During my last business trip to the US, my friend and I grabbed the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon. It was in that tour that we encountered two pairs of quirky and extremely opposite couples.
The first pair was an old Vietnamese couple who reminded us of Carl and Ellie from the movie "Up". They looked every bit prepared to go on this trip, dressed in comfortable clothes with matching safari hats. They each carried an iPhone and iPad and were looking really tech savvy, typing away on their gadgets all the time. It warmed our hearts how they were so thoughtful and caring to each other. They allowed the other some time to enjoy the sights at their own pace, lost in their own bubble, yet always aware of the rest of the group. That is how they noticed me and my friend and decided to adopt us as their grandchildren for the trip. We were more than happy to oblige. They barely spoke a word of English, though. But we enjoyed spending time with them, nonetheless.
The second couple was an old American and his Chinese wife. This couple seemed the total opposite of the quiet and gentle Vietnamese couple. At first, they seemed like grumpy old people with their brows perpetually furrowed and arguing about every single thing. But then she "pestered" the driver to find her husband a better seat because he had a bad back and the long drive was becoming a torture for him. And he carefully stood up, while the bus was moving, to walk towards the back of the bus to give her the other half of his sandwich ... because she might be hungry.
Different folks, different strokes. I guess, whatever works for them. Just goes to show there's no one "fits all" formula to a long-lasting marriage. But there is one vital ingredient: Love - the verb, not the noun. Most of what they did was an act of love for the other. Or, perhaps, everything they did for the other was done in their own unique brand of "lovingly". Either way, they are our couple goals.
Coolly Lit
During my flight to the US, I had the pleasure of sitting beside a really cool old lady. She was a retired Literature teacher. A Literature teacher! We had an amazing time talking about various topics, including our favorite literature pieces. It was no surprise that we were both Jane Austen fans, and we talked about the characters we relate most with like two old high-school friends. We then progressed to Robin Williams' "Dead Poets Society". Then I told her about Neil Gaiman's "Instructions" and Haruki Murakami's surreal but accessible style. Suffice it to say that I had one of my most stimulating conversations during a long-haul flight.
I realized, working on your passions and talking about them is one of the most underrated "secrets" of eternal youth. The minute she started talking about Literature, she lit up and looked easily 10 years younger.
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