Jim and Lety first met in 2014 while out dancing. Inside the Double Tree Hotel was a small night club called the Odyssey. The Odyssey was THE meeting spot for Latin dancers in Bakersfield. If you wanted to Salsa, Bachata, or Cumbia you went to the Odyssey on Thursday nights. While Lety had been going to the Odyssey for quite some time, Jim was relatively new to the Latin dance scene. While at the Odyssey, each of them had their own group of friends that they would sit with, usually across the dance floor from each other. After some time, Jim started to notice this lovely Latina who had some very good dance moves! One night, he noticed her wearing a beautiful white (and form fitting) dress. Determined not to go home without dancing with this beauty, Jim looked for the right opportunity to cross the dance floor and ask her for a dance. When the right time arrived, Jim raced across the floor, sliding the last 10 feet so as not to be beat by another dancer. Holding out his hand he asked: “Would you like to dance?” And…THANKFULLY she said yes. Their first dance was a Bachata and while Jim was nervous, he nailed all of his moves, even receiving a compliment from Lety, telling him he had a “good lead.” From that point on, Jim made it his mission to ask Lety for at least one dance every Thursday night. Toward the end of the year, a mutual friend, Luz Buchannan, asked Jim if he would like to go with she and her husband to a Christmas party, along with a few others from the dance group. Jim asked who would be going and Luz mentioned Lety’s name. Jim told Luz, I will go on one condition, “You sit me at the seat next to Lety!” Luz agreed, and so did Jim! Not one to let a good opportunity pass him by, Jim made the most of the night chatting up Lety and taking every chance available to dance with her at the party. It was a good night! Toward the end of the evening Jim asked Lety to put her number in his phone, which she gladly agreed to do so. As soon as he got home, Jim texted Lety to let her know how much he enjoyed the evening! There was only one problem, the number she put in his phone was the WRONG number! Oh no! Did she do that on purpose or was it an accident? Thankfully it was the latter. This is the first time Jim learned about Lety’s poor eye sight! The number was just one digit off. After the Christmas Party, Luz, Jack, a few other friends along with and Jim and Lety made plans to go out for New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately, Lety got sick and was not able to go, so Jim to the rescue! Jim reached out to Lety and he was able to order-in dinner and they spent the New Year’s Eve watching movies at Lety’s house. Soon afterwards, when Lety had recovered, Jim asked her out for an official date! In mid-January they took a trip to Malibu for a picnic on the lawn overlooking the Ocean near Pepperdine University. Afterwards, there was a delicious dinner and a trip to the Griffith Observatory. The view was beautiful! In February (Valentine’s Day weekend), the group attended a Bachata Festival in Los Angeles, and during the Festival, Luz, Jack, Jim, and Lety attended a Valentine’s dinner at Flemings Steakhouse. There, Jim asked Lety to be his girl…and…amazingly, she said yes! After that Jim and Lety spent their time getting to know each other better, through dancing, discussions about faith and religion, various activities, movies, and travel (trips to Spain, Israel, Cancun, Costa Rica, Rosarito Beach, Encinitas, Yellowstone, Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and so much more)! Finally, in May of 2022 on a trip to the Mediterranean (Italy, Greece and Turkey), Jim proposed while on a Cruise the Greek Isles…and again…she said YES!!