LOVE STORY: Mary and Raymond Flood of Deer Park

Mary and Raymond Flood of Deer Park have their best friends to thank for introducing them to each other.

On Valentine's Day 1959, my best friend, Helen, and I went with my brother and his crowd to a ski lodge in Brewster, N.Y.

When we got there, Helen saw two friends from high school, Tony and Ray. We all had gone to Flushing High School, but I didn't know them. Helen knew Tony through his sister. Tony and Ray were 22 and we were 19.

We ended up spending a lot of time with the two of them, and the weekend turned out to be filled with fun and laughs.

Ray had just returned from serving with the Army's 269th Engineer Battalion in Germany, where he worked in construction.

Tony, we found out later, was at the ski lodge because he heard that a girl he wanted to know better would be there. Ray had come along to keep him company. After meeting up with Helen, Tony forgot all about the other girl.

After that weekend, Helen and Tony became an item. Since Ray and I were their best friends, we started tagging along with them on dates. For different reasons, Ray and I did not want to get involved in a romance, but whenever we were together we had a great time. We talked for hours and just enjoyed each other's company.

A year later, Helen and Tony called it quits. A few weeks later, Ray called me for a "real" date, and I said "yes." After that date, Ray and I became inseparable.

We were married on May 28, 1960. Helen was one of my bridesmaids, and Tony was Ray's best man.

Ray retired in 1996 as a carpet installer with Carpenters Union Local 2287. I am a full-time homemaker. We were active at our former parish, St. James R.C. Church in Seaford, as counselors in Pre-Cana classes for couples planning to marry and with Antioch, a retreat for teens.

Ray and I were blessed with six wonderful children and 10 wonderful grandchildren who are a light in our lives. We spend most of our time with the family. When we're not baby-sitting we enjoy trips to Atlantic City. Even though we have had our share of problems, we have been blessed with 50 wonderful years together and look back on them with fond memories. We look ahead to many more wonderful years together.