“If you want my opinion about the greatest problem in America, it is not the struggling economy or terrorism, but the need for better family values and stronger marriages. No matter what you go through in life it always seems better if there is love and stability in your marriage.” That is a quote from the book One Hundred and fifty Years of Marriage. Please don’t try to look it up. It has yet to be published. That is one of the reasons I have decided to write this blog. I want to provide a running commentary about efforts to get our book published. When I say our book, the “our” refers to me of course, and my wonderful wife of thirty four years, Crystal.
The other reason for this blog is to address issues related to marriage in America today. The greater part of the book has little to do with this topic. The predominant part of this work is a memoir, of sorts. During the two plus year process of researching and writing the memoir, my heart has been turned toward the greater problem of marriage stability. Why don’t marriages today last? Is there anything that can be done about it? Why did the three marriages I wrote about last? I hope that this blog can serve as a forum for those topics. You can expect our installments about twice a week. Feel free to comment. While I have never done this before, and am not big on computerized social media, I believe an interactive format will be more productive for those who choose to participate.
First though, a little about our book is in order. I heard somewhere that stranger things occur in real life than in fiction. I don’t know if I believe that, but I know of some pretty strange occurrences which did occur. To give you a better idea of what I am talking about, and to conclude this first installment, I will include the following excerpt from the book’s introduction.
”If you like irony and human-interest stories, you have found the right book. For just a little taste, try the following. My dad was raised as a German Jew until he was thirteen when he came to America to live with his uncle. He went back to Germany with the U.S. army as a counter intelligence agent during the war. That is where he met my mom, a German farm girl.
Crystal’s parents met in the far more traditional setting of a U.S.O. club in Wisconsin. When my father-in-law was sent to war the next day, they wound up falling in love by mail.
As for my wife and I, we are a couple of baby boomers who grew up about fifteen miles apart in the suburbs of Chicago. We met about one hundred and fifty miles from our homes when we attended a party at the college we attended. Ours isn’t a dramatic story of growing up and living through a war; that is unless you count Viet Nam.” That should give you a basic idea about the book and why it needs to be published. We welcome your comments. Have a great day!