Now it's sad enough to see marriages come and go so quickly without an attempt to work out problems or obstacles. But this particular instance totally reeks of blatant financial gain under the veil of "sacred love". Simply ridiculous and a sad testament to what our society has become. Yet we continue to allow this kind of stuff to happen. Doesn't anyone believe in true love anymore?
With this debacle of a marriage ending, I was reminded of a post that I filed a few months back about a lovely couple who was chronicled by the NY Daily News on being married for 72 years. Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Myrna Long were happily wedded up until 11 days before their 73rd Anniversary, when sadly, Myrna passed away after a long illness.
After reading about the breakup of the Kardashian/Humphries wedding after 72 days, I thought it would be appropriate to re-post my piece on the Longs and hopefully these kids will get a sense of what true love is all about and maybe re-think what being married is really about.
By now most of you know my position on Valentine's Day (overrated, commercialized, etc); Simply put, you shouldn't need one day to show your true feelings for the person you "love". It should be illustrated daily in various ways, not simply by a card and a box of chocolates. I'm skeptical when it comes to love anyways, but that's just me.
However, every once in awhile you come across something that makes you take pause and in this case, gives hope to the meaning of true love. From today's NY Daily News, a story that warms the heart, even my curmudgeonly one...
He's 93 and she's 90 - and these Queens lovebirds have been happily married for 72 years.
Their secret?
"We have no secrets," Myra Long said of her life-long valentine, Michael Long.
"I mean, I don't think we have secrets - and I think by now I would know. We are very outspoken with each other."
Their romance has led to a huge clan: two sons, 13 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Every time a family member marries, Michael gives the bride the same advice: "Never go to sleep without kissing good night."
He practices what he preaches.
"I still do it the right way," Michael said, mischievously. "I did it just before we got married, and I do the same thing now - hug her and kiss her and say good night."
Michael and Myra met in Bushwick, Brooklyn, in 1938.
Their courtship consisted of long talks over her family's round, wooden kitchen table - within earshot of her protective mom.
One night, the young couple didn't return home from a party until 5:45 a.m.
Her mother - who was nicknamed Rough-Rough for a reason - "was up waiting for me with a broom."
"She chased me down and up the stairs," Myra recalled Sunday, grinning.
In June of 1938, they married at St. Barbara's Roman Catholic Church. She carried white roses and wore a $50 organza gown from a bridal store along Fulton Mall.
"We had no money, so mother bought a ham and a keg of beer," Myra said. "A band came down the street, so mother ran after them to play a song."
Their 25 relatives gathered around, toasting the new couple as the brass band stood on the street and played "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time."
The Longs now live in Breezy Point, Queens, but they raised their boys in apartments and houses in East New York, Brooklyn, and Richmond Hill, Queens.
"She was the boss," Michael said, smiling.
Of what? "Everything!"
Myra said she can't imagine ending her evenings without that kiss from her husband.
"We're together and that's it," she said. "We're where we belong."
Take heed boys and girls. That's true love.
Cheers!
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