor mainly doing custom kitchen and bathrooms.
His passion though is art! His goal is to have an internet art gallery for classical reproductions and over forty different categories of art you can purchase online plus top of the line frames you can order as well! The name is so perfect for our new company "www.artchateau. com". Once he gets that business up and running he can get out of the contracting business and devote all his time to the gallery where he has the highest resolution art images in the world and a lifestyle magazine.
I plan to help him with the business so that I can semi retire from my physical job of being a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT). I've worked hard for over 30yrs. of pampering people. I'm looking forward to retiring one day and me getting pampered as often as possible! Denny and I also want to travel promoting our new business Art Chateau. I've taught Denny to work on me (massage therapy) and he's great at it! It's the only time I can completely relax all my tired muscles and get into the zone of letting go.
Denny is a Yankee boy from Farmington, Michigan. He also spent time growing up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He's close to my age, tall, blonde, blue eyes, and very handsome. His friend Pat who lives part time in Fairhope comes down to Fairhope to spend a few months at a time from Michigan. She had been telling Denny all about Fairhope for over a year from when she met him. He was her contractor who did some renovation at her home in Michigan. It had never crossed Denny's mind, before then, to ever come to lower Alabama.
Thank God Pat was persistent for him to be introduced to Fairhope. It took awhile for him to decide to make the trip south but when he did he never went back to Michigan because our small quaint town of Fairhope captivated him in more ways than one! He has told me more times than once that his life took a long detour in order for him to make it into my arms. He couldn't believe his eyes that the little town of Fairhope could have the charm and class it has. Attracting people from all over the world our special town has gained a name for itself in all the right ways as told in USA Today. They named Fairhope the Carmel, California of the South.
I'm so glad that Pat's persistence paid off and he loves the place we both feel honored to call Fairhope our home. Most of all he loves me! We love our family, friends, and the job we both have. Taking pride in all we do for them but especially taking pride in the joy, love, trust, and honor we have for each other. We allow each day to count. We respect each other's time and space allowing us to be our own person and do what we do best. We trust each other to be the best we can be when it comes to our life and especially when it comes to each other! I've always dreamed of having a life with a partner who I can share my life with and not have to work at marriage but have marriage work for us! I have all of that now with my husband Denny! I want to shout it out and tell the world "I FINALLY FOUND THE ONE WHO I THOUGHT WOULD NEVER COME!"
My life will never be the same again! I now have that person who I never thought I would find or would he would find me. We found each other thanks to Dad and to our friend Pat. I would ask myself over and over again "where is he" I know he's out there somewhere waiting for me to come into his life? I've been waiting for over 12 long years of living alone with my little dog Coco (5lb. teacup Miniature Pincher).
She was the best companion I could ever ask for but after 14yrs. she passed away. She did get to meet Denny though before she passed away. Coco loved him and he loved her as well! I had a complete life, as happy as I could be or so I thought before Denny came into my life. I really know the meaning of complete now that I have Denny as my husband. It means having a husband again who loves me and we are devoted to each other in every way! It does my heart good to say that he's the love of my life! He's told me that I'm the love of his life and that it took a lifetime for him to find me. He's the man that I was destined to meet one day. The man who I'm proud to call my husband and "The One" who I will spend the rest of my life with! Best of all he loves me as much as I love him and he tells me that "I'm the One" he was destined to be with! These words I have hungered to hear my entire life! I now hear those words loud and clear from the man of my dreams!
Best of all is that he has "NO BAGGAGE" what so ever! Ladies speaking from experience this is a huge factor to consider when you meet someone no matter what age they are (especially over 60) the more baggage they have the more problems you'll have in the future. He's been divorced for over 8yrs (2003) when I met him in 2011 and he has no kids! His parents died many years ago. He considers my Mama and Dad as his parents and treats them as such. They look at him as their new son and adore him especially Mama before she passed away! At the end of each day when he comes home from work we both still get excited to finally see each other and enjoy our evening together!
He loves my cooking so I always try to have a good meal cooked for him when he comes in from work. I love to cook but now he cooks for me when I'm too tired to cook. That alone is a luxury to me knowing I don't have to cook every night if I don't want to. Life is good and getting better as time goes by. Denny and I have so many goals we are working toward to accomplish together as a team. With the grace of God I hope and pray we both live long enough to accomplish those goals and live out our dreams together as one.
Most couples we know at our age have accomplished their goals and are retired enjoying their so called "Golden Years". We're just getting started and the ride isn't over yet! Linnie and Denny have huge goals, plans, and dreams that we want to see and enjoy together as a team, together as lovers and friends, and best of all together as husband and wife! Life is good because we both finally found "THE ONE"!
