Sweetie Gems
Sweetie Gems
By Jim Humberd
We Knew each Other for 55 Years and 13 Days
As we ate dinner in the Chateau Lake Louise, we agreed the view from our table, of the teal blue lake, mountains, and glaciers, was the most scenic dinner view we have experienced.
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I told my Sweetie, “If you think that view is spectacular, you should see the enchanting, delectable, heavenly view I see at most every meal! No you certainly are not a glacier, but wow, speaking of mountain peaks, … !“
(Lake Louise, Canada)
Lake Louise
The Restaurant View from Our Table
When the San Francisco earthquake of 1989 occurred, Sweetie was sitting in a dentist chair in Burbank, with her mouth full of wires and tubes.
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I didn't feel it, I saw it on the TV, in the waiting room.
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There were several chairs with patients undergoing a variety of procedures, so I asked the head dentist what their emergency plan was, if an earthquake happened while patients were sitting there with mouths filled.
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He looked startled and confused, then said,
“Feet, don't fail me now!”
Sweetie says that years ago she would look at
all the things in the tourist stores, but
couldn't afford to buy anything.
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Thank goodness now when she can afford
that stuff, she knows better!
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We enjoy the items we have purchased over the
years, but we try to never buy tourist trinkets.
If we happen to be at the top of the Campanile
in front of St. Mark's Cathedral when the huge bells start to ring, we must hold on to our hats, our ears, and anything else that's handy,
the vibrations are awesome.
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As if I needed an excuse to grab hold,
and embrace my Sweetie.
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When I squeeze my Sweetie
I always hear bells and chimes.
(Venice, Italy)
Darling Sweetie,
You've always been
the greatest, and always will be.
A Sweetie
shopping delay,
was a synonym
for momentary.
When Sweetie was shopping, my rule was;
If my Sweetie wants it, I will buy it.
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I am lucky that the only really, for real, actual, ridiculous item
Sweetie ever wanted, was me.
Sweetie said,
“I feel much better,” and I said,
“I'll be the judge of that,
let me check.
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This may take a few minutes.”
Diamond ring 70th birthday St Thomas
My rings Her watch, 18k Gold Her High School Ring
Sweetie was tired, grass was green, water was wet, what else is new, and she was exasperated and exhausted.
Sweetie's gray-hairs aren't only from being out of touch with her hairdresser for too many weeks.
I'm the RV driver, Sweetie is the cook, but cooking is the least important of her
real duties.
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I mean her enjoyments!
Monica, Linda, Barbel, Margit, My Mother and My Sweetie
Sweetie, at Fougeres, France
We had no idea where they were or even where
we were, so it was a great surprise meeting.
In 1970, Sweeties very elaborate 18k gold ring,
with 18 emeralds, cost about $65.
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In 1995, in the exact same jewelry store on the
Ponte Vecchio, in Florence, a plain and simple 18K gold ring with one Emerald cost $1,000.
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I wonder what Sweetie's ring, and the matching
18k gold bracelet with 64 emeralds, bought
about the same time, would cost today.
(Florence, Italy)
We snorkeled among the colorful tropical
fish in the Lagoon at Siapan.
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What colors. What form.
What beauty.
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And that was just
Sweetie in her swim suit.
As I sat near her Hospital bed, Sweetie said,
“This must be awful
boring for you.”
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I responded, “It ain't boring, you're my Sweetie.”
As we stood on the bridge observing river barge traffic, I said to Sweetie,
“There's the Locks.”
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Sweetie responded, “That's great, but where's the cream cheese and bagels?”
(lox, cream cheese, and bagels, her favorite breakfast.)
(Valentré Bridge, Cahors, France)
The applause we heard was for my Sweetie as she descended the ladder.
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Do you wonder who led the applause?
(Rothenburg, Germany)
Dozens of our Tidbits, Gems
and Snippets tell, indicate, hint, express, insist, and broadcast my complete, intense, deep-felt love for
my Sweetie, forever.
I would have helped Sweetie hold down her skirt, but I was busy leading the applause.
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Marilyn Monroe received fame and fortune for a similar scene, but Sweetie did it best.
(Yosemite Nat'l Park, on a Ferry boat, Seattle, Washington)
Sweetie won the prize for best performance in the middle of the
Panama Canal.
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But just a hint--
I was judge, jury and participant.
Sweetie was addicted to me,
was never allergic to me.
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Her name was spelled Emmy, she never expressed enmity.
Sweetie's headstone tells the story of her life, it states:
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“Now the Angels have a Role Model.”
(Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills)
While walking through the precise
geometric display of hedges and flower beds in the immense gardens, Sweetie said, “I would like more color in the flower beds.”
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I suggested that if she walked through the gardens, they would be
much more colorful indeed.
(Versailles Palace, France)
Sweetie thought one of the
Soviet soldiers was handsome beyond repair.
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The most handsome man she had ever seen.
(present company included)
(Dresden, Germany)
Our fancy Bedroom on Archwood street, that we built in the 1960s.
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A former bedroom became the closet and dressing room,
a full bathroom is on the other side of the headboard wall.
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We have never had a hotel bedroom as nice as this.
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That is a double lounge rocker on the far left, with the stone fireplace
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That fireplace stood, without a crack through the
February 9, 1971 earthquake.
Our Wedding Anniversaries
were celebrated in
54 different Restaurants in
_Six states,
Five countries,
Three cruise ships.
Jim and Emmy's
Anniversary Dinners
'51 (00) The Pantry (Wedding Day) Park Ridge, Ill.
'52 (01) Western Hills Hotel Fort Worth, Texas
'53 (02) Baker Hotel Dallas, Texas
'54 (03) At Home Dallas, Texas
'55 (04) Lawry's Prime Rib Los Angeles, Calif
'56 (05) Carolina Pines Los Angeles, Calif
'57 (06) Fireside Inn Encino, Calif
'58 (07) Good Wife Encino, Calif
'59 (08) Wild Goose Studio City, Calif
'60 (09) Steers Los Angeles, Calif
'61 (10) House of Lords Las Vegas, Nev.
'62 (11) Black Angus Phoenix, Ariz
'63 (12) Rams Horn Encino, Calif
'64 (13) Sportsman's Lodge Studio City, Calif
'65 (14) Tail of the Cock Studio City, Calif
'66 (15) Sorrentino's Palm Springs, Calif
'67 (16) Castaways Glendale, Calif
'68 (17) That John's Palm Springs, Calif
'69 (18) Mission Hotel San Diego, Calif
'70 (19) La Scala Glendale, Calif
'71 (20) Cliff Hotel San Francisco, Calif
'72 (21) Talk of the Valley Van Nuys, Calif
'73 (22) Rococo's Woodland Hills, Ca
'74 (23) Kirkaby Center Club Los Angeles, Calif
'75 (24) The Golden Tale El Segundo, Calif
'76 (25) Shearton Hotel San Diego, Calif
'77 (26) Hilton Hotel Las Vegas, Nev
'78 (27) Tropicanna Hotel, Las Vegas, Nev
'79 (28) Cask and Cleaver Rancho Mirage, Calif
'80 (29) Lowe's Hotel Monte Carlo, Monaco
'81 (30) Mauna Kea Beach Kamuela, Hawaii
'82 (31) Chart House Rancho Mirage, Calif
'83 (32) Sterns Wharf Santa Barbara, Calif
'84 (33) Lord Fletcher Rancho Mirage, Calif
'85 (34) Hotel Zur Post Greimerath, Ger.
'86 (35) Circus Circus Las Vegas, Nev
'87 (36) Marriott's Palm Desert, Calif
'88 (37) Ports of Call San Pedro, Calif
'89 (38) Marriott Hotel Athens, Greece
'90 (39) Jeremiah's Palm Springs, Calif
'91 (40) Cask and Cleaver Rancho Mirage, Calif
'92 (41) Ritz Carlton Rancho Mirage, Calif
'93 (42) Stoffers Esmeralda Indian Wells, Calif
'94 (43) Hilton Hotel Palm Springs, Calif
'95 (44) Strasbourg Cafeteria Strasbourg, France
'96 (45) Palm Valley Country Club Palm Desert, CA
'97 (46) Outback Steakhouse Palm Desert, CA
'98 (47) Westin Hotel Rancho Mirage, CA
'99 (48) Wild Goose Rancho Mirage, CA
'00 (49) Star Princess The Pacific Ocean
'01 (50) SS Elation The Pacific Ocean
'02 (51) Smoky's Palm Desert
'03 (52) SS Ecstasy The Pacific Ocean
'04 (53) Damon's Glendale, CA
'05 (54) Taylor's Steak House La Canada, CA
For Eternity - - in Heaven
We celebrated my Sweetie's birthday on 12345670.
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Jan 2, 2003, at 4:56.
Her 70th.
As we drove toward San Francisco, Sweetie said, “Look at that beautiful moon!”
(A Union Oil sign, seen through a leafy tree.)
(Santa Barbara, CA
Sweetie riding a camel in Africa
For my Sweetie's Birthday, and
Christmas present, I bought two rings at
Charlotte Amalie,
St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.
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Since I didn't want her to see them, I smuggled them past the Customs officer in Miami, and made it OK, no problem!!
(Miami, FL)
For Sweetie's 50th birthday
I gave her
50 tiny pieces of gold, and
50 small emeralds,
in a glass vial, held by a chain.
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For her 70th birthday I had a necklace with 70 stones made especially for her.
Sweetie looked at the blank wall in the living room, and decided this was her
“Sistine Chapel Ceiling.”
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She painted a beautiful paint-by-number,
6 by 10 foot mural of a tree limb,
with leaves and birds.
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The people who bought the house,
did not paint over this masterpiece,
for the many years they lived there.
(Sierra Vista, Arizona)
Sometimes I called my Sweetie,
“Miss Perfection.”
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Sometimes I capalitized the “M”,
sometimes I made it one word, and didn't capalitized the M!!
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Missprefection is an Antonym for my Sweetie,
like the word imperfection and missunderstood
For our 20th anniversary, I gave Sweetie an
18K Gold Bracelet with 64 Emeralds,
to match her 18K Gold Ring with 18 Emeralds.
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The cost was $200 for both, at a jewelry store on the Ponte Vecchio, the old Bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy, in 1970.
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Last time a Jeweler looked at them (many years ago),
he said $6,000 to $8,000.
Kennedy Memorial, Dallas Sweeties Pretties, Florence, Italy,
Snow Cat, Jasper Park Melting Glacier
For Sweetie and I,
“To Travel”
was a synonym for
“Good Mood.”
At Sweetie's 45th High School
Graduation Reunion, I insisted she was the “Belle Of The Ball.”
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Everyone agreed there was something special about a California girl.
(Chicago, Ill)
Sweetie was a fabulous seamstress.
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For years, her main Christmas gift was the “fabric” of the year,
such as the very first
double-knit Polyester,
Ultra Suede, and Quiana.
One day I reached over to pat Sweetie
on the fanny, as I have been known to
do a million times.
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Sweetie received one broken rib, one cracked rib, and one night at Eisenhower Hospital.
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Forgot to mention, we were on
our bicycles at the time.
(Rancho Mirage, CA)
One year Sweetie got a driver's license.
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She was rarely home after that!
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As I often said,
“If the sun is shining, and there's gas in the tank, … … !!!”
(Encino, CA)
Sweetie saw an
advertisement that said
the house has a
Cyclone Fence (chain link).
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She said, “I don't want to move somewhere
that has Cyclones.”
( Reading the Dallas Paper, while living in Chicago)
There’s nothing more beautiful
than a beautiful lady.
_____________________________
And the less the clothes,
the more the beauty.”
If the marriage is good, there is
nothing better.
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If the marriage is bad there is
nothing worse.
_____________________________
That last comment is a rumor I have heard,
in 55 years I did not experience that for even a moment.
At her 45th High School Graduation Reunion, for a moment
I could not find my Sweetie.
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I spotted her, surrounded by a half-dozen of her old classmates - all male!
(Chicago, Ill)
I loved to buy them, Sweetie loved to wear them
Sweetie had planned
to just heat some
bent candles in the oven.
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I could hear sirens as I arrived home, but Sweetie said, “Don't get excited when the Fire truck gets here, the fire is out now!”
(Canoga Park, CA)
The old fable that
“The way to a man's heart is through his stomach,”sure didn't apply to me.
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The way to my heart was
my Sweeties beauty, her character, her figure, and especially her hugs and kisses.
Sweetie could spot a
flea market anywhere.
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We were driving across the wide open
spaces on a Saturday morning when she said, “Let's get off the Interstate and see if
there is a flea market.”
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Sure enough, their annual, once a year,
flea market.
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How did she know?
(Kadoka South Dakota)
Salt Mine in Poland Sea Urchin, Italy Fountain, Núrmburg
It, not Her
Sweetie was the cook and
was responsible for the
essential body nutrients.
_________________________________
I was the driver and my responsibility was to find the most beautiful, scenic place to park at mealtime.
(Budapest, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Athens, and hundred's more)
I often told my Sweetie,
“Your beautiful body drives me crazy.”
_______________________________
Her response,
“For you that's just a short putt.”
(For 55 years)
You may get the idea that my Sweetie
loved to shop and shop.
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Well, not quite, she was never one to
spend a lot of time in department stores,
in shoe stores, or whatever.
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While we traveled, we considered antique stores and flea markets, in dozens of countries, to be living museums.
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She loved to get a beautiful reminder
of the places we visited.
After Sweetie managed to step four times for five stair steps, her leg was hurting very bad, and it was sore to the touch, her touch, not mine!
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She decided she had to lay down, while
I did some more sight seeing.
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Sweetie's leg did feel better after a little rest –
I insist it always feels just fine to me.
(Chateau Blois, France)
One year I took a computer customer and
his wife to dinner on the Queen Mary, and
of course Sweetie was with us.
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As we were walking around the ship after dinner, a couple of men were fighting and while running past us, they knocked Sweetie down, but she wasn't hurt.
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The Long Beach police were on the dock, but in those days were not permitted to come on the ship
- so stupid.
(Queen Mary, Long Beach, Calif)
Some doctors still make house calls.
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When Sweetie had a stroke,
her Cousin, Dr. Reinhold Herrmann, came directly from Bonn, Germany.
_____________________________
His medical kit did include a full set of clubs in his golf bag.
(La Quinta, CA)
In 1966 Sweetie got a secretarial job.
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After 50 weeks, she had earned two weeks vacation, that was the end.
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We went to a restaurant to celebrate.
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I gave her 100 brand new one dollar bills, still in numerical sequence, as a gift.
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The waitress asked how long she had worked, and when told one year, she said she had worked 30 years, no end in sight.
(Canoga Park, CA)
52nd Anniversary Sweetie/John Spindler
Better built than the Heidleberg Castle
In the town square there is a
church with a multicolored design on the roof, and next door is an antique
store where Sweetie dreams a lot, and spends a little.
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She did buy a foot stool one year.
(Ribeauville, France)
Sweetie was wearing a favorite blue print blouse, with plain blue slacks.
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Two Supervisors of the Carnival Cruise Lines congratulated her on how
nicely she was dressed.
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The “Salvation Army Store Reject” dress style of these days did not please
my Sweetie at all.
(Long Beach, Calif.)
At the flea market, 99% of the
buyers had left.
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Sellers had put away 99% of the
things that had been for sale.
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Sweetie managed to buy 99% of a towel rack with glass rods and brass brackets.
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Now if we only had the missing 1%.
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Well, later I did find a screw that fit.
(Locarno, Switzerland)
Sweetie says it's funny, in one store at one time she doesn't find anything she likes,
then another time, another store,
another wallet, another Credit Card.
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Our Visa card, dated 1967, has never been canceled, but since it is used many times each month, it's has worn out and been replaced.
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Years ago, we paid interest maybe a month or two on our Visa bill, but never again.
Sweetie signed up for her Social Security checks at the US Embassy in Bonn, Germany.
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We were visiting Cousin Reinhold .
_____________________________
Her first Social Security check was
deposited on February 1989.
_____________________________
Being married to an older woman does
have certain advantages.
_____________________________
Well, I did have to wait a year for my
first Social Security check.
In a small market Sweetie wanted to buy some eggs, but had a problem
presenting her request.
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Then I heard a familiar voice
“crowing like a rooster.”
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She did get her eggs,
and some laughter.
(Gyor, Hungary)
A mannequin was dressed in a skirt
Sweetie liked, another had a skirt with pleats,
she loved even more, and yet another had
the plaid material she preferred.
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She couldn't make up her mind right then,
but a few days later we wrote a letter to the
wool mill, explaining how we wanted them to combine the preferred elements.
_____________________________
Weeks later a beautiful skirt, in the style and material she wanted, arrived in California.
(Near Edinburgh, Scotland)
Pretty and Fun From St. Thomas Venice Glass
Don’t know where Virgin Islands She bought many
Opal, Phoenix Amethyst More Venetian Glass
Acapulco, Mexico
Sweetie liked an enameled porcelain picture, in a nice frame, and went back to see it time and again.
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When she was finally ready to buy, the store was
ready to close for lunch.
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That only stopped her for an hour though.
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We had lunch in our RV near the river, then came
back to buy her picture.
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It is signed on the front, “A-Bureau.”
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On the reverse is a label that says,
“EMAILLEUR D' ART, certified sur l'honneur que ses émaux sont entiérement exéutés A LA MAIN.”
(Limoges, France)
Sweetie and I knew each other
for a total of exactly
55 years and 13 days.
_____________________________
My Sweetie passed away on
November 15, 2005 from complications of
Alzheimer's disease.
_____________________________
Her illness lasted nearly 9 years,
with me as her nurse,
the last few years on 24 hour duty.
It rained, we both got soaked, but then
who cared, we were in love and were going to get married the next day!
_______________________________
Saturday night we checked into the
Hotel Stevens (now the Chicago Hilton and Towers) into a very tiny room, about $9 per night, we still have the receipt.
_______________________________
Since then we've had honeymoons most
every year, I mean several times most weeks.
I paid $13 for a new US Army Uniform.
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Sweetie had borrowed a dress from a girlfriend at work.
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On June 2, 1951, the church was being decorated
by men, some high on ladders,
for a wedding later that day.
_______________________________
As we approached the Altar, the pastor yelled,
“Hey you guys, quit hammering for a few minutes,
doesn't hurt to use this stuff twice.”
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Wedding took 5 minutes, the Marriage lasted 55 years.
(Chicago, Ill.)
Some people travel from restaurant to restaurant
and see hotels in between.
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Others go from scenic spot to scenic spot, and
see the towns in between.
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We travel from town to town and see the
scenic spots between.
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Sweetie usually agrees with me in what we see
or where we go, but sometimes it appears
that agreement is just her easy way out.
_______________________________
If she agrees with me, she doesn't have to
present an alternative.
They anchored the Princesses Cruise Line ship, TSS Carla-C, a mile offshore, near the Guadalupe Islands, and loaded us into life boats for the trip to the island.
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As our little boat circled the TSS Carla-C and headed for the shore, Sweetie looked
around here and there, then said,
“Oh! Where did that big ship come from?”
_______________________________
Well, how did she think she got here!
We found a class that would give Sweetie information about buying, managing, renovating, and selling an apartment building for a profit.
_______________________________
On a street lined with apartments, she went
door to door asking if anyone wanted to sell,
and hit the jackpot.
_______________________________
We completely renovated the 17 units, traded it for a 39 unit building, sold that one a couple of years later, for over 30 times our original investment.
_______________________________
My Sweetie did it, in 4 or 5 years!!
Me!! I wish I knew her then I knew her then
One time we visited a freighter ship
at the harbor.
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The cranes that were used to load and unload a ship in those days were called “booms.”
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And of course we were on a dock, a place where
a ship is tied while loading and unloading.
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As I pointed out these important facts, Sweetie said,
“Oh, that's why they call this the boom-docks.”
_______________________________
The driver of the passing fork-lift was laughing so hard he almost ran off the dock into the water.
One time we received permission to visit on
the famous “SS Lurline.”
_______________________________
Dress code on the SS Lurline, required men to
wear coats and ties at evening meals.
_______________________________
It was nearing dinner time, an officer saw I was dressed in sports coat, sports shirt, no tie, he asked,
“Are you a member of the crew?”
_______________________________
For many years, Sweetie would say,
“Are you a member of the crew,”
when she thought I was not dressed appropriately.
(Long Beach, Calif.)
One of our trips to Hawaii was a business trip,
computer business.
_______________________________
Would you believe it, Sweeties schedule (beds didn't need to be made, dishes didn't need washed) was such that
she could go along.
_______________________________
I flew somewhere many weeks each year, for over 20 years, but only when and where necessary.
_______________________________
Sweetie went with me on business trips a few times a year, we always vacationed, so a business trip “just for fun” was never considered.
For our 30th Anniversary we went to
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, in Hawaii.
_______________________________
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Excellent food, excellent service, excellent ambiance, the best by far, of the
54 anniversary dinners.
_______________________________
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I told the Maitre d', “Our family tradition says each anniversary at a different restaurant, so how can we possibly match this experience,
any time in the future?”
_______________________________
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We never did, no other dinner compares.
(Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Big Island of Hawaii 1981)
A piece of driftwood sticking a few inches out of the sand, was wiggled and waggled by my wiggling and waggling Sweetie, and ended up being 5 feet long, branches about 2 feet long near the middle, the heavy 18” piece at the end looks like a horse's head.
____________________________
We sent it to Los Angeles on a Matson Freighter ship.
._____________________________
A wood expert told us it did not originate in Hawaii, it drifted there from somewhere else.
(Island of Maui, Hawaii)
My beautiful Sweetie with some Driftwood she found on the beach at Maui, Hawaii
Sweetie visited her favorite brass and copper shop, and if I thought she was going to buy a brass pot, I was half right, she bought two.
_______________________________
One was a gift for Cousin Toni.
(Limburg, Germany)
Sweetie was shopping for a dress,
and offered a price.
_______________________________
The dress salesman indicated agreement, then quickly kissed Sweetie on the neck and said “Bella, Bella.”
_______________________________
But when she indicated a lack of interest in
what he was really trying to sell, he
showed a lack of interest in selling the
dress for that price, so no buy, and no sale either.
(Town of Capri on the Isle of Capri, Italy)
To describe the high quality of the equipment involved, the physical object used to hold my camera steady for telephoto time-exposures, was of the highest quality.
_______________________________
Sweetie stood very still and held her breath, while I steadied the camera on her shoulder.
_______________________________
Among the many differences from the usual
tripod - Sweetie has only two legs,
beautiful legs, but only two.
It was a really sunny day, Sweetie dressed in heels and an attractive skirt (among other things), and went shopping for a pretty suit, on Princes Street.
_______________________________
Found one she liked - that is she liked the suit OK, but the price scared her away.
(Edinburgh, Scotland)
Sweetie ate a buffet lunch at a large Department Store.
_______________________________
She enjoyed items like herring, various salads, paella, chicken, artichoke hearts, even ice water with plenty of ice.
_______________________________
None of those are my favorites, so I just kept her plate filled, and I watched her eat, as I have done hundreds of times.
_______________________________
You've heard the story,
“I would rather - do this or that - than eat.”
_______________________________
Well,
“I would rather keep my Sweetie's plate full, than eat.”
(Barcelona, Spain)
*
Never got an answer Crater Lake
A Lake in Canada, with dog Pixie The Caretaker Hardly at work
Sweetie bought a pink coral necklace one year, then bought a matching pair of earrings during a visit to the same store in another year.
_______________________________
The $11 blue purse (negotiated down from $22), she bought was used many days of the year.
(Republic of San Marino)
Sweetie decided to get her hair colored and set.
_______________________________
We found a tasteful looking shop, the nice lady's hair was pleasantly styled, we thought she must know what to do.
_______________________________
The hairdresser was anxious to
communicate with Sweetie.
_______________________________
She was a very attractive young grandmother,
and showed pictures of her grandchildren.
_______________________________
She showed a picture of a man on a tractor, and to let Sweetie
know it was her son, she touched her stomach.
_______________________________
Her husband drives a tour bus.
(Kórinthos, Greece)
Sweetie has been on an airplane more than 100 times, and once the landing gear would not come up, so the plane slowly flew from Chicago to Kansas City, but no real problem.
Sweetie says her disposition is
affected by the rain.
_______________________________
I wondered what caused that.
_______________________________
I liked it best when her predilection,
or preference was for me.
_______________________________
Sometimes I wondered what I could try next to agitate her propensity,
her innate inclination.
In a Palm Springs shopping center, we saw a Chinese Gentleman painting beautiful pictures, he was painting with his fingernail.
_______________________________
Sweetie being the shopper she is, loved the pictures,
but not the colors.
_______________________________
A few months later we were in Vegas when we found
Johnson Lee painting his art in the Dunes Hotel.
_______________________________
He remembered Sweetie and her comments about his colors,
and found she still had the same idea.
_______________________________
We stopped by the next day and Mr. Lee had a beaming smile for
Sweetie, and pulled up a picture in the colors Sweetie loved.
_______________________________
He said that when he awoke that morning, he remembered Sweetie, and painted a piece of art just for her, in her colors.
* * *
Champniers-et-Reilhac, Fussen, Germany Country of
France San Marino
* *
Tangiers, Morocco Arles, France
Sweetie thinks this is a nice town, probably because it has a flea market.
_______________________________
We had spent the night on the bank
of the Tarn River.
_______________________________
People floated down the Tarn River in canoes, and a man in a truck went down the road to retrieve them, and bring them back to the starting point.
(Millau, France)
Somewhere Sweetie bought a 10 inch high, 5 inches across, half round, with handle, and a hole to hang on a wall, light blue porcelain “something.”
_______________________________
She was going to put flowers in it, but when we got home, she noticed a little spout at the bottom, and inside are markers for each half/liter up to 2 litters.
_______________________________
Best we can figure, it is hung on the wall and
is used to supply water for a douche.
_______________________________
It never made it as a flower pot.
(It says, Fabrication Française, L & Cie)
I wanted to put a sign on our several huge suitcases quoting a well known source, “There wasn't room to take everything I wanted to take.”
_______________________________
We traveled for as long as 5 months at a time in our RV, so we did need everything, except the kitchen sink.
Thirty or forty years ago Sweetie
had a “kink” in her back, from all that heavy housework.
_______________________________
She asked, “Please help me
put on this bra.”
_______________________________
I replied, “I don't know how to do that.”
_______________________________
She responded, “Just do the opposite
of what you usually do.”
_______________________________
And it worked!!!
Sweetie said she wasn't feeling well.
_______________________________
_______________________________
I checked, then said,
“Wow, you feel just great to me.”
_______________________________
_______________________________
After we checked into the campground, I rode the bus and streetcar downtown, she rested in the RV.
_______________________________
_______________________________
After a sight seeing walk around
the downtown area, I returned to the RV with a McDonald's bag with a Big Mac and
French Fries for the invalid.
(Breitenfurter Straße, Vienna, Austria)
Lunch in Luxembourg, She ate in only the best places!!
On our last visit to London, Sweetie shopped at the Selfridge Department store on Oxford Street, and a few other stores.
_______________________________
She soon decided that even if she found
a suit or a dress she would like well
enough to wear (not likely), the
price would scare her away.
_______________________________
Prices and styles were equally atrocious.
(London, England)
One evening Sweetie felt ill and needed to see a doctor.
_______________________________
It was (a) Sunday, (b) six o'clock PM,
(c) we were in a campground, (d) in Germany,
(e) behind the Berlin Country Wall (that is different from the more famous Berlin City Wall) in West Berlin, so what was the chance to solve her problem?
_______________________________
Not only did we find a Klinik nearby, but the
stomach doctor was IN.
_______________________________
He answered her immediate questions, checked this and
that, then said there was no emergency, and no charge.
(Berlin, Germany)
(P. S. Try that in your hometown some time!)
Sweetie thinks it would be best if she could just close her eyes while we drive around the Arc de Triomphe.
_______________________________
She thinks I might like it best if she had her mouth closed also.
(She said it! Well, I hinted.)
(Paris, France)
One day while Sweetie needed a
shampoo and set.
_______________________________
Luckily we found a hairdresser who would keep her off the streets and out of the stores for
an hour or so, for only $12.
_______________________________
The hairdresser visit was a real bargain,
saved us a lot of money.
(Rome, Italy)
Sweetie's friend asked her to buy
a set of Villeroy & Boch dishes with the Amapola pattern.
_____________________________
The cost, including packing, postage, and customs duty, was about $800.
(List price about $3,000)
_____________________________
I thought that spending someone else's money should have satisfied Sweetie's craving for Villeroy & Boch, but it whetted her appetite.
(Villeroy & Boch - Mettlach, Germany)
*
London, England Carcassone, France
* * *
Champniers-et-Reilhac, Frankfurt, Germany, La Chapelle
France St. Aubert , France
Sweetie tried to hold a conversation with a lady and her son named Paul.
_______________________________
He had been studying English for about three months, and he tried
very hard and did know some words.
_______________________________
We got the impression Paul was surprised
Sweetie didn't speak better English.
(Urbino, Italy)
11:12 AM, November 15, 2005
For the next several minutes I kissed My Sweetie all over her face,
her eyes, her mouth, and all over.
_______________________________
As I lifted my head, I would swear she had a
different expression on her face,
she took two more breaths, then left for Heaven.
_______________________________
I was no more than 5 or 6 inches from her face,
so did not miss a thing.
_______________________________
It was as if I had given her permission to leave, and that was
her last look of love, especially for me.
_______________________________
I am crying as I type, I want to be with her, now!
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