‘Til Death Do Us Part

Do you believe in Soul Mates?

It's my parents anniversary. They would have been married 52 years. Dad passed away from The Big C in 2000. On Mother's Day.

I asked Mom once if she ever thought of... finding anyone else after Dad. No, she said. Dad was a pretty special guy.

Grandpa Frank, Mom's dad, passed away way back in the '50's sometime. Grandma Ruth spent something like a half a century as a pretty active grandmother and church lady. Dad's mum? Grandma Sophie, spent nearly the same amount of time on her kids and grand kids.

That's a lot of time to be apart.

The first thought I had when I heard that Willy Wonka, Gene Wilder, had died, was that he and Gilda Radner were finally together again. They met making a movie together. Someone pointed out that a few years after Gilda's passing from cancer in '89, Gene had managed to find true love again. He'd been married for twenty-five years when he passed away Monday. As cool as it might seem to think of him and Gilda back together, he has a grieving widow.

So, as I raise a glass to my parents on what would be their anniversary, I think about my best friend and soul mate. She's pretty special. I'm pretty lucky.

"Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted."

"What happened?"

"He lived happily ever after."