Tuesday, June 20, 2006
An Anniversary And A Birthday
Today is Grammy's birthday. That's TFMCD's lovely Mom, for those of you who might not already know. This is without question one of the sweetest human beings to ever grace the planet. I know, I know, guys aren't supposed to talk about their mothers-in-law like that, but sh'e an exception. She's been talking for a couple of weeks now about how she wants to see the film The Lake House. So today, I knocked off a little early, slid over to her house and picked her up, and then met TFMCD and Bo over at the theater to see this outright, unapologetically, chick flick with her. Man, did I dread this. A chick flick, with no guy sitting next to me to help me make fun of it. It doesn't get any worse than that in the entertainment realm.
But something happened. Something unexpected. Very unexpected. The movie was good. Very good. Once I suspended my disbelief that this sort of thing could ever happen, and wrote off the plot holes that always accompany a movie of this sort, I was downright entertained by it. It's romantic without coming off as sappy, maudlin, and sentimental. I rooted for the characters to figure their crazy situation out and was....Well, why spoil it? Just go see it.
Today was also an anniversary of sorts. It was 33 years ago today that I was inducted into the United States Air Force. I remember like it was yesterday going off to the bus station with a bunch of my friends to see me off to the induction center in El Paso. TFMCD was there with me. She wasn't TFMCD yet, she was just my girlfriend. I was not yet 18, she was not yet 17 and just coming up on her senior year in high school. We were just babies, but we knew one thing for sure - we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. As the bus pulled away, I saw her virtually collapse into my mother's arms. I missed her before the bus could even turn on to US 70.
A lot has changed since then. We've buried a lot of family. My grandparents and hers, my Stepdad, her father, both our brothers, and a lot of other folks. And of course Mom, who comforted Vivy while Vivy comforted her that day. There's three grown kids, two grandkids, and a lot of adventures to talk about.
But some things never change, like my haircut. They shaved my head back on June 20, 1973, and it's shaved today. Those friends who saw me off? Haven't seen them in decades, but there's more and better at our sides today.
And Vivy and I still want to spend the rest of our lives together.
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But something happened. Something unexpected. Very unexpected. The movie was good. Very good. Once I suspended my disbelief that this sort of thing could ever happen, and wrote off the plot holes that always accompany a movie of this sort, I was downright entertained by it. It's romantic without coming off as sappy, maudlin, and sentimental. I rooted for the characters to figure their crazy situation out and was....Well, why spoil it? Just go see it.
Today was also an anniversary of sorts. It was 33 years ago today that I was inducted into the United States Air Force. I remember like it was yesterday going off to the bus station with a bunch of my friends to see me off to the induction center in El Paso. TFMCD was there with me. She wasn't TFMCD yet, she was just my girlfriend. I was not yet 18, she was not yet 17 and just coming up on her senior year in high school. We were just babies, but we knew one thing for sure - we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. As the bus pulled away, I saw her virtually collapse into my mother's arms. I missed her before the bus could even turn on to US 70.
A lot has changed since then. We've buried a lot of family. My grandparents and hers, my Stepdad, her father, both our brothers, and a lot of other folks. And of course Mom, who comforted Vivy while Vivy comforted her that day. There's three grown kids, two grandkids, and a lot of adventures to talk about.
But some things never change, like my haircut. They shaved my head back on June 20, 1973, and it's shaved today. Those friends who saw me off? Haven't seen them in decades, but there's more and better at our sides today.
And Vivy and I still want to spend the rest of our lives together.
