Anniversary Time

Today is my wife and I's (is that grammatically correct?) Thirteenth wedding anniversary. It's been thirteen wonderful years of marriage. We celebrated by taking in a Japanese Tea Garden with it's splendidly structured topiary and peaceful zen gardens. It was a nice shot of culture, a peaceful walk and visually pleasing. I'll probably upload some pictures to illustrate what was there. Afterwards, we had dinner at a fancy restaurant in Berkeley with great food and a stunning view of San Francisco across the bay at night. I really am happy to be with my wife and enjoy every day with her!

Now for a media edition of my anniversary things I tried to think of things that reminded me of our relationship. The first thing that pops into my mind every year is the Little River Band's "Happy Anniversary". Which is funny because lyrically I think it's about a breakup but the only part that sticks in my head is "Happy Anniversary Baby/Got you on my...my-hind (mind)".

Anywho, the tune that probably is the closest to "our" song is Bruce Springsteen's "Thunder Road" because we both love the poetry of it. It's a great song about leaving a dead end life to take a chance at a better future. We both had those lyrics memorized for the longest time. My wife probably still knows it, I on the other hand am not great with lyrics. But that line about haunting dusty beach roads in burned out Chevrolets is still one of the best similes I've ever heard. If you have a choice of the many versions of the song to check out, I recommend the live version on the first disc of Live 1975-1985 (1986). It doesn't have the studio version's big crescendo at the end allowing for greater intimacy and clearer enunciation of the words.

"Our" movie would be Sleepless In Seattle (1993) starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It's probably many couples favorite movie as it is lushly romantic and stands as a penultimate "chick" flick. One of our early dates was to this movie and we felt very close after seeing it. Looking back, there really isn't a better date movie because it is about the idealization of romance complete with picturesque shots of fireworks and old love songs. "When I Fall In Love" was a favorite song for us as well and one of the few times I'll admit to liking a Celine Dion song.

"Our" tv show would be either Star Trek (1967-1969) or MASH (1972-1983). Both shows are about the aspirations of humanity though in different settings and styles. I've discussed Star Trek before, so this time I'll focus on MASH. I have to admit, I wasn't that into MASH before getting married. I didn't have anything against it, just didn't interest me. My wife is a big MASH fan and can name the entire episode plot line the second she sees the program. MASH was about the adventures of the 4077th surgical unit led by surgeon Hawkeye Pierce. Pierce, played by Alan Alda, was the ultimate '70's "sensitive guy". He could use a pickup line to hook any girl but then cry about the the atrocities of war, 'cause he's a guy but he feels stuff. The show also had an irreverent take on the military that was in line with anti Vietnam sentiment of the time (though MASH is set in the Korean War). Now having seen just about every MASH episode, I can say it deserves its status as an all time classic show. We have the complete collection on DVD so we can watch it without the clumsy laugh track.

Well, it's almost the end of the day so I'm going to sign off. Anniversary is almost over, so I'll say Happy Anniversary!