"And the greatest of these..."

I met Tom at Michigan State University in November of 1962 not much more than a month after I started my first term there. He had the candy job of sitting in the cafeteria lobby and checking every girl in West Wilson Hall through the breakfast, lunch or dinner line.

What a luck-out!?

It was his nose that lead to our introduction. I was seated with my roomates and a few guys from East Wilson at lunchtime on the 29th when one of them began mocking THEIR roomate's hugh probocis. I couldn't imagine that this... feature... could be so prominent on a person I passed by at least once a day five times a week since school began and I'd never even noticed it OR him so I left the table and went to the doors, opened them and checked him out.

Seeing me, he turned; I raised my eyebrows and said, "I don't think your nose is THAT big...," shut the doors and resumed my seat.

When he went off duty he scanned the room, found our table and joined us. The seat next to me was fortuitously vacant. While the group of us were chatting I fiddled with my Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills class ring, twirling it until - at one point - it clattered to the table. He swooped it up, put it on his little finger and said,

"Now we're going steady."

I rolled my eyes, giggled, and said, "Sure. Why not?"

We made a date, being steadies and all, to study together that night. We did. Well, in truth, I TRIED to study and he did his best to subvert my concentration by drawing alternately humorous and obscene cartoons (which I considered charming, unique and just a little strange) in the margin of my ATL book. Before we parted company I asked him to please give me back my ring.

"No!" he protested. "I meant it. We're really going steady now."

And he kissed me.

That was it. In fact, when I wrote my sister to tell her about my new boyfriend I even referred to him as, "This-is-it-Tom"!

As it turns out, 'charming, unique and just-a-little-strange' were the three best qualities I could've ever chosen in a mate. Over our 47 years together, sure, there were OTHER qualities I wouldn't have minded seeing in him - ambition comes to mind as does being task-oriented and RICH - but for the long haul being eternally likeable and funny, one-of-a-kind, and slightly offbeat served us very well.

Turns out he was also true-blue, a terrific dad and unfailingly supportive which didn't hurt!

47 is a lot of years to be happy every day, to love one another literally and figuratively, to be in sync mentally and emotionally. Even knowing what I know now, that 47 was our Magic Number and it was not enough, anyone I loved would still be lucky to find a partner who weathered those finite years so well as we.

I have no idea what will happen in my life as it unfolds henceforward but I know that what I had makes whatever WILL BE entirely OK.

You heard it here: life's all about the loving so rejoice and be glad. I do and I WILL even if... sometimes... tears get in my eyes.