How does a single woman, who doesn't hang out in the bar scene, meet men? I tried lots of angles. I spoke to guys without wedding bands at the grocery store. I attended various self-improvement seminars, and also a few local churches. I let friends know that I was ready to meet "the right guy." Alas, none of my efforts were successful.

It was the mid-80s. Our local newspaper had a singles' column where you answered an ad by writing to a Box Number. The paper forwarded the responses once a week to the person who placed the ad. I placed and answered a few ads over the years. I met some nice guys, and made some friends, but didn't find that special someone to spend my life with.

In late 1989, when I was 42, I decided to answer just one more ad. This time, "Mr. Right" responded. We wrote back and forth for four months, and then began talking on the phone. Finally, just after Easter in 1999, we met face to face. By that time, we'd learned quite a bit about one another. We just needed to find out if we had chemistry together. We did!

We were married that October, and recently celebrated our 10th anniversary.

My husband smiles and says, "It pays to advertise!" He received 45 responses to his singles' ad, though I was the only woman to whom he responded.

Our courtship through letters kept us at a pace that made sense to each of us. We were both divorced, and three of our four children were still in high school. We were each focused on "doing things right" this time around. We chose to take a different road than many singles choose to take and, for us, it worked.

Lindy Follett is the publisher of the new Alaskan-owned magazine, Parents 'n Kids...Alaska Style. She and husband Tony (a photogrammetric engineer at AeroMap U.S.) have each lived in Alaska for over 20 years.