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Already, this has turned out to be one hell of a year -- and we've still got a long way to go. When I published last week's modest piece, I thought that I would be writing about a London wedding this week. I even had a title picked out: London Calling. It was a beautiful plan -- well, almost -- but then we called the lawyer again and decided to scrap plan B before it got very far, because it would take too long. Plan C, Jamaica (mon), sounded great. No waiting period, but then we started thinking about the costs involved. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself here.

After proposing, May 10, my initial thoughts were to get married in London, or somewhere in the United Kingdom, with Guy as my witness. Given the story of our electronic reunion, that certainly would have made for a great column. But we wanted to be sensible and check the legalities before formulating a plan.

Plan A was hatched after doing research on the Internet and consulting an immigration attorney. To avoid a 60 to 75 day wait (the latest estimate is now 3 1/2 months) for the visa to be processed before my bride would be allowed to enter the United States, we'd get married here, in New Orleans, apply for a K3 spousal visa, wait for the paperwork to be processed, then take a Christmas trip to London to get the visa, come back here and live happily ever after. Simple, right?

Not!

5 weeks before our planned wedding date, we thought it was time to retain an attorney, run our plans by them to make sure all our ducks were in a nice straight row, and get a head start with the paperwork. To say the least, we were shocked to find out that things have changed. US immigration has stepped up their efforts to fight terrorism, and are now more closely scrutinizing foreign visitors. The chances of my fiancée being turned back at customs had significantly increased. We came to the conclusion that we couldn't risk our plans being foiled by customs; we'd just have to accept the fact that we'd have to be separated after marriage, and get married outside the United States. We simply didn't want to risk the possibility that attempting to get around the laws could cause delays in the visa process, we were afraid that we would be separated for longer than necessary -- 3 - 4 months is going to be too long already!

So on to plan B, London. The first step is to select a date, and this means first finding out the laws and what documents we'd need to get a license. I also had to get to work on securing a passport. Butch took me to get passport and visa photos last week, and he and his girlfriend, Gerrie, took me back to Kinko's today to get additional photos. After arranging for Dianne, the office manager where I work, to take me to the DMV to get a new Louisiana state ID card, and then to the post office to file my passport application last Tuesday, I should have my first passport within 2 weeks. Like I stated in my opening paragraph, residency requirements in England and the UK meant that we would have to reside in the place of our marriage for at least 15 days. So, we called the lawyer and asked for a quicker, easier solution and that's were Jamaica came into the picture. While this was a nice little fantasy, plan C soon joined plans A and B in the trash can.

But I'm still ahead of myself here. I still haven't said who "we" are. By "we" I mean me and Lee. Lisa Vermeulen is the relentlessly persistent friend whom I left hanging on the cliff last week; and all we want to do is get married and be together. That seemed too easy just a couple of weeks ago, but if it seems too good to be true, it usually is... :)

Lee came here to New Orleans last April, stayed here for 26 wonderful days and left the middle of May. During that time, we fell madly in love -- or more accurately, confirmed what we already knew -- and then she went back home to South Africa (that's a country, you know). She lives in Brackenhurst, which is a 30 minute drive southeast from Johannesburg, and that's where we are to be married. That's enough about her for now, though. You'll have to come back next week for more about my beautiful bride and the incredible story of just how we came to meet.

So now, you can forget about plans A, B and C, because we're on to plan D; rather than her coming here, or meeting somewhere in the middle, I'm going there, to South Africa! Would you expect any less of a devoted fiancé?

After securing my ID and applying for my passport -- Thanks, Dianne -- and checking with the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. to make sure that that's all I need is a US passport to enter South Africa, I booked my flight and Lee booked the church, and we've set the date for August 19, 2003.

Roll on, plan D! I've got the tickets!

So, now that I've got these thoughts posted, I need to call Guy to fill him in on the latest changes in our plans. I still intend on getting to Penzance, though, and we'll get there, someday . . . me and Lee.