I witnessed a most amazing occurrence today.
I was at the VA hospital in Richmond, VA. As some of you know, a couple of times a month I drive disabled vets from here in Charlottesville to the Richmond hospital for their treatments or appointments. While I wait for them to finish, I set my laptop up in the cafeteria and read blogs, write blogs, check email, etc. In fact, I was catching up on your blogs when it happened.
As I was sitting there today I noticed a very gracious looking older couple across from me. I was guessing they were in their mid to late 80’s. The man was in a motorized wheelchair and had an oxygen breathing tube and tank. The woman, a girl-next-door type, was holding his hand and it was obvious they were an “item”.
Suddenly, out of the blue, they embraced and kissed. I don’t mean a simple peck. I don’t mean one of those “I love you” reminder kisses. I mean a good old-fashioned, down home, lunch-crowd-be-damned, all-American lip lock! They held the embrace and kiss for well over a minute.
I thought to myself, when is the last time any of us held an affectionate kiss with our loved one for over a minute? OK, I mean without any extra-curricular groping going on. Time it on your watch. It is a long time to hold such a tender kiss, especially in public. And yes, their eyes were closed the whole time.
I was so moved by this unabashed and guiltless display of affection that I got up, walked over to their table, and said: “It may be the day after Valentines Day, but that was the sweetest Valentine kiss I have ever seen.” They both grinned sheepishly and the man leaned over and said: “I married this wonderful lady in 1947.”
I thought about asking them if I could take their picture, but then I realized that it would cheapen the splendor of the moment. Where is Hallmark when you really need them? And where is my wife?
The Cvillean 
That is such a cool story Al! it’s pretty neat what we find if we just pay attention to others, eh?
Well put, Tricia.
I thought this was going to be a silly joke cos you said one of them was connected up to oxygen…. I was wondering were they sharing!
Very sweet though after all that time!
That charming moment still lingers……..
Thats a beautiful story. I would probably have done the same thing in your shoes. Couple like that tell us so much aout what is possible.
Like I said before, I think we have a lot in common. Good to hear from you again!
Love it! Nice thing you do at the VA, by the way.
Thanks Susan. We are looking forward to meeting you!
BTW, Tag your it Big Al!!
http://jodistone.wordpress.com/
That’s so awesome! How cool that you got to witness that.
Thanks, Her (are we close enough now that I may call you, “her”)? It was truly a serendipitous moment.
Sure thing! 🙂
What a wonderful post. I’m gonna give my guy a big smooch,. (As soon as I can find him.)
Good for you, Barb. And lucky him!
There’s a lot of mileage on the lips of those two. Hooray for them!
Well, they sure were peeling rubber that day!
In my day, such goings-on in public were not tolerated.
Good thing it’s not my day. 😉 (sweet!)
It’s not your day that I’m wondering about. It’s what went on in your night that has me curious.
I’m mindful of my kisses with my guy. We lip-linger. May it always be so. 🙂
Yes, I seem to recall a graphic to that effect on one of your posts. I reported it to the wordpress censors, but they must too busy in that department to follow up.
Wow, I think I will find my husband.
The bar has been raised!
How sweet! But if I try that on the Hub, timing him, he’s going to think of Jane Fonda in Klute…
Just tell him you want to see how long he can hold his breath. You do still leave him breathless, don’t you?
Yes; when I break wind. 😀
LOL, Tilly. Still LOL. And….still….LOL.
It’s very rare to experience a moment like that, you were blessed to have witnessed it.
And God Bless you for helping the veterans out, that is something I want to do one day. 🙂
Thank you, Jodi. I assure you that I get more out of doing it than the veterans do. I’ve met some great people.
Sweet!
As sugar candy!
Too sweet!
It was indeed.