MSN_021419

4 | February 14, 2019 | Malibu surfside news news
malibusurfsidenews.com
Serendipitous encounter wins contest judges’ hearts
How We Met
winners earn prizes
from Malibu Beach
Inn, Geoffrey’s
Staff Report
Extravagant flowers,
sweet chocolates and sentimental
greeting cards may
have taken over modernday
Valentine’s Day celebrations,
but at the core of
it all is a gift that cannot be
beat: love.
In the spirit of the holiday,
we again asked readers
to share the stories of how
they met their loved ones
and, yet again, judging it
was a rather tough task. Six
couples entered this year’s
How We Met contest, penning
their respective tales
of forbidden, spontaneous,
too-good-to-be-true love.
In the end, though, the
entry written by James Sarantinos
stole the show.
Sarantinos and his wife
of 25 years, Patty Phillips,
are to receive a one-night
stay in a king premier
oceanfront guest room at
Malibu Beach Inn (22878
Pacific Coast Highway) as
well as a $150 gift certificate
to Geoffrey’s (27400
PCH). Malibu Surfside
News thanks its generous
contest sponsors and invites
its readers to enjoy the
winning entry below.
The story
It was the winter of 1991
and I was looking forward to
going skiing as I was making
the drive up to Mammoth
on a Friday afternoon.
Actually, it felt as if I was
“escaping” to Mammoth as
I pondered a relationship
I’d been in for a year or so,
realizing it wasn’t right and
thinking how the heck am I
going to get out of it. Well,
“gotta go skiing!” was the
best short-term fix I could
come up with, so at least
I could forget about it for
awhile. So there I am up
in Mammoth the next day
as I skied up to the bottom
of chair #3 only to be met
by a huge throng of people
waiting in the lift line. This
is back in the “old days”
when chair #3 was a double
chair where lines of 30-40
minute wait times were not
uncommon, especially on
the weekends. If you were
skiing solo (which I was),
you’d shout out the word
“single!” Someone else
who was skiing solo would
call out “single!” and then
you would pair up to go up
the lift together. So, I shout
out “single!” Way up towards
the front of this massive
line I hear a female’s
voice holler back “single!”
Now I’m thinking “oh yes,
scored!”… just gotta make
my way through this line of
skiers, then I’m at the front
and who knows, maybe
this chick is cute. Well,
some other guy at the end
of the line a row over had
also shouted out “single!”
I told him “I got it.” He responded
“no, I got it.” Oh
really? Well, then, let the
race begin! So here’s me
and this other guy elbowing
our ways towards the
front of the line, squeezing
past rows of skiers already
paired up, and literally racing
each other to see who is
going to get to this girl first.
What can I say other than I
prevailed.
As I came scooting up to
“claim my prize” I couldn’t
help but notice her auburn
hair flowing lightly in the
How We Met contest winners James Sarantinos (left) and his wife, Patty Phillips (right), along with their 20-year-old
son, Devin, and dog, Koda, are pictured. Photo Submitted
breeze (hardly anybody
wore helmets back then).
Coming up alongside her,
she greeted me with a vivacious
smile saying “Hi!”
and I remembered thinking
“hmmm, very cute indeed.”
We proceeded to get on the
lift, hadn’t made it past the
first lift tower and she turns
to me and says, “Have
you ever been with someone
and realize that it just
isn’t right?” Wow, is this a
déjà vu moment or what?
I responded “as a matter
of fact, I have,” thinking
how bazaar is this! It turns
out she’s up in Mammoth
basically doing the same
thing I was doing … contemplating
a relationship
she wanted out of. By the
end of the chairlift ride we
had “connected,” ended up
skiing the rest of the day together
and just had a blast.
Since that day on the slopes
we have had many adventures
together, now happily
married for 25 years with a
20-year-old in college!