Vickie Anderson

Vicki and Bill Anderson radiate the warmth and delight in each other typical of newlyweds. They are so obviously pleased at their luck in finding each other. But these newlyweds are in their mid-60s and have enough life experience to make their leap of faith a bit surprising; both had been married before, been divorced and been through numerous relationships. Even more surprising is that they met on match.com.

"Match.com was an extraordinary experience," said Vicki. "You just need the courage to go through the doors that the Internet opens." Bill was equally enthusiastic. "I wasn't going to look for a girl at a bar or at a church social. I wasn't going to hang out at the library and try to look smart. I just happened to see an ad for match.com on the desktop of my new computer."

Bill was looking for a woman who golfed. Passionate about the game, he made golf a key factor in his search for romance. He met a number of women. (According to Vicki, he met a lot. "It was a revolving door," she said. Bill just laughed and looked pleasantly embarrassed.) Then he met Vicki, an absolute non-golfer. "I had never played the game and never aspired to it," she said. "I had to compete with some serious golfing women." When they met face-to-face for the first time, Vicki said, "He looked like a golfer. I mean that in a good way."

"You find things you like to do together. The more you find, the more time you spend together," Bill said. "In the end there was no contest." So, what did they have in common? "Curiosity, a lot of laugher, and a sense of the world," Vicki said. They'd both traveled extensively, Bill for business and Vicki for the Peace Corp and adventure. There aren't many places in the world that at least one of them hasn't seen.

"Then we decided to go to Bahrain for a great job opportunity. At that point we were living in sin," Vicki said with a nearly straight face. She was still here getting things ready for their journey when Bill called from London to propose. It was wonderful," she said.

Their October 2007 wedding at Palmetto Dunes was planned from Bahrain with the help of Lisa Manning of Southern Weddings. "It was a perfect day with family and great friends," Vicki said. "We all gathered at a big house on the beach. My son and two little granddaughters were there. Bill, who didn't have children, has had to assimilate the whole family thing, and he's done it to perfection."

Vicki said, "We have the challenges and realities that everyone else has. And we have different ways of resolving conflicts. But it makes a big difference when you have someone to support you through those things."
Bill beamed as he said, "As newlyweds-we still view ourselves that way-we see other couples our age at different stages in marriage. But we still catch each other's eye from across the room. We help each other stay young and alert. We feel that we won the lottery."

UP CLOSE:

While Bill is on the Golf Course, find Vicki: working with Volunteers in Medicine
Readers might be surprised to know that: Bill has written a screenplay for a comedy about golf.
The couples family includes: Vicki's son, Andy and his wife Asha; granddaughters Mary and Lucy, ages six and four; Labradoodle, Fluffy Beekster, the September centerfold in the 2009 Island Packet pet calendar
Shared Philosophy: The greatest risks taken have provided the greatest rewards.