What do a watermelon, a college textbook, and a visit to the doctor have in common?

They all involved the chance encounter of a man and woman who would later get married to his or her one true love.

The idea of “one true love” sounds quaint in today’s world of reality TV, prenuptial agreements and no-fault divorces, but some individuals are still fortunate — and blessed — enough to find a life-long partner who makes them content and happy.

Take my buddy Nick Covington for instance.

While driving on a two-lane backdrop in South Alabama, he stopped at a roadside stand to buy a watermelon. Nick, who had just taken a new job near Brewton, Ala., was looking for a place to rent, but when he saw all those fine looking watermelons, he had a sudden yearning for one.

“The girl at the roadside stand was wearing a straw hat and she was flat eat up with sparkle,” Nick told me. “I didn’t know which watermelon to buy so she said she could tell the sweet ones by giving it the ‘thump test.’ She thumped four or five of those watermelons, and finally picked me one out. She said, ‘that’s a good one right there.’ Sure enough, when I got it back to kitchenette in my motel and cut into it, it was the sweetest watermelon I ever ate.”

Nick said he got to thinking about that girl a lot, and eventually went back to the stand and asked her out on a date. Her name was Loretta.

That was over 30 years ago, and he and Loretta have three grown children and two grandchildren.

My friend Rick Gibbs, of Elizabeth City, met his wife Cathy while they were both in college.

“A dog chewed up my textbook,” Rick said. “When I told my instructor about it, he pointed to Cathy and told me to study with her because she had a book.”

Rick said he didn’t ask Cathy out on a date until the following semester, but that encounter over his textbook led to friendship first, and eventually, marriage. They have now been married for 41 years.

Another buddy of mine, whom I’ll call “Todd,” was married to a woman he suspected of cheating on him.

“She kept telling me she needed some time alone,” Todd told me. “And she’d send me off to visit my brother on the weekend.”

At first Todd indulged his wife’s requests, but after awhile, he began to get suspicious. So he returned early one morning, and sure enough, he saw a man he knew leaving their house.

Todd confronted the man in the bedroom, and he and his wife’s “friend” got into a fight. During the ensuing struggle, Todd fell into a cabinet and got a gash on his arm.

He and his wife separated, and Todd ended up marrying the nurse who took the stitches out of his arm.

They are still married today—31 years later.

Ah, true love.