Even happier post ...

I just got off the phone with my Beloved. It was such a pleasure to hear Her voice, soft and sweet in my ear, talking about what She has been doing today.

No man is more blessed than the man who has a Woman in his life to cherish, honor and uplift. Service, devotion and dedication to the happiness of a Woman, makes the life of a man complete, makes him whole.

My first childhood friend, as a mere toddler, was a little blonde neighbor Girl, followed a few years later by naive plans to marry Melissa Gilbert, star of Little House on the Prairie. I cannot remember a time when I ever believed Girls had "cooties," or a time when I did not count Them among my cherished friends. I was writing gooey love notes in third grade. From fifth grade, I still cherish the memory of a classmate named Dawn, who was truly a gifted artist -- and I still have one of Her drawings to remember Her by.

And then of course, adolescence turned the steady little flame into an inferno which has not yet burned out.

I read in a motivational book today about a fool of a man whose dear Wife gave him a picture of Herself for their anniversary. She had planned it elaborately, consulted with Her friends to pick out the prettiest dress, the prettiest pose, the prettiest hairstyle, even the perfect frame to put it in. She was so excited that She even gave the photo to him early.

And what did the imbecile do? He said that She looked like a slut and threw the picture down. The result was years of therapy for Her to rebuild Her shattered self-esteem, and, of course, a divorce from the caveman.

Some part of me should feel sorry for such a man, wandering alone in the mists of moronity, doomed to grow old with only his stupidity for company. Most of me wants to find him and throw him off a bridge.

But then I think about the beam in my own eye, the times that I have overridden my Beloved in conversation, the times that I have not taken Her ideas seriously, the times that I have initiated arguments because I was tired or whatever.

She still loves me, thanks be to heaven, in spite of it all. And I am a blessed, blessed man.