Love: a true story

It was a love story, as in part some of this is captured elsewhere. When I have to repeat a story over, more than once or twice, I always figure it is worth committing to print.

Way it happened, in the corridors of my mind, down that long hallway of time, I had these two friends.

Old Austin days.

One male, one female. I introduced them, or they met through me, whatever. Her sign? It was a stop sign, and I didn’t have what it took, but my more manly buddy, not named “bubba,” but thank you, he had “it,” whatever it was. He wooed her, won her, and then, there was the logical procession.

One evening, just my buddy and me, we were sitting around, I think he was noodling on a guitar, I’m not sure, not really a musician, but willing to experiment, from my recollections.

As guys are, just me and him, he was toying with a blues riff, and then, in a quiet and indirect manner, “You know, I really love that girl, and I could easily see spending my life with her.”

One Example

Guys, in the cool of the summer eve’s, quiet time, maybe a radio or similar sound source, quietly playing, the gentle riffing of the chorus and lingering bluesman notes, all in the quiet light of a cathode ray monitor (long time ago).

Good buddy, some charm, perhaps some Virgo?

I always like the Virgo guys.

So we’ll bounce forward in time, just a few days, from the quiet night with the gentle strains of music wafting up in the atmosphere to a more determined pace. Ran into the now-former girlfriend of my friend, the person he could see spending his life with, right? Following this closely despite misplaced pointers?

Love: a true story

She had a few, rather well-chosen words, not suitable for a family publication, about my buddy, his parents, and what she thought of his recent actions. Several comments about his mother, if I recall.

“You know what YOUR FRIEND suggested?”

Inflection and intonation was pointed, implied, this was clearly my fault, for the introduction, blessings, whatever.

“He said we could save money if we moved in together.”

Subsequent conversation, I was certainly persona non grata for a period of time, by virtue of common ground with both aggrieved parties.

The problem at hand? It was his way of asking, and explaining how he felt, “We could save money if we moved in together,” rather than what he very plaintively told me, “She’s the love my life, my future wife, mother of my children, and I want to watch as she gracefully ages while growing more beautiful every passing day.”

This apocryphal tale, it has a couple of reminders in it, some for us hapless males, or male-types — not gender specific — OK? But the hapless types, “We could save some money if we moved in together,” is a long, long way from “I love you and I feel like we should spend our lives together, forever and ever.”

I’d like to say I learn from mistakes of others, and I will admit I gleaned some degree of discretion, but not always. “Your mileage may vary.”

#TrueStory