Ammo Grrrll is knows what it feels like WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN. She writes:
Several of the kings of over-the-top dramatic singing have covered the ultra-romantic song “When A Man Loves A Woman” – Percy Sledge, Michael Bolton, and most recently, the wonderful Home Free tenor, Austin Brown. Look for him here on YouTube and enjoy his rendition in all its glory.
Now I’m not trying to poach on Scott’s Sunday morning music feature, but, as famous novelist Max Cossack and I celebrate 54 years of marriage this week, I realized just how many happy couples we know personally and how many of them we have met on our two “Commenter” trips. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Apart from being happier people in general, my anecdotal “lived experience” is that conservatives have happier relationships than angry, whining leftists, from friendships to marriage.
Remember when we went to bed on election eve 2020 and it looked like President Trump had re-election well in hand? Do you also remember that even bitter, snarling putative sports commentator, Jemele Hill, was so sure of that dreaded outcome that she Tweeted that she had just “unfriended” every acquaintance who was white in a fit of racist pique? Pathetic.
Nearly all my extended family members and many friends are Democrats. We simply do not talk politics. In our tight friendship group here in the Dusty Little Village, of our Gang of Seven who socialize regularly, six are Trump supporters and one is…uh, not…I’ll just leave it at that. We all have made every effort to preserve the friendship, to speak of the dozens of OTHER important things in life besides politics and to laugh and talk and eat and drink together in amity and peace. So far, so good.
COVID made it easier because, with the infamous overlap between Trump Derangement Syndrome and Mask-a-Palooza Fauci Devotion, our beloved contrarian simply holed up in his house with his double masks. He is one of the nicest people in the world, so I’m happy to report that he did not get COVID; neither did the other six of us, at least a couple of which did everything but lick doorknobs in an effort to get it, survive it, and get on with life.
Anyway, back to the song under discussion. As regular readers know, we have just returned home from six weeks on the road on this latest journey. One time when I told Daddy we were going to drive to Florida, he suggested we “swing by” Minnesota “on our way.” And that is exactly what we did, traveling some 7,000 miles. It was beyond wonderful.
However, 40 nights in hotels (two in an island beach house of friends!) led to the following outburst at 5:00 a.m. my first morning home. With my sleep patterns all “jet-lagged,” even without the jet, I had crashed at 8:00 p.m. and woke at 5:00 a.m. to see the bedroom door ajar! I sat bolt upright in bed and alerted Max: “OMG! Somebody left the hotel room door wide open last night!” When I regained my senses, and my heartbeat got under 200, I was happy to realize that I was safe in my own bedroom and Max was already out running. Who knew that adrenaline is even better than coffee in the morning?
We had a great time with TonyP and his darling wife in Tampa, made new friends with a beautiful couple back of the beyond in the Louisiana bayou, spent two great days with a devoted couple in Alabama, and maximized a few hours with another couple in South Carolina. The aforementioned Florida island people were as attentive to each other as newlyweds. We spent a delightful afternoon with Tracy and her handsome, adoring husband. I have previously mentioned our fun couple in Tucumcari and breakfast buddies who drove down from Ely.
Our meet-ups also included a wonderful single gentleman from North Carolina who brought us jars of Southern Chow-Chow which I am now putting on everything. The delightful and brilliant Aurora flew in from Pennsylvania without her husband, who was on a golf trip. (Heck, I was once in Maui while Max was in Israel. We were 12 Time Zones apart!)
The 2019 trip had included an astronaut who, when he visited our home after he spoke in Phoenix, spent a good deal of time telling us NOT about his feats of derring-do as a jet pilot or as an astronaut, but how much he adored his wife. It was a charming and touching tale. We went on to Washington to meet a Marine and his brilliant lawyer wife and, once again, the devotion between them leapt out at anyone with eyes to see. Finally, we spent the 4th of July holiday, 2019, with retired professors on a ranch in Montana. The husband called his smart, lovely wife “My Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Was there a connection between libertarian-conservative political bent and happy marriages? A religious foundation was present in most, but not all, of the cases. Certainly a sense of humor – virtually absent from leftists – helps. Couples often fight over money, and most conservatives are hard-working and thrifty, leading to financial stability. (Your mileage may vary…LOL.) Though all wives mentioned above are attractive, not all are Hollywood-beautiful. But every last one is both smart and REALLY NICE. Niceness is forever. Men appreciate niceness. And Hollywood provides a textbook case that stupid and self-absorbed wear thin.
The Jewish sages tell us that God finds it harder to hook us up with our “bashert” (fated one) than to part the Red Sea. Not all of these loving couples were on their first rodeo. Sometimes people we marry or befriend are not who we thought they were. And, of course, many dear people have found and lost beloved spouses. Max and I cannot watch a movie about such a loss without falling apart. So, according to the song under discussion, how does a Man Who Loves A Woman behave? Well, let’s just take a peek at a few lyrics, shall we?
When a man loves a woman, can’t keep his mind on nothin’ else.
He’d trade the world for the good thing he’s found.
If she is bad, he can’t see it, she can do no wrong.
He’d turn his back on his best friend if he puts her down.
When a man loves a woman spend his very last dime trying to hold on to what he needs.
He’d give up all his comforts and sleep out in the rain
If she said that’s the way it ought to be.
Max enjoys the song, especially the Home Free version, but he allows as how making him sleep out in the rain could be a deal-breaker. Which is fine because I am quite unlikely to demand that as a test. I also think new brides can make a rookie mistake in trying to force husbands to “turn their backs on their best friends.” Women need women friends and men need men friends, even though we stipulate that it is a proven sciencey thing that there are no differences between the 57 genders. Finally, if things are going very badly, spending one’s “very last dime trying to hold on” is probably a bad idea. Other than that, after 54 years, I think we both consider ourselves incredibly lucky and blessed “for the “good thing we have found.” On to 55.
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