When it came to romance, Mitch figured he had a capital L on his forehead. Loser. He first fell in love in grade school. Ashely dumped him once they got to high school. "I was devastated," he says. But he was ecstatic when she took him back after she broke up with her boyfriend. As a bonus, she taught him everything she'd learned about sex. Then she broke up with him again and went back with her boyfriend.
"Needless to say, I was even more heart-broken the second time and thought I'd never find love again," he says.
Mitch had a few strikes against him, even without the Ashely Crisis. He'd been born with one chest muscle and struggled with a drug addiction.
"Because of my slight disfigurement, I thought I'd never find someone to love me or even like me," he says. "I had a terrible sense of self-worth and was depressed."
When he was 24, he got a chest implant to cover the missing muscle. "At the time, I thought my life would finally be normal," he says. "But I guess the damage was already done, because I continued to abuse drugs for the next 22 years. My depression and sadness fueled my desire to get high and block out the real world."
At one point, Mitch married another drug addict who prostituted herself for money to buy drugs. He says: "I guess I figured no one else would love me. My life consisted of drugs, jail and heartache."
Aug. 12, 2016, is a day Mitch will never forget. He was arrested again and faced another prison sentence. Instead, he was allowed to enter a 28-day inpatient rehab facility.
Last month, Mitch celebrated two years of sobriety.
After a lifetime of drugs and depression, Mitch had few skills and says the computer "scared the crap" out of him. "Little did I know that the Internet would be my salvation," he says. He tried a few dating web sites and went on a few dates.
"Then I hit the jack-pot," he says. "I met Amy on line. We talked some and met at a local Starbucks. When I first saw her, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. She had beautiful long black hair and big brown eyes. I instantly knew she was going to be my wife.
"We talked for about an hour, then she kissed me on the cheek and left. I felt like a little boy with a big crush which in a way I was. Anyone who knows anything about drugs will tell you that an addict stops maturing the moment he or she starts using."
After a year of dating and several breakups — Mitch says they were caused by his immaturity — he finally started to grow up "and be the man God intended" him to be.
He and Amy have been together for a year and a half. They're engaged and getting married next month. "All I wanted was someone to love and I finally got her!" he says.
Mitch thinks the hero of this story is the internet. His says, "Finding my soul mate would have never happened without it."
I have to disagree. Mitch is the real hero.
Got a problem? Send it along with your questions and rants to cheryllavinrapp@gmail.com. And check out my e-books, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not."
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