- We're laying in bed one day and I'm just sort of leaning
on my elbows like this and she's there looking
up at me and talking and she just said, "Who are you?" Ah, she was 15 when I
first laid on eyes on her at my 16th birthday party. The girl I was going with
never got a look in after that. When she was 18, we both decided it was a good move to get married. There was no question
in either of our minds. So we went to Maureen's folks and said, you know, "We'd like to get married. "What do you think?" Her mother said, "Absolutely not. "She's got to be at least 21." And she was 18 when she got married. So I thought pbbt. You're not telling me
what I can and cannot do. This is gonna be my wife. So I took 'em to court. Terrible thing to say. Took 'em to court and won the case. The judge said we were of age and I could support her, 'cause I was running the service station. Anyway, I went round
to get her after that, and she said, "No, I
don't think it's wise." Darn. So we waited until she was 21. Her birthday's the third of August. We got married on the 29th of August. 51 years married on Saturday. We're laying in bed one
day and I'm just sort of leaning on my elbows like this and she's there looking up at me and talking and she just
said, "Who are you?" Ah. Ripped me apart. We're sitting having
coffee one day in our house and she was just like this with her cup and it was going like this and I said, "Well, that's not right." She said, "Oh, I'm just
leaning on a nerve, you know." Passed it off. It was obvious there was a tremor. So we went and saw a doctor and cut the long story short, they diagnosed Parkinson's and that was 10 years ago. That is relatively controlled, but the Alzheimer's kicked
in about two years ago and that is awful. Well the expectations are gone. You can't expect her to
do anything or respond. You know, I visit her everyday, pretty well, unless I'm crook. I gotta confess there are
times I'm too chicken, and cannot face it. You know, we go in for
support before we came in here to give me respite, that was the idea, but I was there. When I went and informed the people that Maureen's got a place in here, LHI, I'm sure very well meaning, a lady come to me and gets all broken up. She says, "You gotta get
on with your life now." What do you mean, you know? "Get new relationships." No way. I'm married. Til death do us part. In sickness and in health. We've had the health, you know. She's had her turns over the years. We've had malaria, both of us. I really struggle to see
why people could just turn their backs on their partner. I could no more do that
than fly to the moon. She's my wife. I hate this. I absolutely loath it. I just don't want to let her down, but it's so hard. So what to do? It is a day-by-day experience. It's never gonna change. It's not like she's just away for a while or she's got some disease they can cure. She's gone. She's gone. That's what I have to accept and just get what I can out
of what's left now, you know? I walked through fire for that girl. Now I can't do anything. I know I know God loves me, loves Maureen. He's got our best interests at heart and this is our journey. But it's hard to handle. I have punched the wall a few times. So, I know I'll be with
her when we're both whole. Heaven, we're going there. Sooner or later. You know, this could go on for 10 years. I don't know. I despair wondering how I'm gonna cope. So I say I don't know
how people without faith, without Christ in their lives cope. As someone said years
ago, we look up and we go, "My life's a mess." But God's looking down on the tapestry and it all makes sense to him. I've lived my life. She's lived hers. And I tell her all the time, we've had a wonderful life together. We've had 70 years. It's been great. We've had three great kids,
got five great grandkids. That thing there, "The
Best is Yet to Come," I read that to her or I
tell her that everyday. "Sweetie, you're gonna get a new head. "You'll know who I am and what we can do. "Forget the new body. "I'll get a new heart." So if she leans on me, and
she can hear me pounding away, it's so loud. We joke about that. The best is yet to come. That's our faith.
