Friday, February 20, 2009

My Husband

The Sunday Scribblings prompt is "trust."




Otto J. M. Smith

On my twentieth birthday my family - Daddy, Mama, Allen and me - took a picnic supper to La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles. Besides fried chicken and potato salad and fresh tomatoes, there was a birthday cake and there were gifts to open. One of my gifts, from Mama, was a bedspread for my first year sleeping away from home. For my first three years at Stanford I had been able to live at home in Palo Alto, but Daddy had recently been transferred to the Los Angeles office.

As I watched the black tar bubbles of the black lake rise slowly then burst with a lazy plop, I was miserable. I had said goodbye to Otto two days before. I wore his engagement ring on my finger, but that was scant compensation for his absence. He would be in Oklahoma at his parents’ home by now, on his way to his new position as an instructor at Tufts College in Boston. I suddenly knew that I wanted nothing more than to be with him. Forget my senior year at Stanford! It wasn’t the only place in the world to finish my degree.

Mother cried when I announced that I wanted to go back to the house to call Otto to tell him I wanted to get married in Oklahoma and go with him. Daddy said it was my life. I phoned Otto with some trepidation, but he seemed really happy and asked to speak to Daddy, whom he assured that he (Otto) would take good care of me. My family drove east, Otto’s sister planned a church wedding, and without ever regretting a minute of it, I put my trust in this good man (who was all of twenty-four years old at the time).

September 3, 1941

Now, almost sixty-eight years later, Otto is the person I most trust in the entire world. We don’t always agree. I think it would be awful if we did. One thing that we trust is that, even after noisy disagreements, our love will be no less.

I trust Otto’s word. He has never, in all those years, lied to me even once.

I trust and admire his motivations and his determination to work toward unselfish goals, whether it be to save the world from global warming or to rid it of wars.

I trust his intelligence, proved over and over as he develops social and engineering solutions to the world’s needs.

I trust his love for his family and his students.

I trust that he wants me to follow my own dreams that may not always be his, and that he will lend his help wherever he can.

Golly, I love that man!

33 comments:

Lucy said...

Oh Gran! You KNOW how much I adore your story and the love that You and Otto share!
I wish more couples could make such smart choices at such a young age and experience the life and love that you both have.So rare, so beautiful and so
Beautifully expressed! xo

Maggie May said...

Aw.......... that is a lovely post and Otto looks like a lovely man and what a handsome couple you made on your wedding day!

totomai said...

oh this is sweet. such an inspiring true to life experience.

and that is a portrait of true love.

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

What a lovely story! You definitely found a keeper!

Stan Ski said...

I congratulate you both. I just wish I'd read this story twenty years ago. Even then it would have been impressive.

Femin Susan said...

aw.. you look awesome in that wedding photo...i think you are a very cheerful person your husband otto too...
cheers!

Jeeves said...

Lovvve this post. You look so pretty in the photo. Wishing you many moments of happiness. Thanks for this nice post.

Marian Dean said...

A lovely post Granny Smith. A wonderful life with such love shared between you. He looks a dear, as you do also. It takes two to make it work and you two obviously had all the right ingredients for a lasting marriage.
Love Granny

linda may said...

Lovely post Granny. You have something special together that many never had the luck or the skill to carry off. Good for you both.

Anonymous said...

beautiful expressions :D

i so long for true love, esp after he has ceased being :)
http://eternitycallsus.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-most-trusted-companion.html

Linda Jacobs said...

Not just the beautiful story, not just the glowing pictures, but the writing really makes this post! You describe the trust so magically!

Marianne said...

Phyllis, what a beautiful post you've written. I love him too :^)
Oklahoma,eh?
I believe you two have known each other forever.
XOXOX

J said...

What an uplifting and inspiring story!

Devil Mood said...

Oh this is so wonderful I'm about to burst :D

I love the story and I love the picture - you look determined!! And your choice was the right one then. No doubts about it.

Rosey said...

This is such a lovely story. I hung on every word.

Keith's Ramblings said...

Surely a marriage made in heaven. What a delightful piece.

Rambling Rachel said...

Beautiful. Such a romantic story.

Marguerite said...

What a lovely and inspiring post! You were such a handsome couple on your wedding day. I also enjoyed the present day photo of Otto. Reminded me a little of my hubby who also sports a beard and normally wears a hat. Well done.

P.S. Thanks for the visit.

2cats said...

Granny,
I love your stories about your life with Otto. You are so fortunate.
Thank you for sharing your life with all of us.

Sherri B. said...

Your post has moved me to tears...the love you have for your husband is beautiful and inspiring. And for both of you to have made it this long, it's obvious his love for you is just as strong.

rebecca said...

What a beautiful love story. And what a good looking man Otto was at 24 (he still is!)....oh, I could see why you wanted to be near him. He has such a kind face. How happy and in love the two of you looked....

And you've shared a wonderful, loving life and that is a life well worth living......

anthonynorth said...

I think that's the perfect recipe for a perfect marriage.

Megha said...

wow! Both of you look lovely! its the right story for the prompt-Trust :)

Mary said...

This is the love and trust that everyone seeks. Great post.

Unknown said...

Granny, your story gives me hope and fills me with warm fuzzies! You look like the perfect couple - you are truly blessed!

Tumblewords: said...

Your story is a wonderful one - rare and perfect! Love your wedding photo, too! Congratulations on finding and knowing the right way to go.

Miss Alister said...

Ditto Tumblewords regarding knowing the right way to go and going it! Following your heart led you to the place you fit, snugly as a puzzle piece, and the rewards were commensurate. That kind of knowing of heart and following of intuition is my tragic failing. So it is that I see you as one of the most fortunate souls on earth, Granny! Oh, for a love like that! And a hat like that! And my but Otto looks so fine in it : )
missalister

Winifred said...

That is a lovely post and a beautiful picture.

You've both been blessed, hope you have many more happy years together.

Thom - - Dr. John said...

Beautiful and uplifting. Enjoyed that thoroughly .

Robin said...

What a beautiful, uplifting story, and how much more wonderful that you got to actually live it, not just write it.

Tammy Brierly said...

Granny,what an inspiring post! I'm glad you trusted your heart and have the love of a good man. What a beautiful bride! Cheers to you both. xxoo

Unknown said...

Oh. This was so beautiful. I do so hope that someday I will be able to write the exact same thing. I am SO glad you followed your heart and moved to Oklahoma to be with the man you loved. How very beautiful. You look so lovely in your marriage picture. So young and fun and full of life. What a blessing.

Beth said...

Dear Phyllis. Thank you for posting this lovely and trusting romantic memory for it gets to the heart of a marriage made in love, hope and trust, yet in a "real life" way with compromise and discussion beetween the two of you. Your story brought happiness to many, and, like others, I wish you many, many more years together with your precious Otto.