Pain makes you stronger. Heartache makes you wiser

LL

Trips to Germany remind me somewhat of a flight timetable I found on my laptop in 2005. The explanation from you was, 'I was just looking'. You must have thought I was born yesterday, at the time! Or, most likely, you had forgotten it was there. We'll be in Germany later this year with Dieter and his wife including a visit to the opera. Guess FM was there on 'business'. Enjoy the bubbles alone?

You once spoke of boredom...or, as you spelled it, 'boredum'. Dumb, now that's a good word for you...

Far from it being me that was boring - it was you that I found boring. You had no dream, no ambition and a very narrow idea of how to enjoy life. I guess you still have.

Those weekends of eating out and shopping were so very humdrum.You said you thought we were more or less settled after I left. The answer to that is that I wasn't. I found the life we were sharing then, unexciting, rather like the one you are still leading with your rather large partner.

You are aware that my life took off after you disappeared from the scene. That is an understatement, of course. 

Most of my life pre-you was pretty good. We ( my late wife and I) traveled widely, we were in love with each other from 21 until her untimely death, we have two great children and we enjoyed the finer things in life. Ash and I are still doing that, having lost our respective spouses to the same cause - cancer.

I am semi-retired (not fully, just can't stop doing some deals - gives me a buzz) like to fly our plane, sail in the Gulf and in the Med, enjoy our various homes, the great weather across the year and most of all our large family. None of which is boring.

Ash is still quite young and young at heart - just over 10 years younger than you...us tycoons...always choose the younger ones to flaunt on our yachts;-) She keeps me young and we certainly don't spend the week apart and just have weekends together shopping, drinking and eating as you and your man do. Now...that is boring.

But then she is my wife - a position you could have once filled with all it would have brought with it. You once said that if things didn't 'work out ' with him you would come back. Did you really think I would have entertained that...love or not?

I understand you are off to the Canaries next month - again! PDC that's boring! There are so many other better places in the World...or is it a question of money? I read about the 'cut backs' in his household.

Let me whet your appetite with what you could have been doing with me, apart from living here, the rest of this year. Not necessarily in the order that we will visit:

Barbados - April
Europe May thru July/August
That will include:

UK various places including Sandbanks, London of course (new home in Belgravia), some other places and probably Keswick and the Lakes. Love that bread from Booths! They do sourdough almost as good as back home.

Paris, Carcassonne, Spain - Marbella, Denia, Valencia and Barcelona - Italy (my greatest love and Ash's - Venice, Rome and Sorrento among others.

Then onto Skyros.

Germany with Dieter and Anders (Norwegian) in August.

Back to the UK 

October and November in Dubai, Australia, via Singapore - back to the States in time for Thanksgiving :)

Visits to NH (family and friends in Mass.), Oregon, San Diego (West Coast home), South Carolina etc are a given, of course, as are other destinations within the States - business and pleasure. I bet you wonder where I get the energy from ;)...given the eight years that have passed since you last met me. Thing is apart from those years, I am exactly the same physically as you have seen from past photos.

Back to the title of this blog. Two sentences that are certainly very true. You struck me down when I was very low through bereavement and inflicted substantial pain. But as you said yourself, I am strong and I recovered...if anything stronger for the experience. I agree with the second sentence, but I don't think it applies in my case. I was already fairly shrewd, but the experience did break  my heart...at the time.

But then along came this lady  - my wife and I've never looked back...except to flaunt for your edification. You have probably learned a lesson but too late in life - methinks. Here she is...Liz's dog by the way

I have some galleries of other photos for you...but they can wait...the pool calls...you have a nice day ma'am