I’m feeling sentimental; Mike and I were privileged to witness the marriage of Monica Guzman (@moniguzman) and Jason Preson (@Jason_Preston) on Saturday. Perhaps it was that recent nuptial that caused these two simple paragraphs to resonate so. Or maybe it was because I am like many of my generation, with a “failed” first marriage.
Whatever the reason, I’m sharing. Knowingly sharing content that is hidden behind a firewall. Because sometimes the greater good trumps pay-to-view (emphasis added):
Bill Clinton, Hillary, Chelsea, and Marc were at the next table, talking avidly over their dinner, and my wife and I couldn’t help but snoop. No, no—this wasn’t at the big wedding last weekend … It was at a Mexican restaurant in the Clintons’ hometown of Chappaqua, N.Y. …
What, you have to wonder, did Chelsea learn about marriage from her parents’ notorious union? … While countless other marriages have fallen apart, something kept the Clintons together, something that many people can’t understand. That something, I’d guess, is what I saw in my parents’ much less tumultuous marriage of 55 years: a grudging acceptance of each other’s flaws and quirks that ripens, in time, into profound affection; a deep well of shared experiences; and a connection that transcends all frustrations and disappointments. It’s not the rosy picture of marriage you find in fairy tales, but it’s one that lasts.
What do you think? About marriage, relationships or even sneaking this content past the paywall?
2 replies on “A marriage that lasts”
@MegRNelson:
@FollowsProcess:
In reverse order:
3) It’s fair use, for the purposes of discussion.
2) The words of Christopher Bingham, again quoted for fair use:
Love defines it’s boundaries
Limitless shapes, countless forms
Love doesn’t give a damn about color, shape, size, *number*, or what you got or don’t got. Relationships are the business of the consenting adults that are in them. And frankly, the business of the state treating you any different based on what relationship you might or might not have is not only a metric tonne of organic fertilizer, but a monumental pain in the posterior. If you wish to have your relationship(s) celebrated by (a) representative(s) of whatever it is you believe, that’s between y’all and them. Nobody else’s beeswax unless you want to invite’em to help celebrate.
Sure, that’s my opinion, and worth exactly what you paid for it, maybe less. But said opinion was formed over 20+ years of being whacked up’side the head with relationships that *looked* different… but really weren’t… and just generally being raised with the idea that people are *people*, and that you should treat them with a certain basic respect by default.