34 plus 1

35 years ago tonight me and Mary Patricia Brown were married  at my parents house, 1499 Beaverhead Rd., Helena Montana. My friend Jim Hunt's dad Bill married us. He was a workman's compensation judge at the time and went on to serve a long tenure on the Montana Supreme Court. I just got news the other day that Bill just turned 90 and is in fading health. So we keep on Bill...thanks, and we love you. I remember clearly when he agreed to marry us what he said. " I guess I need to say something wise to you so this it...ya gotta be friends, that's the biggest part of the deal". Here we are on that night, my brother in the background tending bar and my friend Tom Hanson and his wife chatting on....

I titled this 34 plus 1 because its what I tell people, the truth. 34 years of happiness and about a year of sheer hell. Lucky for us the that part of it came in two and three day increments spread out over time. We've always been good at making up. One of my old long lost friends a fellow named Leigh Madsen was in Kenai  last spring for work. He called and we got together, it was a little uncomfortable but fun after 25 or 30 years apart. But ol Leigh's future in politics isn't so bright because he confided to us that he was surprised that we were still together. MP's teeth just about fell out and for just a sec I thought she was gonna give him the bums rush. But Leigh was kinda right, I wasn't a very good guy at first and MP has always deserved better. So now as we move into our 60's I'm not only trying to be a good husband , I want to be an exemplary husband, its all part of this quest of mine. I'm the guy that used to think his friends were the most important relationships, now I'm the guy who really doesn't even need that, as long as I've got MP...and pity the poor the person that would hurt or embarrass her, not when I'm  around, won't happen. Here's a pic of us out fishing  a month ago. How could you not love somebody with a smile like that.

It's a pretty cool deal, we're kinda self contained. Business partners, mutual art critics, work out and adventure mates. We're grief counselors and competitors. We're  motivators and a calming force. We're each others conscious and spirit. We're entertainers and surprises. We care. We're lovers.

When we had our 25th anniversary I put this message in the paper..." thank you MP for 25 years of patience while I  learned"...I still mean that. I wish I'd been the one that thought of a peace sign inside a heart but I was thinking of you MP when I snapped this picture. Pretty cool.