A Dozen Years of Marriage

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My Beautiful Mystery Companion and I married 12 years ago tomorrow — June 10 — on a warm, humid late afternoon at the bottom of a hill on her brother and sister-in-law’s place outside Hughes Springs. It was a beautiful setting for a simple ceremony, mainly family in attendance. Rosie the Wonder Dog (sadly now gone) served as ring bearer. She was our first rescue dog.

As time passes, so did our pets. We are now on our second generation of pups together — Mollie the Maltese, and the Great Gatsby, our cavapoo rescue dog with his teddy bear face. At nearly 7 years old, our cat Tater, aka Blubba Nugget, is the pet patriarch, while Olive kitty rounds out the pack (as of today). Olive got her name because daughter Abbie rescued her from under a dumpster behind the Olive Garden after we ate there nearly two years ago. They provide great enjoyment and entertainment.

My BMC and I met in February 2008, just weeks after I moved back to Longview to run the paper. My column had been running in the paper for several years as I ran papers in Lufkin and Nacogdoches, then-owned by Cox Newspapers, as was the Longview News-Journal. I wrote a piece about the joy I took in unpacking boxes of books, getting reacquainted with old friends. She emailed and asked if I was interested in having coffee, to which I readily agreed. We have been a couple ever since, and I maintain that is the best column I have written in nearly 41 years of writing these weekly pieces.

I genuinely feel blessed to be her husband and to also gain a bonus daughter in the bargain. Abbie has grown into a smart, ambitious young woman who is making great strides in the academic realm — just like her mom.

In the dozen years of marriage and the rather lengthy engagement beforehand, we have gone on many adventures — numerous times to New England and Quebec, to Germany and Amsterdam, Taos, Portland, Washington, D.C. and Destin, to name a few. That is when we are happiest as a couple. We fit well when traveling and enjoy so many of the same things in life: good food, hiking in the mountains, beautiful museums, centuries-old cathedrals. Like any couple, the everyday routine often makes us grumpy (well, me) but we truly come alive when on the road — even if it is just a day trip to Dallas and a delicious meal at Lucky’s Café (our newest favorite eatery).

I am awed by her intellect and wit, her sense of style and beauty — and her physical toughness. I had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago, which precludes me hopping on the tractor or zero-turn mower for around four months. She took it in stride, got mad when I suggested paying someone to mow, and hopped on the zero-turn and started mowing, while I was napping on the couch. The sound of the mower woke me up. My BMC was flying down the front pasture, her wide-brimmed hat bobbing up and down as she mowed. I now call her the Mario Andretti of mowing.

When I sold Big Red, our 1965 Ford F100 a few weeks ago (more on that in a future piece), the fellow who bought her texted me that he had gotten home safely to Alabama, after towing the truck for nine hours: “Made it. Bourbon time. Thanks for all your help and your bride. She’s super cool and a hottie!!!

Dang right!

I told him my goal was to marry above my station, and I certainly had. She truly is, in all ways, my better half. OK, except one. I am way better at math than she is, which is why she calls me the tax man.

Happy Anniversary, sweetheart. Here is to whatever adventure comes next in our lives. I love you dearly.

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