Twelve Stories About Devotion Read online

telling jokes?" she asked. "I'm serious," I said. "Please do it."

  She became sad, but said, "Please play Moonlight Sonata for me."

  "No, Mattie. The words have to be exactly these: Matt, play Moonlight Sonata for me."

  With a slight smile, she repeated those exact words.

  Suddenly the world around me faded into a misty dream. I was no longer Matthew Vincent. I was a part of the musical world. I knew that I had turned to the piano and was moving my hands over the keys but there were no feelings in my fingers. There were no thoughts in my head except the sound of music coming from ethereal place. It felt as if I was using the talents of skilled pianist and those of a gifted composer with their permission. After several minutes, the music ended, and I began to recover the sensibilities of the world. I looked at Mattie. She was crying.

  "I don't know how you did it, dear," she said. "But, you have made me very happy." Those few words were worth more to me that any I had ever heard before in my life.

  The Love Of My Life

  My name is Ted Garner. I'm eighty. I was born, brought up, and educated in Brownsville, New York. I now live in Albany. This is the story of my life and of Judy, the love of my life. I would say that my life has been mostly humdrum; not a great deal happening. However, I believe my wife's life has been extraordinary and this book is being written in honor of her.

  It seemed that Judy and I had known each other forever. When we were going to kindergarten together, she was Judy Hamilton. Afterwards, she became Judy Garner.

  All I can remember of kindergarten were days of playing games and trying to learn how to communicate with each other. It seems that our lives were entwined from the beginning. We went through grade school and high school grade by grade at the same time. And we always had the same teachers. Later, we went to different colleges and lost track of each other for a time.

  Still later, we rediscovered each other, dated, and got to know each other better. At about the same time I was called for duty in Vietnam. I served there for a year and was honorably discharged when I was wounded.

  Judy and I fell greatly in love and with each other and were married within a year of my return from the Army. We had three children, all girls, Sandy, Edna, and Mary. Today, they are grown-up married and have children of their own. Judy and I have been grandparents for several years.

  During the early days of our marriage we took trips together to Cancun, Montréal, Bermuda, and Old Orchard Beach in Maine. We have loads of pictures and movies of those adventures.

  We bought our first house in Brownsville when we were young. It was a modest home for myself, Judy, and the kids. We needed to do some remodeling in order to provide separate bedrooms for the girls. We did not leave Brownsville until 2000 when my job was transferred to Albany, New York and the family went with it. I retired at age seventy-five, five years ago.

  Throughout the years, the lives of my wife and I were firmly interweaved like vines growing on a wall. We were help mates in every sense of the word. However, I never thought of memorializing Judy in some meaningful way. One day it occurred to me that it would be nice if I would write a book about her and our lives together. I was never a writer of any kind so was hesitant about doing this, but felt that the mission was so important and that it must be accomplished.

  I wanted the fact that I was writing a book to be kept a secret from Judy until I had finished. I wrote the book over a period of a year whenever I could do so without Judy observing. I had no hopes of selling the book because I knew that my writing would be amateurish, so I decided that I was going to have it privately published. I finished the book earlier this year. There is a picture of it on the cover of this book. It has a little over two hundred fifty pages.

  Obviously I cannot show the entire book at this point but I can tell you what is in the Table of Contents.

  Table of Contents

  Childhood Chums

  School Days

  First Jobs for Judy and Me

  Service in Vietnam

  Judy and I Discover Each Other

  Early Dates

  A Short Engagement

  Marriage

  Honeymoon at Niagara Falls

  Trips We Took during Our Marriage

  First Child, Sandy

  First House

  Two More Children, Edna and Mary

  Transferred to Albany

  The Advent of Grandchildren¶

  Deaths in Our Families

  Retirement at Age Seventy-five

  Judy, The Love of My Life

  When I had finished the book using Word on my personal computer, I had it published by a bookmaker firm in Albany. I had dedicated the book to the three children. There were only two hundred copies made. I had no intention of trying to sell the book, but I wanted enough copies made so that I could give every member of the family one.

  On the day that I picked up the books, Judy was shopping. I knew that I had at least three hours during which I could go to the bookmaker, load the huge cardboard box in the trunk of my car and bring it home. This was heavy work for me since I had lost much of the strength I had had as a youth. Somehow I was able to manage it.

  I pushed and pulled the box to a closet in the spare room. I brought one copy with me to the computer room. There, I inscribed the book as follows:

  To My Beautiful Wife, The Love of My Life, Ted

  I brought some flowers from the garden and put them on the bench in Judy's sewing room, then placed the book as you see in the picture amidst the flowers.

  I retreated to the computer room, awaiting the return of Judy from her shopping trip.

  When she returned, I needed to find a ruse for her to go to the sewing room. "Judy," I said, "there's a pair of scissors in your sewing room that I could use now. I'm in the middle of something. Would you mind getting them for me."

  "Of course," she said and began walking toward that room. As inconspicuously as possible. I followed. She saw the book at once and picked it up. There was a puzzled expression on her face which, for me, was a joy to see. She stared at the title on the cover. It had been printed in gold-tinted letters and read as follows:

  Judy, the Love of My Life

  By Her Loving Husband, Ted Gardner

  There was still a look of befuddlement on her face as she opened the first pages of the book and saw the inscription. She flipped a few more pages forward and realized that this was a book about her. Tears welled in her eyes and she began softly crying. I hastened to her and took her in my arms.

  "You did this for me?" She asked.

  "With great love," I said, and kissed her.

  My Dear, It Was You!

  “Let’s not send each other Valentine Cards this year!” Mary said.

  “No Valentine Cards?” The bite of pancake had almost reached his lips but it never got there. “Mary, that’s what we’ve done for four years since we met! Ted objected. That’s what lovers do!”

  She smiled. “I knew my remark would startle you! I’d like to suggest we do something better!”

  It was late on a Saturday morning. Mary and Ted Wilkins were enjoying a leisurely meal in their breakfast nook. They had been married a little over two years. It was late January.

  “What could be better to express our love than a Valentine Card?” Ted asked.

  “Valentine cards are written by people that don’t know you and me,” Mary said. “You’re good with words, and you’ve said that I am. Let us tell each other how we feel in writing! Let’s make it something more personal!”

  “I like the idea,” commented Ted. “But surely, you don’t want me to send you an email!”

  “No, not an email. Not a letter. A poem!”

  “Wow,” exclaimed Ted. You have a lot of faith in me. I don’t write poems. I write manuals for smart phones!”

  “And I do the same for tractors,” laughed Mary. I’m not suggesting we become Mr. and Mrs. Shakespeare. Write what’s in your heart. Tell me in your
own words. If what you write rhymes, that would be fine, but it doesn’t have to. And I’ll do the same for you!”

  Ted and Mary were employed as technical writers; she at the John Deere plant in Westbury, and he at Verizon. They had only one car. Each morning, Ted would drive Mary half an hour early to her job then go to his. In the evening he would pick her up and drive home.

  “I’m excited! Let’s do it!” said Ted.

  Both found the task more difficult than they had anticipated. But each accomplished their objective. With some trepidation, they met at the same table on February 14. The couple had spread a tablecloth on the kitchen table. The ingredients for pancakes were on the range ready to be cooked for a Valentine's Day celebration. Ted was elected to read his poem first. The following is what he read:

  I’m Greatly In Love With You!

  I’ve searched my mind

  for just the right words

  to tell you how great

  is my love for you.

  But the phrases I crave

  have often been said

  by a great many lovers

  before.

  I wish I could say

  that I’ve told every star

  how utterly lovely

  and gracious you are.

  I’ve tried Mr. Webster

  who offers no hint

  of any new words

  that I can use.

  And I’ve searched

  in Roget and found

  that he has no solutions,

  whatever, at all.

  I’ll just have to use

  the most simple of words,

  the most simple of words

  that I know.

  My sweetheart, my dear,

  I want you to know,

  that all I