Traveling the Rock Road

I knew it was some kind of setup the minute these guys started talking to me, but I thought what the heck, I’ll go with it anyway. “Hey Miller, you’re married aren’t ya?”

“Yeah I am, happily too, why?” “Is your wife good looking?” “Yes, I believe she’s very good looking.” “Well I can tell you right now she’s not as pretty as old Bill’s wife.”

This conversation was going on at a place I worked for a short while years ago and the Bill they referred to was a short potbellied figure of a man easily in his sixties and the oldest worker there. These few guys who were needling me seemed to enjoy getting under people’s skin, especially Bill. “Okay, Bill’s wife is prettier than mine, that’s fine,” I answered, but they didn’t want to leave it there. “No, you don’t understand, Old Bill is married to the most beautiful woman in the world! Go over there and ask him, have him show you a picture of her.” I could tell by the smiles of the others as the ringleader spoke that there was a lot more to this story than what was being said, but I answered, “Nah, I’ll take your word on it.” Still these guys weren’t going to let the lazy dog lie, so to speak so one yelled out, “Hey Bill, come here!” Bill, wearing kind of a half smile looked as if he knew what they wanted, so he left his work station and came over to where we were. “Tell Miller here how you’re married to the most beautiful woman in the world and you wouldn’t trade her for any glamorous movie star there is.” Bill answered quickly, “Yeah, that’s right, she’s that beautiful and no, I wouldn’t trade her for any other woman in the world.”   “You’re one very lucky man, Bill,” I offered, and he came back with, “Oh, don’t I know it!” Before another word could be spoken one of the instigators of this whole conversation shot out, “Well show him a picture so he can see for himself.” With no hesitation Bill dug into the back pocket of his overalls and retrieved an old and overstuffed wallet. Opening up to the center he gazed down and smiled at the picture before him, then handed it over for me to see, when I looked upon the image I think my face might have went a little blank and the only word I could come up with was, “Oh,” and the other guys standing there fell all over themselves laughing so hard. In the picture was Bill and a woman every bit as large as him, she had one of those over permed hairstyles, a large mole on her chin and another just under her left nostril. She did radiate with a big smile, but it also made it evident that teeth were no longer part of her anatomy. Bill continued to smile at me as I handed his wallet back over, almost as if he knew what I was thinking, but I managed to get out, “Well I’m sure you two have a wonderful marriage, Bill.” “Oh, we do,” he shot back quickly, married over 45 years and he dug through his wallet until he came up with an old wedding pic to show me. I admit this was a better portrait of his gal, but frankly not by a whole lot. I confessed by now I even chuckled a little thinking old Bill here might be in on pranking me with these other guys. But the more he spoke the more I realized he believed every word that came for his lips. “I met her one day as she sat by the lake and I asked if I could sit with her and she said yes. The more we talked and the more I gazed at her the more I came to realize I had never been with anyone so beautiful in my life. First time she let me hold her hand I thought I would melt, and never wanted to let go. We were together everyday for two weeks before I got the nerve up to ask her to marry me; and one month later we walked down the aisle, said our I dos and have been together every since. I wake up every morning knowing in my heart I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the world and then I thank God for it all. These guys here like giving me a hard, saying all kinds of things I don’t pay a lot of attention to, but I know I wouldn’t leave her alone with any of them, would not trust them any farther than I could throw them!” “Oh yeah Bill,” one shouted out, “just give me chance to get my hands on that hot mama of yours!” And the roar of laughter continued as he closed his wallet, placed it back in his pants and walked back to his work area, and as the day wore on I found myself laughing and cracking jokes at whole thing with them; oh the ignorance of youth sometimes.

I didn’t stay at that job long and never saw many of those guys again, but for whatever reason God would put Bill and his bride in my path occasionally. Every time I saw them they were enjoying being together and I would kid her about keeping Bill out of trouble, they both enjoyed that. As the years went on and I would see them, Bill had to push his wife in a wheelchair because of illness that was weakening her body, but still they smiled when talking to others, and being together. They had a daughter I ran into once and asked how they were since I hadn’t seen them in a while. With sadness she told me her mom had passed away and her dad never was the same afterwards, now he was living in a nursing home. I commented that must have been hard on Bill since they were always together. She commented, “Oh, all the way up to the end, she couldn’t speak or even know any of us anymore, but he was content just to sit by her bed and hold her hand.” Just like when he first fell in love with her,” I thought. I went to see Bill and he smiled big when I came into the room, but it didn’t take long to realize he really didn’t know who I was anymore. There next to his bed on a stand was a picture of his “Beautiful” Lady. I had a feeling he was still remembering her.

Helen Keller said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” Well, if anyone would know that it would have been her; and from what I saw, I believed Old Bill learned that also. You see his words told me he saw her like no else had or even could, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; beauty like that has to radiate from the inside out. Bill was a lucky man for he saw that beauty that others didn’t see all his life and he counted himself blessed because of it. I believe Bill did what another old saying relates, “Don’t choose the one who the world sees as beautiful, but rather choose the one who makes your world beautiful.”

I generally put a bible passage or two at this point, but today I think I’m not going to do that. To tell the truth, I sat down to write one story and God gave me this one, this memory instead; I got no complaints. But rather I want to say that Bill saw and treated his beloved wife the way God has meant for all men to do; to treat them as they were the most important and beautiful person in their life, that’s God’s way for sure. (If you still need scriptures, get with me and I’ll load you up!) Just imagine what the world would look like if every man saw his wife like that, I think we’re talking something on the level of AWESOME!

It’s now been forty years I’ve “Traveled the Rock Road” hand in hand with my own most beautiful Lady in the world and thanks to ones like Bill and my Lord who taught me how to love, really love and see beauty; well, I think I’m allowed to brag that I am a better and Blessed man.

Men, rediscover the love and beauty you once felt for that person who shares your life, it’ll be beyond words how wonderful you’re going to feel! And if you’ve already that then tell her again, and then again, and then again, just how beautiful she is in your life now and forever. Let me know how it goes will ya? Got a feeling I know anyway!!

See Ya Next Week!