October 15: Stealing Kisses, Anniversary, Psalm 150, Adventures of Stickman

Leaving Macy's, they spent an hour walking uptown and lingered by the Rockefeller Center ice-skating rink, on the promenade, directly across from the bronze statue of Prometheus reclining, the great tree, a Maine pine, some fifty feet high and as wide as a house, covered with thousands of lights, towering cheerfully over the scene.  Down below, a hundred skaters, of all ages, circled the ice, some gracefully as professionals, others clumsily, their faces and twisting bodies in colored caps and suits, vivid in the surrounding floodlights.  Leaning against the railing, Annie and Ives were caught up, as were so many others, by the romance of the setting, and, ever so happy, held each other tightly, nudging one another with their chilled noses and stealing kisses, until laughing, she said, "Oh, Eddie, you make me feel like a kid again."

Ives and Annie never lose their passion for each other.  This moment, mere hours before their son is murdered, shows the strength of their marriage.  At times, Annie considers leaving Ives in the aftermath of Robert's death, but she doesn't.  She can't.  She loves Ives too much.

I apologize for my absence last night.  It was my wedding anniversary.  Twenty years.  My wife and I didn't do a whole lot.  Couldn't really afford it.  Instead, we attended our daughter's concert.  Now, sitting in a gymnasium listening to several high school choruses might not sound like the most romantic way to celebrate 20 years of marriage, but we had a really good time.

Afterward, I spent the rest of the evening correcting papers.  I had no choice.  My wife made lunches, and I corrected.  My wife watched the ten o'clock news, and I corrected.  My wife went to bed, and I corrected.  I graded that stack of essays until about 1 a.m.  I know.  Call me Mr. Romance.

I have been brain dead today.  No sleep.  Headache.  I can barely string together two sentences tonight.  But, I do want to celebrate my wife tonight.  She has had a lot of struggles over these last twenty years.  Life hasn't been easy.  Separation.  Financial distress.  Health problems.  Yet, our marriage has survived.

And for that, Saint Marty gives thanks.. 

Psalm 150

Praise yet the LORD.  Praise God in his sanctuary:  praise him in the firmament of his power.

2.  Praise him for his mighty acts:  praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3.  Praise him with the sound of the trumpet:  praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4.  Praise him with the timbrel and dance:  praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5.  Praise him upon the loud cymbals:  praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6.  Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.  Praise ye the LORD.

Adventures of STICKMAN