“Love does not consist in gazing at each other (one perfect sunrise gazing at another) but in looking outward together in the same direction.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French poet

Meet Crystal Lake residents Dale and Wayne Prindiville, partners in life for almost 45 years and still “looking outward together in the same direction.” They are midwesterners since birth but spend much of their life living in other parts of the country before returning to Crystal Lake.

The reason for their transient life has always been Wayne’s career as a pilot, first for private corporations and then for American Airlines.

Wayne started out with his feet firmly planted on the ground working as an auto mechanic. But he was intrigued by everything mechanical and so, when he decided to take flying lessons just for the fun of it, life catapulted him in a whole new direction. Wayne’s flight instructor immediately saw that Wayne had the right stuff to be a pilot. Wayne not only got his private license, but became a flight instructor and airplane mechanic.

At the same time, Dale, a young girl from the Chicago suburbs, was finding her own path in life.

Dale was a whiz kid with a talent for math that broke the stereotype for young ladies in her day. She majored in math at the University of Wisconsin and later entered the “new world” of computers.

Once the path of these two “techies” crossed, they found a common vision that has blessed their marriage ever since.

From Illinois to Wisconsin to Florida to Oregon and back to Illinois, Wayne’s work has taken this couple and their children from coast to coast and north to south (they eventually had four moves). But in spite of the moves, Dale and Wayne always have been together in investing in their community.

With Wayne traveling a lot of the time, Dale made the choice to be a stay-at-home mom.

She poured her talents into raising their children and supporting the school and church where they found their community connection. Wherever they went, Dale found the Parent Teachers Association and women’s group at their local church.

As time went on, she added teaching Sunday School, leading a Caring Ministry and singing in the choir to her repertoire.

Just like his wife, Wayne also has that “looking outward” approach to life.

Linda Baumert, a McHenry County social worker, was looking for volunteers to build a house from the ground up for a family who was left destitute in 2001 after the father and son drowned. Wayne stepped forward to help.

This wonderful success led Linda’s band of volunteers to reach out to help another homeless family in McHenry County. But just as they were planning another building project, the mother in the family had to return to Mexico to take care of her father, who was gravely ill.

Undaunted by the distance, Wayne and six volunteers traveled to the small Mexican town of El Vaquero to recondition a ramshackle house, adding a second story so the family had a place to live.

Wayne became aware this small town had a number of projects that could be done by volunteers to increase the quality of life for the people.

Nearby, there was a middle-school made up of nine trailers without access to water. The town draws its water from a single cistern, which sometimes goes dry for weeks at a time.

Remarkably, the school’s two teachers were a husband and wife who both had doctoral degrees but felt called to work in a poor rural community.

Under their leadership, the school had won awards as best school in the state and, later, the best in the country. The teachers are demanding, but the students and families of little Vaquero love them. What a miracle they performed!

Wayne, the guy who likes to get his head under the hood and fix things, saw an opportunity to help. The project he undertook was to get fresh water for the schoolchildren.

The elders of El Vaquero told Wayne it was too expensive to run a pipe from a distant, but constant, source. After convincing the elders it could be done, Linda worked with the Crystal Lake Resurrection Church to raise $9,000 to get it done. The pipe is now completed, and water is flowing.

The group of volunteers who have done this wonderful work formed a charity and call it “Build a Dream.” This year, the IRS granted the charity a tax-exempt status. Today, the charity provides tuition for many of El Vaquero’s children to attend middle school and then high school so they can build their own dreams.

For information on the charity, email Wayne at wprindi@hotmail.com.

Meanwhile, Dale and Wayne keep “looking outward together.”

• Sue Neuschel shares her experiences as a Baby Boomer, offers tips, ideas and unique places to visit in and around McHenry County. She can be reached at sueneuschel@att.net.