[February 14, 2012] Couples remember magic moment on Valentines Day Tweet Feb 14, 2012 (The Brownsville Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Whether they met via a MySpace chat room, in a classroom or at work, many local couples are giving Cupid a wink and a nudge this Valentine's Day. Arpad Gergely first spotted his eventual wife when she sat across the aisle from him in ninth grade. It took him awhile to work up the courage to ask her out, but he came up with a creative way to get her to answer back. He told her to leave one leaf from a tree on his seat if she wasn't interested, but two or more if she was. When he came back from his lunch break, he discovered a whole tree branch on his seat. The couple recently celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary. (To see photo gallery of couples, click here.) A MySpace chat room brought Pablo and Celia Zepeda together when Celia messaged Pablo, thinking he looked familiar. The couple communicated via a long-distance relationship for three months before Celia decided to make the move from San Antonio to Brownsville. The couple now has been married for almost two years and have a baby together. For Minerva Ibarra, it was love at first sight when she first saw her husband Gilbert on a bus in 1974. "I was sitting with my sister and I told her, 'See him? I am going to marry him one day,'" Minerva wrote. Her sister wasn't quite as sure and reminded Minerva that she didn't even know his name. But soon the couple was dating, only to have space separate them when Minerva went back to Florida after spending the summer in Brownsville. It would take years and a few heartaches before they officially got together, but Minerva said they have been happily together for 10 years now. Juan and Desiree Ricarte worked together, but stuck with small talk until Desiree decided to take part in Juan's lunches one day. "I would ask him what he would bring," Desiree wrote. "It was always the same: two turkey and mayo sandwiches. I would ask, 'Well, did you make one for me?' He, being the nice guy that he was, would always answer, 'Yes, I did.' Then I would dig in his lunch and eat one sandwich in front of him." A year after the infamous sandwich eating incident, Juan and Desiree were married. Desiree said she thinks of how they met every time she makes sandwiches now. ___ (c)2012 The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas) Visit The Brownsville Herald (Brownsville, Texas) at www.brownsvilleherald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]