Posted by TerryS (198.133.22.69) on February 04, 2001 at 22:13:48:
> Real Love
>
> An old story reminds us of the humor of romance:
>
> A man was going to the county fair one day with a pig
> under one arm and a chicken under the one arm, and a
> basket on his head. He came to a crossroad and didn't
> know which way to turn. While he stood there deciding,
> a young woman approached him, heading the same
> direction.
>
> "Please, ma'am, I'm on the way to the county fair. Can
> you tell me which way to go?"
>
> "Yes," she replied. "I'm on my way there, too. We'll
> go right down this way about a mile, turn left about a
> mile and a half, left again about a mile and we're
> right there."
>
> He said, "Wait a minute... down here, turn left and
> left again? Couldn't we save a lot of time by walking
> through these woods?"
>
> She replied, "Yes, we could. But I couldn't walk
> through those woods with you. Why... you might try to
> kiss me!"
>
> "Listen," he said, "how could I possibly kiss anybody
> with a pig under one arm, a chicken under one arm and
> a basket on my head?"
>
> "Well," she replied, "you could put that chicken on
> the ground, turn the basket upside down over the
> chicken, and I could hold that little bitty ole pig."
>
> Where there is love, there's a way! Although one would
> be hard- pressed to define a romantic attraction as
> "love." They are really not at all the same things.
> And as nice as it is to keep romance in our lives, in
> the end, isn't it love which we are really after?
>
> In her article, "Turning Sweet Nothings into Sweet
> Somethings," Marjorie Holmes points out some
> differences between romance and authentic love:
>
> ~Romance is seeking perfection, love is forgiving
> faults.
> ~Romance is flying, love is a safe landing.
> ~Romance is the anguish of waiting for the phone to
> ring to bring you a voice that will utter endearments;
> love is the anguish of waiting for a call that will
> assure you someone else is happy and safe.
> ~Romance is eager, striving always to appear
> attractive for each other, love is two people who find
> beauty in each other no matter how they look.
>
> Authentic love will find many expressions -- the love
> of spouses; the love of friends; the love of families.
> And if your love is real, watch out -- once it starts
> growing, there's nothing that can stop it!
>
> by Steve Goodier