Celebrating a Decade Together

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We met a decade ago this month. I had just moved to Longview to become the publisher of the Longview News-Journal, where I began my newspaper career as a paperboy in 1968. I wrote a column about unpacking a treasure trove of books, which surround me now in this office. My Beautiful Mystery Companion-to-be had just celebrated a milestone birthday. She emailed and asked if we could have coffee and get acquainted, as long as I was not married. I wasn’t, so I used Google to figure out she was a college professor and had a daughter. Maybe I will make a new friend, I thought. So did she.

A few days later I walked up the alley from the paper to the coffee shop in what was then called the Weaver Building. She crossed the alley just as I got to the sidewalk, and that was that. We have been together since, ten years of joy and tragedy, sickness and health. In June, we’ll celebrate our seventh wedding anniversary. As always, I consider myself a lucky man that she “picked me,” as she likes to say.

Here are a few of the many things I love about my BMC, aside from the fact she puts up with me, no easy task:.

• She loves critters. I realize that is not unusual, but Julie really loves God’s creatures — dogs, cats, birds, donkeys, chickens, and cows. She is not fond of snakes, rats or mosquitoes, but that is understandable. She is happiest when Tater and Tot, our two cats, are curled up in her lap, and the dogs, Sam and Rosie, are at her feet. Our plan is to put the house up for sale once this dreary winter is gone and the azaleas are blooming, and find a place in the country — not too far out — where we can add other critters to the menagerie. Chickens, of course, a donkey or two, possibly a gentle Longhorn steer.
• She is truly one of the most selfless people I have ever known, constantly thinking of other people, sending thank-you notes, words of encouragement, keeping up with former students to see how they’re faring in the professional realm. I am sure she will vehemently disagree with this view of her, but it’s true. I have been taking note for 10 years, after all.
• My BMC trains students to become teachers and directs the student-teacher program at LeTourneau University. She is constantly working to provide unique experiences for her students, forging partnerships within the community. I have met a number of her students over the years in different contexts, and they invariably sing her praises. Again, she might object to being bragged about, but it’s a fact. As someone who taught college courses off-and-on for more than a decade, I know a top-notch teacher when I see one. And I know how many hours she puts in at home preparing for classes.
• We share the same preferences in many areas, such as cuisine, house styles, politics and where to spend vacations, to name a few. Normally we watch television series together, everything from “Dowton Abbey” to “Hell on Wheels.” However, my BMC has been on a Spanish subtitle kick lately, watching melodramas with subtitles. I tried, but ended up watching the last of “Justified” on the other television. Now I’m deep into “The Americans,” about Russian spies posing as middle-class Americans living in Washington, D.C. I’m sure we’ll find a common series soon.
• She is a deep thinker who still loves to learn and always wants to ask questions. I often tell folks she is far more intelligent than I am. Physically, she is tough despite facing health challenges that would lay many folks low. My BMC just keeps plugging away and says Teddy Roosevelt is her role model. One can do worse for a role model, when it comes to perseverance.

There is a Jason Isbell song that has been stuck in my head for days, especially the chorus:

It’s knowing that this can’t go on forever

Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone

Maybe we’ll get forty years together

But one day I’ll be one

Or one day you’ll be gone

Maybe we will get 40 years together. Maybe not. Either way, I plan to enjoy every day that we share. Thanks and love, Julie.

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