FURTHERMORE
By Gerry Moran
Valentine’s Day is upon us and love is in the air. And it’s the best place for it. Keep it up there in the ether because it only causes problems on planet earth, not least planet Hollywood. Consider: Johnny Depp & Amber Heard, Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie, Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman, Seán Penn & Madonna, Elvis & Priscilla, Bruce Willis & Demi Moore to mention but a few.
And then, of course, there’s Adam and Eve who couldn’t behave themselves in the Garden of Eden, got turfed out and landed us where we are today. Okay so they never divorced but then again they never married. And we all know it wasn’t the apple on the tree that caused all the bother but the pair on the ground!
Ah but let me not be pessimistic about of all things love, God knows there’s enough doom and gloom around without lambasting love. Here are some Hollywood couples whose love did triumph and survive: Mr & Mrs. Charles Heston, married over 55 years, Mr & Mrs. Richard Attenborough married over 55 years also, Mr & Mrs. James Cagney, married 63 years, and Mr and Mrs. Bob Hope, married over 66 years.
Not sure if any of you has a definition for love but let me share the thoughts of some four to eight-year-olds when asked the question: “What does love mean?” I love their answers which are touching, funny and dare I say even profound. What’s this they say? Out of the mouths of babes…
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” Rebecca (8)
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“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on after shaving and they go out and smell each other.” Karl (5)
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“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy (6)
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“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri (4)
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“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny (7)
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“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that.”
Emily 7
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“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby (8)
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“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.” Noelle (7)
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“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so long.” Tommy (7)
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“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine (5)
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“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy all smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris (6)
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“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Anne (4)
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“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of your eyes.”
Karen (7)
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“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” Jessica (8)
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Penultimately, this one brought a tear to my eye: five-year-old Jason’s elderly next door neighbour had recently lost his wife. Seeing the old gentleman cry, Jason went into the old man’s garden, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the old man, the little boy said: “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”
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Finally, I’ll leave the last word on love, not to a child, but to the philosopher Erich Fromm: “Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.”
Love it.
