Anniversary day

Seventeen years ago today, I traveled from Stamford, Conn., up to Albany, N.Y., to meet in person a guy I'd been talking with online and on the phone all summer.



And 17 years later, here we are still.

* * *

On the way back from Palm Springs, one of the CDs we played in the car was a Valentine's Day mix CD I'd made for Jack back in 2003, which included:

MTM theme, "Love is All Around"
James Taylor, "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)"
Barry White, "Can't Get Enough of Your Love"
Orleans, "Dance With Me"
Lush, "Fallin' In Love"
We Five, "Can't Help Falling In Love"
Yvonne Elliman, "If I Can't Have You"
Jim Croce, "I'll Have to Say I Love You In a Song"
Captain and Tennile, "Love Will Keep Us Together"
Johnny Mathis, "Misty"
Three Dog Night, "Old-fashioned Love Song"
Crosby Stills & Nash, "Our House"
Rhoda theme
The Who, "Squeezebox"
We Five, "Our Day Will Come"
Nina Simone, "The Look of Love"
Talking Heads, "This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)"
Lulu, "To Sir With Love"
Curtis Mayfield, "Move On Up"
Bruce Springsteen, "Tunnel of Love"
We Five, "Make Someone Happy"
Stevie Wonder, "You Are The Sunshine of My Life"

And after we'd listend to the whole thing, Jack said, "There's one song that's very conspicuous by its absence."

So, I replied, "What is it? Is it 'Jump down, turn around, pick a bale of cotton ...'?"

"Yes," he replied, laughing, "That's it!"

* * *

Love you, bear!