03/08/2017
After 35 years of separation, the 1982 high school love birds are reunited again!
This is Portia Mittelman (formerly Porter---you may not remember me), and I hope you're the Ron Lyle I grew up with in Little Rock.
If you are "that Ronnie" I just wanted to send you warm greetings. Hope all is well with you and your family. If you are not "that Ronnie" I send you warm greetings just the same, and apologize for the really weird message.
More on that email in just a moment.
Ron and Portia's story really begins in the 1960s. They met as children on the campus of Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, where both of Portia's parents, and Ron's mother, worked. Ron says they met in the backyard of the residence of the College President. Portia believes they met outside of the campus gym.
They both remember a trampoline was involved.
And, as it turned out, a couple of years later they ended up living a block away from each other.
Things became a bit more intense when they were teenagers, and Ron eventually asked Portia to his senior prom. Although her parents agreed that she could attend if Ron got her home by 11:00 p.m.(!), all the parents put the brakes on a more serious relationship between them at that time.
Ron went off to the Air Force Academy, married and started a family, lived all over the world before settling in Bellevue, Nebraska, and served his Bahá'í community.
Portia went off to Oberlin College, married and started a family, settled in the Northern Virginia area, and served her Bahá'í community.
There were many joys during the next four decades - most especially their wonderful, magnificent, amazing sons, and their wonderful, magnificent, amazing grandchildren.
There were also many sorrows – including the passing of Ron's wife, and the end of Portia's marriage.
More than thirty- five years after they last saw each other, one evening Portia found Ron's name and email address by chance and sent a brief message.
Ron took eight days to reply.
Their running joke is that if Portia had sent the message via "regular" mail, she would STILL be waiting for a reply.
They plan to live happily ever after.
This is "Portia & Ron" by Mina Alexander on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.