Will be 46 years for Mom and Dad next month....

This is seriously one of the sweetest posts I've ever read. Thanks for sharing a positive story... :)

You know, in the original ending, Glenn Close's character kills herself a la Madame Butterfly, but in such a way that Michael Douglas' character gets blamed for it and goes to jail for murder. Next time the film is on TV, watch it and you'll see how they set it all up- shots of him touching the knife, etc. But test audiences hated it; they wanted to see Glenn Close pay. Which says something kind of depressing about the average audience member, I think- I mean, HE was the married one, after all... she gets shot by his wife, who then takes him back. Yeah, that's real uplifting. I'm just sorry they left out what should have been the final scene in that version, when Michael Douglas puts his arm around Anne Archer, they walk into the living room together and then she cuts his balls off and puts them in a little box.

Of course, my husband's big problem with the movie was, "Who would cheat on Anne Archer in the first place?"

I'm totally sorry if I just ruined the movie for anyone. Though if you haven't seen it by now, you probably aren't planning to, anyway.

Didn't know that. I'm a big believer that the bad guys in movies should win more often. Too bad if people don't like it.

My thoughts exactly.

And the bad guy did win in the version that was released- Michael Douglas was the married one in the triangle, and he got rid of her (and she was pregnant, remember?) AND got his wife back. If that's not winning, I don't know what is.

Love to hear that...you know how I have to figure out how long my parents have been married?

Well they got a dog as a wedding present, Termite....she died at age 16 when I was 10......I'm 32 now so that's 38 years for them....

Funny how one remembers things

my parents celebrated their 25th the same year tony and i got married. so now 21 for us, it'll be 46 for them.
they have a good marriage. the exact opposite would be tony's parents. they've been married as long--and have been miserable together the whole time. they say misery loves company, so they must love each other a lot. so un-fun to be around.

i'm in the same type boat as packer--we are each others best friend. it's amazing to me how many people treat their spouse poorly, with little respect-they treat a total stranger better! this is the person you supposedly want to spend your life with, how can you not treat them the BEST?! someone asked me the other day about tony....i know what it was, we just bought a carport so we could clear out the garage. we both had to park in the driveway, since the garage was full of bass boat, wheelers and lawn mowers. guy at work said he wouldn't have dared even ask to park his boat in their garage-that's his WIFE'S SPOT. single car garage....
i told him i treat tony right, and he does the same for me. yeah, sometimes one of you has to give--much of the time we're both offering to BE that one! i'd do anything for him and he knows it. don't get me wrong, i don't wait on him hand and foot. it's a shame that some think that giving to someone somehow equates to being their maid or servant. i shake my head when i hear people say 'i don't need a man/woman to take care of me'. they're looking at it the wrong way. then they find someone, and treat them like an accessory to wear when they choose, or leave at home when they don't!

ANNE ARCHER! SHES AS AVERAGE AS AVERAGE GETS

hey packer are you a bowler too?

crown and I are PBA members

Well, then clearly you were able to sympathize with Michael Douglas' character. :)

Yeah we both took up bowling just this year to spend more time together on the weekends with friends. I'm a 120 handi and she's well she's getting better. ha ha She holds a 75. High game of 165 for me and 130 for her this year so far. I'm just starting to putting the hook to the ball instead of rolling it straight down the middle. I need to get my own ball with finger tips in it. I always seem to hit north of Brooklyn or all the way left. We're geting better as time goes on and we're having a blast doing it. What about yourself?

We get married because for so many years, here in our country--and throughout the world, it was, and still remains to many, what is natural, what is expected of us.

Regardless of what one may project or maintain, solitary living and the constant aloneness of it isn't natural. It goes against our flock and our nuturing instincts as humans. We are not unlike the four legged creatures that walk with us each day, residing on this planet. People need the company of others, if not in marriage, then in relationships as lovers, or as friends. Sometimes, both, if one is exceedingly fortunate.

Such relationships are wonderful in so many ways because they allow our finest gifts to be shared, our thoughtfulness, our interests, our desires, our joys, sorrows, and our difficulties. Throughout this daily living thing though, if one gets to the point that they find themselves "having too work to hard at it" the relationship becomes endangered. And in all liklihood, it will wane, and fail.

In the meantime, we keep trying because it is natural to us--to love and to be loved--whether we are married in church or living in partnership with the individual that we chose, that one individual who saw something special in us.

These relationships work as long as we believe in one another, and sometimes when they end, we are blessed because, though we may part, there will always be a bond. And if we both realize and remember what we had, we know, beyond all doubt, we will always be friends. Always.

My feeling is it is very improbable that one will ever find the perfect mate. It is wonderful to think you have, but it unlikely. So that leaves us married folks to work through the changes that must occur in any relationship.

The respect I have for my wife has grown because she is so damn sweet. I know she is not the perfect mate for me. We are interested in very different things. We go our own ways on many occasions and are very comfortable with it. But when I take a close look at her, and see how good a person she is, it astounds me. And heck she may not even love me as deeply as I love her, but when a person is so sweet... I got lucky.

Seriously, how can one not love a sweet good person? Even if she left me I could not stop loving her. And I would be happy if it made her happy not to have me around because she deserves the best.

Pgardn, with the reading of your post. Your wife appears equally as lucky as you. And that's a joy.

She is a much better person than I. No doubt in my mind. There are a number of people I have as friends that I wish the same for. I deem them kinder, better people than myself. I just know what a wonderful person my wife is. I just think my friends are wonderful. They deserve a good life. Does not mean they will get it, they deserve it.

And I am extraordinarily lucky to know these people. I am blessed.

Good question, and one that I have often wondered myself. It sounds as if you are equally as sweet. :)

Most guys who get married do it because they are forced to.

With that thought, keep on holding out, ya hear.