Breaking at the Water’s Edge and Belly Laughs with my Husband

BREAKING AT THE WATER’S EDGE

 
Can’t hear the music yet,
but I can imagine watching
and listening to the ocean,
the constant motion of the waves,
the sound of them breaking
at the water’s edge.
Now I hear their crashing down.
Now the music becomes very lively
causing the water to dance.
Then the water recedes out to sea.
And the next wave is created.
The wave is in constant motion, sometimes fast,
sometimes slow, but always there
to watch as I sit
at the water’s edge.

by Gertrude

BELLY LAUGHS WITH MY HUSBAND 

 

My husband Edward had a wonderful sense of humor. Not a day went by when we didn’t have a good belly laugh over something.

My mother, too, could tell a good story. The two of them would play off each other. They had lots of stories that they would repeat.

When we retired, we both traveled to China. (My husband spoke Chinese that he learned in the Army during World War II.) We traveled in a group. One night, we decided we’d walk to the beach without the group and have a late dinner. There were two restaurants in the hotel. Both told us they had “no room.”

Then my husband started to speak in Chinese. I had no idea what he was saying but the expression on their faces was one of amazement. It seems he said in simple Chinese: “I am an old man. I am hungry. I need to eat now.” They then took us to a table where they served us dinner and didn’t even charge us. We shared many more experiences like this, too.

by Gertrude