A kiss is just a kiss...

Today started out with just a cup of tea and some porch sitting. I got up to make Kathy’s coffee so all she has to do is grab it and go when she heads out to work. She always thanks me, and makes me laugh when I hand her the coffee and she says: “You do love me!” We both laugh because it is true. I then made my tea and sat on the porch and waited for the sun to come up. Glorious.

I went to StoryStar to read and comment on some stories. Not many people get comments - and I like to make their day. I usually can find something nice to say about their story. So this morning I read Lea Sheryn's story: Moonlight and Love Song. She told a very romantic story - but only the beginning. How it ends…nobody knows. Why?

Because it is about love in the moment you feel it, untouched, marred, or scarred by the passage of time. Just those first few moments of possibility. She wrapped her story around three songs. Here is what she herself said about her story:

"It is, always and forever, the same old story. Two people meet and fall in love. There is a beauty in it that lasts, unalterable, until the end of time. Whether Cara and Anthony fulfill their dreams and reach complete happiness is yet to be seen. What will always remain is the love they feel for each other. That is, indeed, inalterable. Time may bring them closer together or it may cause them to drift apart. Yet, whenever they meet, or dream about each other, they will always be in love. True Love is a fundamental thing that will always apply, no matter what the circumstances…As Time Goes By.

Songs used in this story are:

“Would You Like to Swing On a Star” sung by Bing Crosby

“A Kiss to Build a Dream On” sung by Louis Armstrong

“As Time Goes By” sung by the Character Sam (Dooley Wilson) in Casablanca”

Okay I guess you know where this is headed. You’re right. I thought about the songs. LOL And kisses. Lots of kisses. More on that later. Back to the songs. Tee hee.

I know all three songs. I like all three songs. I haven’t heard two of them in decades, and the Louis Armstrong Song I used to hear on the ship all the time, as it was in one of the shows. After I read her story, I went right to YouTube and looked up all three songs. What fun that was.

And that led to some Doris Day, Mamma Case, and Frank Sinatra versions of those same songs. Along with “dream a little dream of me…” Summertime, and Sentimental Journey. I read some of the comments below the songs (something I normally do not do, I can’t stand the trolls and brutes that destroy good thoughts) but the comments on these songs, especially by folks way too young to have ever even heard of them, made me laugh.

Things like: “Makes you wish you were in Paris on a balcony holding your girl doing one of those dances where you hold each other.“ LOL

Or this one: “Reminds me of dancing with my girl in the kitchen while waiting for the spaghetti sauce to be ready.” LOL

Or this one: “Makes me think of my dead husband gone off to war as I long for him. Especially weird since I don’t have a husband of any kind.” LOL

Some were so precious I didn’t copy them…they are kind of private and intimate. Songs really do have an impact, even if you have not heard them for a very long time.

Maybe because it is cold. Or maybe it is because the two main women in my life were/are both from Cold Climates (Northeastern Ohio and Southern Ontario Canada) - so lots of kisses where warm lips and cold skin were neck in neck. (necking…get it? Ha ha).

First kisses came back full blown. And the emotions flowed like spittle from exceptional passionate memories. LOL But also some kisses that were one of. And not from My Kathy.

I met a girl once on a beach. Her and her sister and I hung out for a week. Turns out they were on vacation. Not an ordinary vacation, a gift. A promise her Mother made to God. It seems the one girl got a brain virus that left her in a coma for over a month. Her mother promised her that if her daughter got well, she would take her daughter anywhere in the world she wanted to go. She would spend a week doing whatever she wanted, wherever she wanted.

She healed.

So I met the whole family that first day of their vacation. I ended up being their tour guide and lifeguard for the whole week. So one day the two sisters and I were sitting on a breakwall watching the waves coming in, while eating Shaved Ice. The girl who survived the Coma took my hand, raised it to her lips, and kissed my palm.

It was one of the most memorable and precious kisses I ever felt. She let me know that she was glad she met me- and would miss me, but always remember me. When she straightened back up, her eyes were wide and shiny, as were mine. I held her hand for a while before I could talk.

All I could do was say: “Thank you.” Very softly. Her sister leaned over and gently placed her head on my shoulder. And there we three sat, a head on each shoulder, holding hands. No words were spoken. Later we got up and walked the beach before going to meet the parents for dinner. The girls were 19 and 20 and I was all of 24…youth- isn’t it grand? I never saw or heard from them again.

The other kiss, that was a “one of” came from an unexpected place. I had made friends with a couple of Officers over in Hawaii. I was stationed there for five years. I became really close with those two families. In fact, I went on my Honeymoon and visited one of them in Pennsylvania to show off my new Bride. We had dinner and spent the night.

But the kiss came from the Next door neighbor’s wife. She was about forty and in great shape with a firm dancer figure. Her 20 year old daughter was visiting from the Mainland and they were chatting in the living room when I stopped by to say I was shipping out that afternoon.

That woman got up from the couch, came over and wrapped her arms around me and gave me a kiss that curled my toes. When she broke for air (and I was still in shock) she leaned back a bit to look in my eyes:

“I wanted to do that for years. And I wanted to thank you for never trying to hit on me like every other guy does.”

I had no clue she wanted to kiss me. I never kissed a married woman, other than my own wife. Luckily, I headed right out the door to go to the airport. Beat red, and glad it didn’t lead to anything more. LOL

The last kiss isn’t romantic. But it was powerful and kind. It took place just a year after I had become unengaged. I was working at Fairview General Hospital as an Orderly. As such we took folks down from their rooms to things like X-ray, the Lab, or Physical Therapy. Some folks were so sick we had to lift them from their beds to the gurney.

One of them was a lady in her fifties with terminal cancer. She weighed only about sixty pounds when I met her. I became her favorite orderly, so much so that she wouldn’t even let any of the other Orderlies lift her to a chair, or onto a gurney. Her body was suffering but her mind was sharp. I spent my breaks talking to her. I would take my lunch with her too…if she was having a good day.

Sometimes, I would put on civilian clothes, show up after my shift and bring her flowers or chocolate. She always thanked me and nibbled at the chocolates. But she wasn’t eating much at all and weighed less than a bird by the end. So one night she asked me what I looked like all dressed up in a suit and tie.

Well, I didn’t own a suit. But I did have a nifty sport jacket my brother Jim gave me and a dress shirt and tie. So I put those all on and went over on a Friday night to show her. She raised the hospital bed up to a sitting position and had me do a little pirrouette for her. I pulled up a chair and we chatted while holding hands. It was a nice talk.

At the end of it she pulled me close to her with both hands. Putting my forehead right in front of her mouth. She gave me the softest, gentlest, loving kiss right in the middle of my forehead. (my eyes are watering as I type this…the memory is very strong) I didn’t move. I don’t know how long she kissed my forehead. It was a long time.

Then she pushed my head back a bit, looked me in the eyes and with a twinkle in them and a big smile on her face she said simply: “Thank you for being kind to an old lady.” She said she was tired. Could I go get the Nurse and some water. I did both.

When I left, she had put the bed back to sleeping position and was doing just that.

The Next morning I came into work. I got a cinnamon roll from the snack bar (her favorite) to share with her before my shift started. I went to her room. It was being cleaned by one of the Nurses. I just stood in the doorway, confused.

The Nurse came over and hugged me.

“She’s gone, Kevin.”

I think I shall stop here.

Smiles, Kev