Romancing The Stoic (Humor Column)

Last night hubby Mark reminded me about a humor column I wrote about a romance-impaired woman (me) marrying a romantic man like Mark. He thinks it’s the perfect column to post on Valentines Day, so here’s how Romancing The Stoic begins:

Romancing The Stoic
By Madeleine Begun Kane

“We’ve lost power!” I shrieked, as the lights went out and a Brahms concerto stopped mid-cadenza. “It’s okay,” my husband Mark said, in a futile attempt to calm me down. For already I was ransacking the house in search of flashlights, candles, matches and batteries. And as usual, I’d hidden them away in a safe and elusive spot.

“Don’t worry,” Mark said, when he finally had my attention. “We’ll bundle up in front of the fireplace. We’ll eat by candlelight, sip wine, and talk. It’ll be nice. You won’t even miss the light.”

That episode, which climaxed in a delightful, albeit light-impaired evening, illustrates our differences in the romance department. A quick bit of history: More than thirty years ago Mark proposed on his knees in the middle of the street, while I rushed to brush off his pants. His encore the next night was to supplement his weekly floral offering with a pair of crystal candlesticks. I, of course, fretted about their price.

Mark went through with the wedding, despite my apparent lack of the romance gene. Perhaps he felt he had sentiment enough for two. Or maybe he thought I’d come around some day — that my romantic spirit was merely submerged, just waiting to be tapped. … (Romancing The Stoic continues here.)

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12 Responses to “Romancing The Stoic (Humor Column)”

  1. aparna says:

    Lovely post! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it :-)

  2. madkane says:

    Thanks so much, aparna.

  3. James says:

    Fun read Mad. I especially chuckled at the “apparent lack of the romance gene” line. Very funny.

  4. madkane says:

    Thanks, James!

  5. amy says:

    Its a great post. You are gifted to have a husband like mark, its true love that can make our life change and change for good. cheers Mad :-)

  6. madkane says:

    Thanks, Amy. Yes, I feel very fortunate!

  7. Realist says:

    So maybe you fret and you shove
    And struggle to be up above
    There’s no better catch
    He’s surely your match
    And Mark is the one that you love

  8. madkane says:

    Thanks, Realist. Absolutely true!

  9. Fireblossom says:

    I’ve got the romance gene in spades, but I’m missing the baby gene. Babies bore me. (I do like young children, though.) A friend of mine says she is missing the wedding gene. That one I’ve got. (see romance gene). But it does seem like all of us are missing one gene or another. Oh well, there are teachers around like your husband. We may never be brilliant in the afflicted department, but we can learn to get a little better at it! :-)

  10. madkane says:

    You make a good point, Fireblossom. I’m missing those three genes — romance, baby, young children — but I managed to marry anyway. My husband took a huge gamble on me. :)

  11. Thank you for visiting The Friday Forgotten and linking your post. Your imagination and creativity should never lie dusty in a dark corner of your blog. We are happy to help clear away the cobwebs.

    This was a wonderful and enjoyable story as it reminds me so much of my relationship. I am in a similar boat. One practical and one a dreamer. They make the perfect matches though don’t they?

  12. madkane says:

    Perfect matches, indeed. :)