“You’re still the one that makes me laugh
Still the one that’s my better half
We’re still having fun and you’re still the one
You’re still the one that makes me strong
Still the one I want to take along
We’re still having fun and you’re still the one”
- Johanna Hall / John Hall (Orleans) – 1975
Orleans bass player Lance Hoppen recalls that Johanna Hall wrote the lyrics for “Still the One” after a friend “asked her why somebody couldn’t write a song about staying together, as opposed to breaking up”; Johanna Hall wrote the lyrics on an envelope which she then handed to John Hall who Hoppen says “created the music in about fifteen minutes”. Johanna Hall’s recollection is that the realization that there was a dearth of songs about long-term relationships came to her while she was doing laundry, and that she handed John Hall a napkin on which she’d written the song’s lyric. (source: Wikipedia)
As Eva and I celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary, I think about where the time went. We spent all of our lives in the Philadelphia suburbs (Ambler, Landsdale, Norristown, and Harleysville), never wandering too far from where we grew up. We have 3 children, 2 grandchildren, and 4 cats (and remember lovingly our 2 dogs and 3 cats who have passed). We love spending time with our family and kitties, going to concerts and sporting events, swimming in our pool, going for walks, and travelling. Some of our favorite vacations were to Egypt, Greece, Israel, England, Scotland, Germany, Japan, Young Island, the Grand Canyon, and Hawaii. I’m hoping we have many more years together and would love to break the Leitmeyer family record for the longest marriage (59 years) in our family tree. My parents and grandparents were all married for over 50 years. I believe that’s pretty rare in one family, especially nowadays.
On our anniversary date we did what makes us happy- babysit the grandkids. We had them the whole weekend (which I admit can be a bit exhausting). Playing with toys, drawing and coloring, arts and crafts with Playdough, going to the playground, watching TV, getting my head shaved, and an excursion to Wal-Mart kept us busy. It’s always heart-warming when they say “We want to stay longer” when their mom and dad come to pick them up. It was a fun weekend, but we needed a good nap when they left.
A few days later, we had our “official” celebration by going to the Capital Grille in King of Prussia. It was an excellent dinner, and they treated as well, with complimentary champagne and dessert. I’ve always said I can break some of my healthy living rules for special occasions, and I figured our 45th anniversary was one of those occasions. I went with bone-in filet mignon and Eva opted for the center-cut filet. We shared a bottle of Prüm “Essence” Riesling wine, lobster mac & cheese, grilled asparagus with lemon mosto, and a flourless chocolate espresso cake for dessert. I had my first drink in over a year (I know- ironic since my last blog post was about how I stopped drinking), and my first steak in a long time, but everything was delicious and the alcohol didn’t trigger any atrial fibrillation, so all was good. Of course I got stuffed and didn’t sleep too well that night, so now it’s back to watching what I eat and drink, but we had a fun and delicious celebration. (I think my next big celebration will be my 70th birthday party next year.)
As I mentioned, I come from a family history of long marriages. Here’s a look at my ancestors married 50 or more years:
On October 12, 1925, John Leitmeyer (25 years old) married Johanna Sachs (24 years old). They lived in a row home in the Crescentville section of Northeast Philadelphia. “Grandpop” was an insurance salesman. They had one child, my dad. Grandpop loved watching the Phillies. They both enjoyed playing pinochle, watching TV, and spending time with their family and friends, including their many brothers and sisters as well as my mom’s parents. They lived just 10 minutes away from us, and we visited them frequently. I remember watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show at their house. My saddest memory is seeing my grandfather have a heart attack while we were attending a Phillies game, after climbing up the ramp at Veteran’s Stadium. It was the first of several heart attacks (he was a heavy smoker). I still remember our family getting frequent calls in the middle of the night from my grandmother saying grandpop was getting rushed to the hospital again. They were married 51 years when my grandfather passed away on March 8, 1976 at the age of 75.
On October 10, 1932, Edward Waters (24 years old) married Margaret Judge (21 years old). They lived in Ardsley, PA. “Pop-Pop” was a bookbinder. He permanently lost the use of a thumb after it got mangled in a press machine at work, but he was strong as an ox. Like my dad’s parents, they also came from big families and enjoyed spending time with their siblings, family and friends. Mom was their only child. Pop-pop was a big Philly sports fan. I went to many baseball and basketball games with him over the years- I believe one year we went to over 20 Phillies games, including 4 in one weekend (single games Friday and Sunday, and a double-header on Saturday.) Whenever we went to their house, I would bring my baseball glove and Pop-Pop and I would play “catch”. Nana enjoyed gardening and cooking- I loved her homemade rice pudding. They were married 59 years when my grandfather passed away on September 17, 1991 at the age of 83.
On August 21, 1954, John Leitmeyer (21 years old) married Dolores Waters (20 years old). Dad was a service manager at IBM- it was a stressful job that frequently gave him severe migraine headaches. He worked long hours and would often get phone calls in the middle of the night when companies’ mainframe computers went down and he would need to get them fixed. Later in life he apologized to me for not spending more time with us when we were kids. I told him it was fine- he was just doing what he needed to do to provide for us. In his spare time, dad enjoyed chess, playing the organ, and building/repairing anything and everything. I remember he built a TV from scratch from a kit he bought, poured new concrete steps to our house, rebuilt his car transmission, finished our basement with wood paneling and a drop ceiling, and painted my car a new color, among other things. We rarely bought anything new- dad preferred fixing things when they broke. My mother was a stay-at-home mom, who enjoyed volunteering at Jeannes Hospital, and was active with her “Women’s Club”. Mom and dad enjoyed traveling with us kids when they were young, and then taking frequent trips with their friends from a local senior center when they got older. They were married 55 years when dad passed away on February 26, 2010 at the age of 77.
I’m already looking forward to celebrating our 50th anniversary five years from now. We have plenty of time to figure out what we will do to celebrate. Stay tuned!
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