A 65th Wedding Anniversary

On July 2, 2008, my parent's celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary.

It's hard to believe two people could live under the same roof that long. And since I know these two people quite well, it's even more surprising. Of course, it helps that my dad is getting hard of hearing these days.

My marriage lasted five years and two days, which was about three years too long. My ex-wife had a very peculiar habit – she always spent about three time as much as we ever made.

My father, Weston, worked in management for AT&T for more than 40 years then retired. He also was conscripted into military service during WWII where he became a pilot and flight instructor in the Army Air Force. His hobbies are mowing the lawn and making sure everything is in its proper place.

My mother, Irene, worked on occasion as a legal secretary. She also spent much of her life helping her two sons, the oral surgeon and the professional bum, get through endless years of college. Her activities include doing charity work, creating artworks, decoupage, making quilts, gardening, picking berries, home decorating, baking, solving global problems and swatting flies.

My parents brought two sons into this world.

Their youngest son, Jim, is an endodontist (oral surgeon) in Denver. He tends to get restless on occasion. He flies to Africa to take photos of lions, flies to Belize to scuba dive, flies to Arizona or Florida to shoot a round of golf, flies to New Zealand to jump the world's highest bungee jump and so forth.

Their oldest son, yours truly, is a professional bum. He sits on his back deck and watches sunsets.

Wes and Irene have two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Apparently, we do everything by two in our family.

One day not too long ago, my parents were over at my place for a barbecue. My kitchen light went out. I stood on a kitchen stool and unscrewed the dead bulb, while my father was holding the stool to make sure I didn't fall. In the meantime, my mother retrieved a new bulb from a cupboard, handed it to me and I screwed it in. Then my mother turned on the switch to test the new bulb before I got back down.

Thus, it takes three Burquests to change a light bulb.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad.

Jim will also wish you a Happy Anniversary when he returns home. I believe he's presently skydiving in Kuala Lumpur.

___________

Quote for the Day – "Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery." Erma Bombeck
___________