Lord, what fools these mortals be!

Those who live near an ocean or a sea sometimes think they have a monopoly on visions of huge waves crashing into shorelines and whatever else happens to be in their way. This photograph, taken by a Lake Superior aficionado, demonstrates the power not uncommon on the greatest of the Great Lakes. Waves ranging to twenty-five feet are not unknown, especially during the gales of November. Beautiful and deadly. Reminds me of some .... never mind ....

I am very flattered, but ....

A few years ago while I was working as the editor of a newspaper, a young lady asked me if I would meet her after work for a drink. She said she had some business to discuss with me.

It seemed natural. She was a professional person who held an important position with county government, and frequently had stories she wished to appear in the newspaper. I always had thought of her as a quintessential career woman. She was, in fact, a friend as well, although not close. We "hung" with the same crowd, and whenever newspaper reporters, photographers and editors congregated at a local saloon, invariably she was among us. So, we met to discuss her business.

After about the third drink, Judy (her actual name) did get down to business. She was unmarried and in her late thirties. She was watching the clock run out on her in several ways. She wanted a child, and she wanted me to be the father. At first, I thought she was joking. After a fourth drink -- or, maybe, the fifth -- I realized she was absolutely serious.

There would be no legal ramifications, she explained. We could draw up a contract with an attorney to ensure I would bear no familial or financial obligations. Other than the two of us and the attorney, no one would ever know.

Did I mention that she was very attractive?

She explained all the reasons why she had selected me from among the men she knew. You can believe I was very much flattered and very much tempted. You can also believe I thought about it very seriously for a few days.

Eventually, I said no. I was married then, and felt I could not enter into such an agreement for that reason. Neither did I think I would be able to watch a child grow up from afar with no contact.

About three years later, Judy adopted a little girl as a single parent.

For me, it was one of the roads not traveled. Judy and I still write to each other and talk on the telephone at times. She is one of the few people I would do literally anything for, simply because once upon a time she made me feel like the most important man in her world.

Beyond that, possibly after reading this piece you have a greater sense of knowing why I admit that I do not understand women.

The way of all men ??

I read somewhere that many men, sometime in their forties when fifty is near, abruptly realize all they have at that very moment is all there really is to life. This is it. No city of gold, no magic girl, no paradise -- earthly or otherwise -- awaiting them. So, they get a divorce, buy a convertible sports car and find a girlfriend twenty years younger than themselves as their consolation prize to life.

Well, I started doing that when I was about twenty-five. Possibly, I  merely was precocious. (Yes, I am teasing .... sort of ....) Whatever .... I am still doing it, over and over again. Maybe, the only difference between me and the others is that I cannot accept the notion that this is all there is, and I continue to search. The greatest mystery of life is why we, each of us as an individual, think as we think, believe as we believe and do as we do.

The creation of beauty

Since I was a college boy, my definition of art always has been: Art is the creation of beauty. Subjective it might be; narrow it might be, but do I care? One guess.

For reasons I would not explain even if I could, this also more-or-less is my definition of the perfect woman: A person whose purpose in life is the creation of beauty. Sometimes it is a child, sometimes it is something visual, sometimes it is in the form of sound. You get my drift.

A beautiful face is a beautiful face, no doubt. But, that is an accident of birth and has nothing to do with who or what a person really is -- as are many of the attributes we individually possess.

When I look at a woman (or for a woman), I look for one who strives to create beauty. Chauvinistic as it may sound, this I do believe is the role of a woman on planet Earth. As I pointed out somewhere or other a few days ago, both of my former wives were rather accomplished artists, primarily as painters in oils and watercolors.

This is why two variations of one of the most beautiful compositions on planet Earth are posted here. I have used the song -- Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D -- before on my page, including the first variation here now. I put the first up again because it is mostly women performing it -- creating beauty -- which, in turn, makes them oh so beautiful and perfect to me. I used the second piece because the photographs accompanying it add to the melancholy of my moment.