Memorable Men and Women

Some Florida nights bring such bright moonlight that you think you're living in a lighthouse. That's great if you're not interested in sleeping. As I lay in our bed bathed in moonbeams I was thinking of some memorable men and women who have touched my life.

Such people do not include a certain master sergeant from my Korean War years, but rather the positive folks like Paul, Charlie and Sween. Good friend Ted is another memorable man. Ted is smart, witty, caring, supportive, you name it. A bonus with Ted is his lovely Barbara and their two adult offspring. They are stars one and all. Then there is Hugh, Steve, Mike, Norman and a few others. Interestingly, my collection of Memorables has ladies leading the pack.

There was Pat, my first love, who was considered “the third prettiest girl in the 8^th grade.” (Another indicator of simplicity with 13 year-old male minds.) Much later when Pat, Trish and I gathered to plan our 50^th grammar school reunion, I can assure you that Pat moved from third place to take the crown. No one else was close. While it's hard to list her every good quality, it might have been that her sensitivity to a short guy with an astigmatism wearing round steel eyeglasses. Or was it “Sleepy Lagoon”, the hit song of 1942? Songs seem to be prominent when thinking of the opposite sex.

Moving on to high school “I'm Confessing that I Love You” carried Jean and me through one semester after another.  Later on Lynn and I danced to "It Had to be You" through college and right into the Army induction center.

Romance is still tied in with songs of the time. My dear wife, Joan, and I were mildly annoyed when Mary Ann said that “Close to You” was their song. Everybody knows, or should know, it is our song.

And speaking of Joan, I told her:

“When my life is through

and the angels ask me to recall

The thrill of them all

Then I will tell them,

I Remember You.”

And I will, Most Memorable of All Ladies.