Amazingly wonderfully overwhelmed
Amazing, what a week (or so) that was. I can't hold off on letting the world know a little about this couple I spent the past 7 days with. Southern hospitality at its best. I have to put some of my experience here and save the full story for the book. So happy and sad, I'm still reeling from the experience.
So many wonderful memories, both mine and those of my parents friends. 50 years of life and love... sign makes me dread and long to be older simultaneously. They were wonderfully accommodating, they refused to let me stay at the hotel I had rented and were just perfect hosts. My God the stories. Mr. Carter is 69 and he's known his wife since he was 20 and she was 18. They got married when he was 23 (my age, can you believe how times change), and how his parents didn't approve of the whole "marrying beneath your class". One of the moments I'll never forget was when, I swear, I sat there while was remembering and reminiscing about the women that he was supposed to marry. Not an arranged marriage technically, but a woman who he knew at his alma mater whom his parents DID approve of him marrying. He told me he truly loved that girl, despite having hurt her with his actions. They were dating you might say for a time, engaged without the ring is another way to look at it from his parents point of view. but that he felt their relationship was strained by... well lets say internal and external pressures. In finding Tessa (Mrs. Carter) he finally found someone that he could share his everything with without having to hide the parts of himself that he had been, with the other woman. By Mr. Carter's wishes he didn't want me to use her name anywhere. It was a pretty name too, oh well. For the next 20 years he and tessa were cut off from his family, and struggled to make ends meet. On September 7, 1976 all that changed when Mr. Carter's mother called him to inform him that she was dying. It may have been in appropriate of me to ask, but I inquired as to his mother's condition, to which he described to me symptoms that sounded like breast cancer. When he went to see them, the old wounds finally had a chance to heal and he and tessa were finally accepted back into the family. Love, in all its forms conquers all, no?
My deepest moment came when I asked (on my third day there), if I could talk to Mrs. Carter. He told me I would get to meet her before I left, so I left it at that. Sadly the hunch I got that something was wrong, when he told me that, was correct. On my last day there the (23rd), I took him for a drive. In case I didn't hint at this enough already the gentleman is wealthy, his DRIVER (!), was going to take us but I volunteered. Mr. Carter instructed me to this out of the way place out in the country side (Grapes of Wrath could have been shot here). I got this horrible knot in my throat when I saw the black wrought iron fence around the field. We parked and I asked him if he really wanted to take me. I don't believe I'll ever forget this next moment, he smiled at me and said that today was his weekly visit to tessa and that she always loved when company 'came a callin'. So we made our way to a private lot in the cemetery and there I finally got to meet Mrs. Carter: "Beloved wife, loving mother and friend". Mr. Carter proceeded to talk to her about his week, and me. He said he hoped he didn't forget anything in telling me their life story. I, for reasons that I'm still struggling to identify, said a few words to her to. I thanked her for the use of her house, for everything she gave to Mr. Carter, and how I was sorry I had missed her. I say missed because she had passed away only two months prior.
Mr. Carter is a rock let me tell you. Yes he started to tear up and yes his voice quaked a bit while we were there, but only two months later and I never would have known anything was wrong with him had we not come here. She had had a heart condition and was in the hospital for months before she finally passed, so I can only surmise that they had time to say their good-byes.
Well my loyal ghosts that is it for this love sick man. I still haven't decided whether love is worth the pain it causes in the end. After all is it really worth fighting for something that will end up being your greatest pain, and pleasure. Being reflective, while my nature, can be horribly consuming. I can only hope to have a love as deep as Mr. Carter. While I've compiled stories from other individuals from Mr. Carter's generation. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that this journey was going to be momentous. Sadly I need to call my parents and inform them of Mrs. Carter's passing, because I now know Mr. Carter is a a little on the reclusive side. Not that he means to, but I think I found a kindred spirit in him.
Good day world, I shall return with less dire posts in the days to come, now its on to actually putting all this precious information in to chapter format.
carpe diem my friends, because this day will never come again.
So many wonderful memories, both mine and those of my parents friends. 50 years of life and love... sign makes me dread and long to be older simultaneously. They were wonderfully accommodating, they refused to let me stay at the hotel I had rented and were just perfect hosts. My God the stories. Mr. Carter is 69 and he's known his wife since he was 20 and she was 18. They got married when he was 23 (my age, can you believe how times change), and how his parents didn't approve of the whole "marrying beneath your class". One of the moments I'll never forget was when, I swear, I sat there while was remembering and reminiscing about the women that he was supposed to marry. Not an arranged marriage technically, but a woman who he knew at his alma mater whom his parents DID approve of him marrying. He told me he truly loved that girl, despite having hurt her with his actions. They were dating you might say for a time, engaged without the ring is another way to look at it from his parents point of view. but that he felt their relationship was strained by... well lets say internal and external pressures. In finding Tessa (Mrs. Carter) he finally found someone that he could share his everything with without having to hide the parts of himself that he had been, with the other woman. By Mr. Carter's wishes he didn't want me to use her name anywhere. It was a pretty name too, oh well. For the next 20 years he and tessa were cut off from his family, and struggled to make ends meet. On September 7, 1976 all that changed when Mr. Carter's mother called him to inform him that she was dying. It may have been in appropriate of me to ask, but I inquired as to his mother's condition, to which he described to me symptoms that sounded like breast cancer. When he went to see them, the old wounds finally had a chance to heal and he and tessa were finally accepted back into the family. Love, in all its forms conquers all, no?
My deepest moment came when I asked (on my third day there), if I could talk to Mrs. Carter. He told me I would get to meet her before I left, so I left it at that. Sadly the hunch I got that something was wrong, when he told me that, was correct. On my last day there the (23rd), I took him for a drive. In case I didn't hint at this enough already the gentleman is wealthy, his DRIVER (!), was going to take us but I volunteered. Mr. Carter instructed me to this out of the way place out in the country side (Grapes of Wrath could have been shot here). I got this horrible knot in my throat when I saw the black wrought iron fence around the field. We parked and I asked him if he really wanted to take me. I don't believe I'll ever forget this next moment, he smiled at me and said that today was his weekly visit to tessa and that she always loved when company 'came a callin'. So we made our way to a private lot in the cemetery and there I finally got to meet Mrs. Carter: "Beloved wife, loving mother and friend". Mr. Carter proceeded to talk to her about his week, and me. He said he hoped he didn't forget anything in telling me their life story. I, for reasons that I'm still struggling to identify, said a few words to her to. I thanked her for the use of her house, for everything she gave to Mr. Carter, and how I was sorry I had missed her. I say missed because she had passed away only two months prior.
Mr. Carter is a rock let me tell you. Yes he started to tear up and yes his voice quaked a bit while we were there, but only two months later and I never would have known anything was wrong with him had we not come here. She had had a heart condition and was in the hospital for months before she finally passed, so I can only surmise that they had time to say their good-byes.
Well my loyal ghosts that is it for this love sick man. I still haven't decided whether love is worth the pain it causes in the end. After all is it really worth fighting for something that will end up being your greatest pain, and pleasure. Being reflective, while my nature, can be horribly consuming. I can only hope to have a love as deep as Mr. Carter. While I've compiled stories from other individuals from Mr. Carter's generation. I knew, in my heart of hearts, that this journey was going to be momentous. Sadly I need to call my parents and inform them of Mrs. Carter's passing, because I now know Mr. Carter is a a little on the reclusive side. Not that he means to, but I think I found a kindred spirit in him.
Good day world, I shall return with less dire posts in the days to come, now its on to actually putting all this precious information in to chapter format.
carpe diem my friends, because this day will never come again.