Adam Blatner

One of my subtle roles has been as a true romantic, one of the boy-girl fall-in-love romantic. It was a theme in the 1920s through the 1950s, but then increasing notes of cynicism crept into popular music—alas. Happily, my second wife is equally romantic. I realized, listening to Frank Sinatra’s songs on my audio-tape cassette and ear phones—that was before whatever is played today with ear-buds, iTunes, I don’t know—, that, hooray, one of the major truths of my life is that I’ve married a woman who is equally romantic and affectionate and everything I’ve always wanted. Romance can also be alive in the 8th decade of life, after 40 years of marriage! Walking around the neighborhood and swinging 5 pound weights, I listened to Sinatra’s ballads and singing along: My voice is the same range as his! Wow! Smiling, smiling. I feel so blessed that I am bathed in my wife’s love.