A retired NASA rocket scientist and widower, feeling melancholy, reads an online post from an award winning high school math teacher that wishes the world a great day filled with sunshine and rainbows.

The retired engineer replies with, I could use a bit of that Sunshine. We chat back and forth with pleasantries for a few as I'm preparing to drive a couple of hours to the site of the first powered aircraft flight at Kitty Hawk NC.

As I travel, I think about the sunny personality of the brainy lady that lifted my spirits. We continued our online chat as I stopped for lunch, I shared pictures of the sights at the museum and monument, even as I stopped for dinner on my return trip, she became my "virtual companion" for the day, bringing sunshine and rainbows to what was an emotionally cloudy day.

That day was July 3, 2024. We talked every day online and eventually by phone, planning a date for July 16. As we continued to get to know one another and as I felt the warmth of the sun of her personality, I suggested moving our date up to July 10.

I drove 3 hours from Huntsville, AL to a small Mexican restaurant in Germantown, TN to meet this smart, cute, funny, award winning high school math teacher that brought sunshine back into my life.

What started as a lunch date, turned into a 9 hour day filled with great conversation, great food (lunch and dinner) and resulting in a feeling of strong connection.