30 Years

Thirty years ago, right about now I got married - something I had sworn would never happen. I learned from Bob that one should never say never. I can hear his voice, “You never know Babe - just see where the ride takes you.” It was a fascinating ride with far more thrills and roller coasters than anticipated, but there was always Bob enjoying the ride and knowing that if you just hang on, all things can turn on a dime. He taught me to not attach to firmly held beliefs because life has a way of showing what it really wants and what it really wants is usually a whole lot better than what you might have dreamed up. We did not make much sense on paper, but we worked well in reality. He was my gun-toting guru and my ballistic Buddha. He demonstrated on a daily basis the art of living well by inhabiting your soul, not your ego. If you had asked me on that October day in 1996 what the future held, I could never have imagined where the journey would take us and how it would profoundly change me. Here is a bit of tribute to the cutest guy with the crooked smile.

He loved kumquats

And contrails

And bombs

Well, anything that went boom

He couldn’t eat ketchup

But loved cocktail sauce

Grilled cheese sandwiches were fine

No quesadillas

“Can’t do melted cheese, Babe.”

He was caring and romantic

Yet passed on the nighttime cruise on the Seine

“How can you see anything, Its dark?”

Directions had to be north, south, east and west

No turn right or left at the next street

Never more than two direction changes ahead

He could pontificate on the Bernoulli effect for hours

Feigned only a passing interest in topics others might enjoy

He was a voracious reader

Could not handle too much auditory input

He lived in his own world

And was a man of the people

He was adorable

Engaging

Selfish

Kind

Annoying

Generous

A conundrum

And for a time - mine.