I started off just like any other day, shower, breakfast and out the door late again. Little did I know what this day would hold in store for me. The most exciting thing that happened at work that day was getting a scratch while it a bit of a tussle and then going to the emergency room for a Tetanus shot. Little did I know that wouldn’t be the last time I saw that place on this day.
After getting home I took a nap in preparation of the possibility of working overtime, had dinner and at the close of the day was setting at my computer playing bingo, unwinding before bed. When all of a sudden and out of the blue, I got a sharp, stabbing pain in the center of my chest. Kathy sitting to my right ask what was wrong as I grabbing my chest and I did not answer because the pain extending up my neck and into my head had my full attention. I thought that lying down might be of some relief, but it didn’t help. Then as Kathy lied there next to me, I decided I should go get this checked out.
I don’t mind saying I was scared, especially as the pain wasn’t subsiding. Once at the hospital it was oxygen, needles and tests, as I wondered what was happening and fearing the worst. Ruling out a heart attack, I was being admitted to rule out blood clots. Finally, in a room at 5:30am, Kathy kissed me goodbye and left me there to ponder all that had happened.
It had been just a few months over a year since we first talked, and yet it felt as if this woman had always been a part of my life. She filled every part of my life and the thought of being without her there seemed impossible. She had excepted me, all of me as I was, not wanting or expecting that I change anything. She never passed judgement on any of my previous exploits or the baggage I carried. In fact she claimed she would be mad if I changed anything about me. For years I had searched for this acceptance from a partner. Many times I thought I had found it only to be disappointed and hurt at the outcome. She amazed me at every turn, with her abilities and her eventful past.
The past year had went by in a flash and many times I thought how lucky I was and how frustrated I was for not meeting her sooner. The fact that we were fast approaching 60, bothered me because I didn’t want to loose a minute of time with her. Now I found myself lying in a hospital bed, thinking what if this was the end. A rather sobering thought and the chance of that being the case angered me. Why should we had to wait to so late in our lives to find our true love?
When faced with the doctors orders do no pushing, lifting, pulling or any other form of physical activity till after my stress test, I decided to write a blog. I haven’t had much time to write lately with so many things on my plate, but now it seems I have lots of time while I wait. So I went to Blogging For Fun to pick up their latest inspiration, which happened to be “Unchained Melodyâ€. As I watched the video I choose for this blog I found myself holding back the tears. I’ve heard it said that real men don’t cry, along with they don’t like romance, poetry or quiche. I say bull crap, that’s just a pile of crap taught little boys and has been handed down for years, by men who cry when the are alone.
A week from today I go for a stress test and regardless of the outcome I will have known true love. If I would leave this world tomorrow I would only regret the little time I had to spend with her today.
So my dearest Kathy, I needed your love for years gone by, I need your love today and everyday, and I will carry your love with me in my heart here and beyond.
Marriage is a door which looks out upon a beautiful view. As that door is opened and the horizon unfolds before you, know that nothing is sweeter than the warmth of one hand within another. ~Collin McCarty~
Well here I sit writing yet another blog about love, relationships and marriage. In particular, the relationship and marriage I now enjoy with my loving Kathy. Kathy and I are both in our late fifties, our children are grown and with exception of Jason, are out on their own. We no longer have to worry about anyone but each other, but we do and always will, it’s what parents do. We can pretty much come and go as we please. We can do whatever is our hearts desire as long as it is within our budget, We have come to a point in our lives where we each are so much in love we can hardly contain ourselves. We are having so much fun, more than either of us have ever experienced before. Sometimes, in fact a lot of the time at the dismay of our grown children. We have actually been told in so many words that we are two old to be acting the way we do. The thought of us actually having intimate time together is an image that they find hard to swallow. The way in which we conduct ourselves when we go out partying has likewise been seen as us not acting our “age†and distasteful. The way our escapades are documented in pictures which we post online has caused a few to actually say that they will not look at our pictures anymore, but somethings by things that have been said I think they still do.
Although many seniors still believe that sex is mainly the province of the young, a recent American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) survey indicates that for older adults, sexual health is considered an essential part of a good quality of life. Age is a number and an important one. It determines when we can drive, vote and apply for Medicare. But our age inside our heads is comprised of much more than a number. The person I see in the mirror is not old, and the same can be said for most older adults. We do not see ourselves the same way the world views us. We have biological age; some of us won the genetic lottery and remain in good health most of our lives. Others age well before their time. We also have a psychological age determined by how life’s events impacted us as we grew up. A person who grew up in a sheltered environment, such as Kathy and I, will not be the same as someone who grew up on the streets. And finally, we have a sexual age. Some of us mature sexually much earlier than others. Some are far more sexually experienced at an early age. Our sexuality changes as we mature and some of those changes may even be for the better. Age allows some of us to broaden our focus of sexual excitement. As it has been said, it may take a while to reach the top of the mountain, but getting there is half the fun.
Intimacy is what makes a marriage, not a ceremony, not a piece of paper from the state.
Kathy and I are both writers, poets and singers. It is our nature to preform for the crowd, and the crowd has come to expect it. The pictures we post are pieces of our lives, seconds in time and we love to share them. In fact these pictures have been lifted by others and put on their pages, because we are in our own way local stars. If you look at these pictures, you’ll be quick to realize Kathy and I are not taking the pictures. The pictures we post are often a collection of pictures we have lifted from other peoples photo albums. Have some of them depicted us and others in some precarious positions….yes, and we don’t care! Our suggestion to those more inhibited than ourselves….don’t look at them. I mean, really how many couples do you personally know who have a lap dancer at their wedding reception? We are having the time of our life and have thrown the “Rule Book For The Aged†away. We are taking the time we have left and spending it the way we want to spend it.
I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming… suddenly you find – at the age of 50, say – that a whole new life has opened before you. ~Agatha Christie~
Kathy is amaranthine, meaning her beauty is unfading and everlasting. Some younger souls may not see it this way, but they have yet to learn what real beauty is I guess. Her beauty comes from within and shines out through smile. Recently, I was talking to one such younger man who said to me, “beautiful to you maybe…..referring to our ageâ€. Well sir, this gal can put those young ones to shame, and you can take that to the bank. We aren’t ready for the “Old Folks Home†just yet. We may be fading like the autumn leaves, but we are colorful and blowing in the wind! That’s why I picked this song out to close my blog tonight….just for that young man and he knows who he is!
“My love for you Kathy is a journey, starting at forever, ending at never, and you my dear are the reward.â€.
“The hours I spend with you I look upon as sort of a perfumed garden, a dim twilight, and a fountain singing to it. You and you alone make me feel that I am alive. Other men it is said have seen angels, but I have seen thee and thou art enough.†~George Moore~
On the 14th of February, we not only will be celebrating Valentines Day, but our two month wedding anniversary as well. It’s kind of nice how that works out, and although it wasn’t planned that way, it seems that is exactly how this romance and relationship tends to work. From the very beginnings of this, our journey together has been marked with these little coincidences that make it just that much more special to us. After a life time of failed relationships and heartaches, we have finally found our destiny, our meant to be, our soulmate.
One might think that this epiphany of love would have been met with an out pouring of joy from all those around us, each being happy for our final realization of a life long quest. Although there are those who are genuinely happy for our new found love, there are those for many assorted reasons that do not share our joy. Along this long and sometimes painful path toward our present joy has been a cast of characters, who today can find no joy in our bliss and in fact would rather we each would have spent our days in endless, lonely and heartbroken misery. These that are less than delighted with our new found glee, have carried with them resentments and anger that has endured in some cases for decades. Never moving past there hate, they find it unbearable to see us happy and even less tasteful to find us reveling in our love and joy. All these negative feelings have not and will not dissuade us and do nothing for those that carry them except to weigh them down. It would be great if after all this time they could be happy for those they once claimed to love….but this is but wishful thinking in a world where ex-lovers are generally despised for those failures that are usually mutually owned.
“Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?†~Leo Buscaglia~
We are so much alike, and I find it hard not to to place her above all else, as one that I worship, because of all that she is and means to me. Conversely, she holds me in the same level of esteem. We are mutually infatuated with the other and want nothing less than to spend every moment of the rest of our days together. We are a product of our past experiences, and are each open to everything new and exciting we can experience. We met online, and we continue to document nearly every aspect of our journey there for the world to see. This in and of itself is disturbing to a lot of poor souls, but this is our choice and obviously putting ourselves out there where our lives together become a reality show of sorts has been met with some resistance. We are not the most modest or conservative folks. We run through this life at the speed of sound, in a way that some find distasteful, but we find invigorating. We are opinionated, dislike pretense, prejudice and pompous religiosity. We are making up for lost time and make no qualms about out blatant sexuality, we may be old too some with a little snow on the roof, but there is still a well stoked furnace burning inside. Basically, we are having the time of our lives and refuse to let our age hold us back. We have become heroes to some and loathed by others, but we will march on in our Honky Tonk fashion. (Honky Tonk being defined as a cheap, noisy, and garish nightclub or dance hall, where the self righteous and pretentious snobs don’t fit in well)
So here is to my Honky Tonk Valentine….she has made my life complete in every way…..I worship her every move….I love the way she shines in the neon light… I love the sound of her voice pounding out “‘Ol Time Rock N Rollâ€â€¦. I love how she isn’t afraid of anything and speaks her mind with clarity…. I love how she swigs her “Jackâ€â€¦.and I love her “Little ‘Ol Honky Tonk Heartâ€â€¦
Until Next Time….and Forever…Happy Valentines Day Honey
Last year at this time I was a mess, depressed, lost, rejected and hurting. At age 56, I had lost again at love. To me it seemed that I was destined to grow old, lonely and sad. I had spent my entire life looking for that love that would never leave. A love that was unconditional, knew no limitations and would never go away. I searched for a love that accepted me as I was, without desires to change me or mold me into something other than who I am.
During this quest I had many times thought I had attained my goal, only to find empty promises from those who loved me not as I was, but rather as they thought I should be. Numerous times I molded myself into what I thought they were looking for only to find it was never enough and in the end I barely recognized myself.
I had been everything from a caregiver, a fixer, a father figure, and even a whipping post. Each time I promised forever and determined to make it so until I could no longer go on or I was cast aside like yesterdays trash. Once my brother even told me “quit crawling and get the Hell out, I don’t even know youâ€, and another time he ask, “why don’t you just find a woman you don’t like and buy her a house and be done with itâ€.
In the beginning they always liked me, couldn’t get enough of me and my “bad boy†ways. Then after a time they grew weary of my wild ways and the process of molding and changing would begin. Some were never satisfied and always wanted more until even stepsons would say they had never met such a “pussy whipped†man. This would continue until they cast me aside or I could handle no more and crawled away.
Last year at this time, I had again been cast aside after giving all I could to please a woman, who promised she loved me as I was and would never leave me. She lied. Looking at myself in the mirror I saw an aged and defeated man. I sat for days at my computer, writing for hours, not eating, not bathing, not working and crying buckets. During these periods of my life I write feverishly, pouring my heart and soul into each word. An hopeless romantic, and still believing in happily ever after , I was in desperate need of a miracle, because I was quickly becoming increasingly depressed and yes even suicidal.
What I didn’t know is that there was someone 365 miles away reading my every word as I poured myself out into blogs. Who could after reading all this heartache and sadness find a redeeming quality in what was left of this crushed bad boy, romantic on the edge? Then like a fresh burst spring wind, she blew into my life. First with a comment, then with a call, followed by hours of talk and laughter. My miracle had appeared and I hadn’t found her…she had found me!
My Miracle
My life was filled with pain, Me and others were not the same.. They live with all the happiness, but I just live with sadness…
I never believe in fate nor destiny, cause this is life,in reality, in this realm, in this world, everyone will just treated you cold..
A miracle never once happen to me, God just let me suffer in this pain, its like my history is repeating, over and over, forever the same..
I thought I can hold on no more, I wonder what am I living for, I wanted to go for suicide, maybe that’s the way, I can find my light, but you came to me, and stop my plan, you said you’ll go through with me, till the end..
I thought it was a dream, I never thought it actually happen in reality, for once, I felt so special, I felt so happy and free…
Is this what we call fate? Is it a destiny that we met? If that so, then I’m really gonna cry, cause its the happiest thing, I’ve ever had..
I guess that’s God’s intention, why he let me suffer all these years, so that you would come to me, and wipe off all my tears..
So, thanks to you, I’ve found my light, and with you here, everything would be alright.. I hope this miracle will never leave, I hope it can forever, stay with me
I will forever remember the day that I drove over an hour to pick up a woman I had only conversed with on the phone and online. A woman I had only seen in pictures and now was coming 365 miles to meet me. I was afraid that it was all just another blunder, but I pressed on. There she was standing outside the Amtrak station, as beautiful as her pictures. Soon I found her to be even more charming than I had on the phone or online. She liked me, the good and bad; my wilder side and softer side; and all that I was. The fact is, I soon found her to be a female version of me. She had a wild side and a quiet side. She was my picture of perfect and everything that I thought was impossible.
Today we have been married a little over a month and so much in love. Our wild ways often documented in pictures has some people a little incensed, but it’s who we are and as far as I can see there is no end in sight. She is my miracle, my salvation and my life. Together we are going to take the world by storm until our candles burn away and we drift away into eternity. It is our love story, and like no other….
This video we find best describes us and our simple Honky Tonk ways!
“I never will, by any word or act, bow to the shrine of intolerance or admit a right of inquiry into the religious opinions of others.â€
~Thomas Jefferson~
Why can’t we as a species live together in peace? A question that has plagued mankind since the inception of time, I suppose. Why must we fight for domination and control over others? The religions of the world would tell us it was in the creators design, a constant battle between good and evil, or right and wrong. Each believing that theirs is the one way, the only way and that are all other beliefs are not only wrong but a threat to their very existence.
What separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom, the ability to reason. Each of us springing up from the same place all those millions of years ago and each being made up of the same flesh and blood. Yet even with our all ability to reason, we have yet to understand our reason for existence. Why are we here? In our pursuit of answers we created gods, as an answer to this question. That our reason for being was to worship a supreme creator who in his or her infinite wisdom created us for that purpose. Then as mankind spread out across the world these gods became more personal and obviously there could only be one true god, so if your god wasn’t the same as my god then you were wrong and you posed a threat to all I believed and held true. The best way then to create peace and prosperity was to eliminate that which was foreign and posed any threat to the our status quo.
“If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world†at peace.
~Franklin Delano Roosevelt~
So here we stand all these millennium later still with all our reason and knowledge still killing off those that look differently, or believe differently or or worship differently, till one man is left standing waving a flag on top a pile of smoldering rocks screaming I am the winner. Question is what has he won if there is no one left to share it with and it is all destroyed?
“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.â€
~John F. Kennedy~
I’m not suggesting we give up our own personal beliefs, but rather we as reasonable beings allow others to practice their beliefs freely, without fear of persecution. Everyday the world gets smaller and the need for living peacefully with ones neighbors becomes more imperative if we are as a specious to survive. No longer do we have the ability to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world and hopefully sooner than later we will learn the might does not always mean right.
A Summary Of The World By Forrest Felling
If we could, at this time, shrink the Earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:
There would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere (North and South) and 8 Africans.
70 would be non-white; 30 white.
70 would be non-Christian; 30 Christian.
50 percent of the entire world wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people.
All 6 would be citizens of the United States.
70 would be unable to read.
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
80 would live in sub-standard housing.
Only 1 would have a college education.
When one considers our world from such an incredibly compressed perspective, the need for both tolerance and understanding becomes glaringly apparent.
Yes I am a dreamer….given all the horrors we see and hear each day, done in the name of some god or political belief, I believe if we as a people are to survive we need more tolerance of each others ways and beliefs. For until we can as citizens of Earth walk hand in hand with tolerance and understanding, we will continue to move to the devastation of humanity. Walk with me to the river of Peace and take a swim in the ocean of Tolerance.
Seven days after Christmas Kathy and I went out to celebrate New Years. We had got tickets to the New Years Eve party at the VFW, there was to be a band and food. That day was busy with so much to do…paying bills, running errands and getting ready to go out. On most nights that we venture out, we sing and become the center of attention, but on this night we would be happy just to blend into the crowd. Just the two of us, no cameras and no adoring fans and friends. Our photographer was 14 miles away at another party, along with those friends and fans. Tonight was our night!
We got there an hour early so as to get a good table. The doors were due to open at 7:00pm, but the line started to form at around 6:30pm. We had heard that this party was sold out, but lucky for us someone turned their tickets back in and we got those. As we walked in a man took our tickets and another gave us a hat, a tiara, noise makers and poppers. Our table had a candle and a New Years Eve center piece. The band was setting up as the room started to fill. We were about to celebrate our first New Years Eve together and we were both excited about the evening.
Around 8:00pm the band started to play. I knew one of the band members and I knew they were going to be good as they took the stage. Then came the food, an unbelievable spread of fresh veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, shrimp cocktail, cookies, relish trays, both BBQ and Hot little wieners, meatballs, and more. An all you can eat buffet of goodies and we ate more than our share, especially the shrimp.
We danced, drank, talked and laughed the night away! Kathy with her Peach and 7up, me with my Aftershock and both with our shots of Mescal. At one point I had went to retrieve us another shot and upon returning to our table found that there were two lemon seeds in the bottom of Kathy’s shot. Not wanting to chock on them, she hatched a plan to remove them from her glass. She took a bar straw and tried to suck them out on the end of the straw. The first one was rather easy, but the second was another story. Sucking Tequila through a bar straw is quite an experience or should I say sensation. Her expressions as she repeatedly tried were priceless.
At the stroke of midnight we were on the dance floor as balloons fell from above and the singer crooned “Auld Lang Syneâ€. There in the middle of a crowd of virtual strangers we embraced and held each other close as our lips met in a kiss to be remembered through all our years together. This was our first New Years Eve together and it was so much more because it was a beginning to our first year as husband and wife. I’m so very happy and so taken with her beauty and grace. She is all that I ever wanted, a combination of all I ever wanted in the flesh. Regardless of what 2011 holds in store for us, it will be a good year because her hand will be in mine…..
Since Thanksgiving life around our home has been hectic, adventurous, exciting and exhausting. Thanksgiving, Kathy, my son and I, traveled to my brother’s in Ohio to spend the day with family. This food looked great and in ample supply, as we set down to our feast. As always family members were busy catching up, pictures were being taken and smiles adorned each face as we set down to share the meal. But there was a difference this year, for at the head of the table my father was missing. This was the first major holiday since his passing and each of us felt a sense of loss, as we bowed or heads in a prayer of Thanksgiving, a privilege that had always fell upon my father each year. I felt awkward as Kathy and I sat where my mother and father had set for so many years. My brother paused as he bowed his head to say the blessing, and I’m sure a million memories raced through his head for those few seconds. It was a year in transition, with each of us assuming new roles and beginning the next generation of traditions. Everything was different, but everything was the same. Dad was no longer there, but each of us moved to plug the hole that was left by his passing. After all was said and done it was a good day and a day filled with the sharing of precious memories.
Thanksgiving 2010
The following Saturday night we had a surprise birthday party for my mother’s 80th birthday. Yet another milestone, that we as a family shared this holiday season, with the absence of our family patriarch. The mood was festive and mother was truly surprised, for she thought it was our family Christmas party. Grandmother surrounded by her children, grand children and great-grandchildren made for a roomful and the mood was festive.
There came a moment when she opened a present from my brother and his wife. It was a beautiful specially made blanket with my Mom and Dad’s wedding picture on it. As it was held up there was the brief pause once again as my Dad’s absence was felt once more. A celebration of life interrupted if it be for just a moment by the sadness of a great loss.
Mr & Mrs George Beal
The following Thursday, Kathy and I headed west to visit her children. Her son was flying into South Bend and we were meeting him there at her daughters for a Christmas family time. We stopped at my brother’s on the way for some quality time and a place to launch from the next morning. We had a wonderful time that evening, talking and swapping tales of years gone by. That night when we all settled down to sleep, Kathy and I attempted to share a couch so we could be close. We snuggled in and fell asleep in each others arms and my face in her feather pillow. After about an hour or so, a awoke unable to breath. Coughing and choking, I sat up and tried to catch my breath, while continuing to cough to the point of almost passing out. Unable to sleep, because of the coughing I sat up and surfed the web on my phone while everyone else slept. Until I noticed that I was coughing up blood…YUK! I woke Kathy in a frantic state worried and not knowing what to do. We knew I had to seek medical attention, but where was the question at hand. Do we head to a hospital close by, continue on to South Bend and seek medical help there, or turn around and head back home where my physician was? We decided on the latter heading back home over an hour away.
Once there, I was admitted and placed in isolation, because they didn’t know what I had and did not want to take any chances. Still coughing up blood and very sick, I ask Kathy to leave and head for South Bend, because if she missed this chance she might have not seen her son for another year. She reluctantly left, and I remained in a hospital room that brought with it, images of movies like “epidemic†with hospital staff in hoods and mask. It ended up I had phenomena, which I had been carrying around for sometime without even knowing it and then an allergic reaction to the feather pillow, causing me to cough so hard I broke blood vessels in my lungs…only me. I was to be married in less than a week!
On December 14th, Kathy and I were married, which I believe is the best Christmas present I received in years. In true form, there was a big snow storm that week and it was colder than that proverbial witch’s tit in a brass bra. A few die hard friends unwilling to let a little snow and cold stop them showed up at what was to be on of the most “redneck†weddings ever to have taken place. We were married by a local District Justice in his courthouse next to a McDonald’s. The Maid of Honor wore a plaid flannel shirt and a guest wearing a tee shirt that said “Love Sucks, True Love Swallowsâ€. When we were done with all the “I do(s)â€, I ask Kathy if she wanted to go to McDonald’s for lunch…..I even told her she could get anything on the menu she wanted and was not limited to only the dollar menu this time. She passed on the importunity, so we and our wedding party headed home to take wedding pictures in front of the Christmas tree.
Following the picture tasking, we and another couple, friends of ours, went to Eat-n-Park to eat and talk for a while. Then it was back home and getting ready for our Wedding Party/Reception at the Diamond Lunch, in Titusville. Continuing with the same “redneck†theme, we had a homemade cake, that was decorated in a western theme, complete with rifles. Our wedding toast was Mescal, the guarder was mad of crate paper, there was karaoke, and an exotic dancer giving lap dances to the bride and groom, as well as anyone else that wished. The people that showed seemed to have a good time and those who have seen the pictures have had responses from everything from “When is your next party?†to total discuss of the depths of depravity.
Since the Reception was such a hit and because we really don’t need a reason to throw a party….we headed for The Wild Horse, Thursday night for a Christmas party. When ask when we were going to have another party, my reply was “…the next time we go out, cause there is always a party when we go out…â€.
Just a small diversion here, I decided to include a picture of the Exotic Dancer that night. Because it was such a big hit at the Wedding Reception, we decided to include this entertainment more often. So this time because we wouldn’t want to be misconstrued as being prejudice, we went with a male Exotic Dancer……
Mike
This brings us up to “Twas the Night Before Christmasâ€â€¦. Christmas Eve was spent doing all those things we had planned on doing before Christmas. Last minute shopping (because we hadn’t spent enough already), putting up outside lights, wrapping presents, baking and generally running like elves in Santa's workshop on crack. But we succeeded with an hour to spare before we went to the candlelight Christmas service at 11pm that night. It was good to hear those carols that bring back the memories of childhood and simpler times. It was comforting as I held Kathy’s hand as we sang “Silent Night†It was both inspirational and reflective to hear the Pastor’s homily reminding us of the real reason for the season. It was rewarding to see the delight and fascination in the eyes of the woman I love, as she looked up at the pipe organ as the man with his fingers on the keys, made it come to life. I was warmed by the embrace I received as we left because I knew that on this night we established a new tradition for our new family situation.
First United Methodist Church, Franklin, PA
Then before going home, I decided to take us on a tour of the decorated homes in Franklin. But first I stopped at Sheetz for a hot chocolate. It didn’t take long to see that not as many homes were decorated this year and a lot had turned their lights off. Used to be people left them on all night, especially on Christmas Eve. I guess it’s a sign of the times, cost of the electric and general feeling of depression over the economy. So to put the icing on the cake and bring a quick close to our hunt for decorated homes, I spilled or poured hot chocolate down the front of my jacket.
After getting home, we settled down to play on our computers till we laid down with visions of packages tied with pretty ribbons danced in our heads. We were tired and shortly fell fast asleep in each others arms, holding the best present we ever received….
This was the best Christmas, I can remember. This year I start fresh and new…holding my the hand of my love, racing toward our future…..making memories of us….
One week from today I have very important date with a beautiful lady. This woman has take the mess I had for a life and turned me around. She somehow seen something in me that countless other seemed to miss. She is my equal in so many things and leaves me standing in the dust with others. She is a poet, a writer of blogs, a comedian in print and as sharp as they come. She has no desire to change me or make me better in some way, but rather encourages me to be myself. She is in a word “ausgezeichnet†She has seen her share of turmoil and hurt and carries some of the same emotional scars as I do. She became my friend when I needed a friend, she became my lover when I needed a true lover and on December 14th she will become my wife.
There are those who ask, “Why Marry?â€, usually followed by “I’d never do that againâ€. There are those who believe us to be old and chastise us for not acting our age. There are those who say we’re moving too fast and the romance will fade in time, then we’ll be sorry. There are those who point to our failed relationships and believe we do not deserve another chance. But we are going for it!
We know the risks and we have wagered it all on what we feel is our once in a lifetime chance. Each of us are older and wiser, and hopefully learned for our mistakes and miss fortunes. Truth is we probably would not have even considered the other in our younger and shallower years. I believe that each of us, as we move through life pickup things from the people that touch our lives and when we leave we take those ideas, habits or notions with us, making us who we are today. Actually, we don’t think we are moving fast enough, because neither of us is getting any younger and we don’t want to waste a minute. Why marry, because besides for the practical reasons, both of us are from a generation that considered public commitment important (plus we are always looking for another reason to have a party). We know that old gets older everyday, that is what we see as old moves as we age. We know we are no longer young as some people define it, but we are young at heart, which in our estimation is the most important part of being young. We know at our age while playing with a rabbit, we don’t have to worry if it’s going to die. As Kathy has so eloquently put it on many occasions, “The factory may be closed but the play ground is still, openâ€, and that makes riding the teeter totter a lot more fun. We are old enough that we don’t want to waste one precious minute, but young enough that we can still enjoy each and every minute we are together. Yes we are going for it and no one better get in our way cause they might get run over by the love train….next Tuesday we’re pulling out of the station and we’re not slowing down.
For those who can’t keep up…we’ll send you a postcard from the land of “Happily Ever Afterâ€
Till Next Time….
Tags: Blogophilia 41.3, Going For It, Keith, Kathy, Love
We planned the trip for weeks and worked out every detail, or so we thought. The forecast was calling for snow the whole weekend, but we did not let this dissuade us. We were going 365 miles, to visit Kathy’s children. Her son was flying in from Seattle and if she missed him it might be a year before she could see him again.
We ran around all day on Wednesday trying to get everything done and ready for our trip. I was a little short of breath and noticed it when climbing the stairs in our home, but I chalked it up to old age. On Thursday we loaded the Cadillac and headed west, anxious to see family and friends. We stopped along the way at a place called Kraynaks Christmas Land, in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. Kathy loved the displays and wondered up and down the isles like a kid in a toy store.
From there we headed west again to visit my brother and his wife, in Garettsville, Ohio. We hadn’t gone far before we came to a detour and followed it all around town till we ended right back where we started. Don’t you love how detour signs don’t ever seem to be where you need them. So out of frustration we backtracked and took another route which took about an hour of our time.
When we arrived at my brother’s, my sister-in-law had prepared a really good meal, which was greatly appreciated on such a cold night. We had a wonderful time swapping stories and catching up. About midnight we all headed to bed, for everyone had an early call in the morning. We would be heading west again toward South Bend, Indiana and to the home of the children that Kathy and I longed to see.
Kathy and I were to sleep on separate couches, but we decided that we would rather snuggle up together on one. So I crawled into the back and she took the front as we spooned off to sleep. We had brought our own pillows, for after all ones pillow is a very personal thing. Kathy had a feather pillow and as we squeezed together on the couch, my face was resting right up against it. After about an hour or so I woke up startled…I couldn’t breath and was coughing so violently that I nearly passed out. Seems I have an allergy to feather pillows…who knew? Well I continued to cough all night till about 3am, when I realized that I was coughing up blood. What were we going to do?
Would it just stop on it’s own or did I need to seek medical help? If I was going to the hospital, where would I go? Should we travel back home almost two hours, go to a hospital near by or wait till we got to South Bend nearly 8 hours west? Well we decided to head back home, and Kathy drove because I couldn’t quit coughing and spitting blood. Of course they admitted me to the hospital and Kathy set out for South Bend alone to see her children. Seems, so the doctors say that I had had a pneumonia for sometime and didn’t know it, and the allergic reaction I had to the feather pillow was so bad that I broke blood vessels in my lungs coughing. They determined these things after several tests and poking me with many needles.
I remained in the hospital for three days and returned home very tired and weak yesterday. Kathy had a wonderful time with her children and is now driving home through the snow storm, about a 9 hour drive. So that’s what we did on our recent Snow Days. We are to be married in 8 more days, and the snow may have an effect on those plans too. Got to love Snow Days.
