“Where do I begin?
To tell the story of how great a love can be
The sweet love story that is older than the sea
The simple truth about the love he brings to me
Where do I start?...”

That is how it begins, the song from the movie ‘Love Story.’ The year had been 1971. It wasn’t until a couple of years later that I happened to read the book by Erich Segal, hear the song sung by Shirley Bassey and also watch the movie with Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw in the lead roles. I remember walking into the movie hall with stars in my eyes. But by the time I was to get out of the movie hall the stars had all mysteriously transformed themselves into tear drops streaming down my fifteen year old cheeks.

Am I digressing?? Looks like I am!!

Well that is what happens when an incurable romantic like me gets on to the topic of love stories even though it is a movie watched in what you of the Modern Age might refer to rightly as the Ancient Age. But, what the heck, once a romantic always a romantic, even unto your end, toothless and one foot in the grave!! Don’t let that deceive you into thinking that I am toothless or have one foot in the grave. Far from it!! As of now I have my pearly whites intact though some of them have had to resort to wearing silver armor to protect themselves. One has to do one’s bit and contribute to the upkeep of the poor dentists too, by the way! As for my feet, I have them both securely with me to hop skip and jump as I please or on second thoughts as much as my sciatica would permit. Well I have to contribute my mite to keep the hearth of orthopedic surgeons burning as well, haven’t I??

Am I digressing?? Oh no not again!!

Before the digressing bug bites me again let me jump straight into the matter at hand. “Where do I begin??….” had sung Shirley Bassey, picked up by a score of others down the line including Andy Williams, Perry Como, Placido Domingo and many others. It is now the year 2008. And you have yours truly picking up the lines where the others have left off and going, “Where do I begin??…”

Such romantic lines follow!! Take a look:

“…To tell the story of how great a love can be
The sweet love story that is older than the sea
The simple truth about the love he brings to me
Where do I start??…”

Ahh Carl Sigman, (lyricist) you knew a thing or two about love, didn’t you?? Sigh!! Look at the way he goes…

“….Like a summer rain
That cools the pavement with a patent leather shine
He came into my life and made the living fine
And gave a meaning to this empty world of mine
He fills my heart….

He fills my heart with very special things
With angels’ songs, with wild imaginings
He fills my soul with so much love
That anywhere I go, I’m never lonely
With him along, who could be lonely
I reach for his hand, it’s always there…

How long does it last?
Can love be measured by the hours in a day?
I have no answers now, but this much I can say
I’m going to need him till the stars all burn away
And he’ll be there…”

How unbearably heavy hearted I had felt watching Jennifer Cavilleri (Ali MacGraw) die in the arms of Oliver Barrett IV (Ryan O’Neal). Life was so unfair nipping a love such as theirs in the bud. Listening to the song in further years only brought back memories of the sad end to a beautiful love story……

…and errrr…. I find I am digressing yet again!!

Please accept my apologies one and all. You will find in due course, that is if you stick with me, which at the moment seems a remote possibility considering the way I tend to ramble hither, thither and everywhere else, wasting everyone’s precious time, that digressing is one big failing of mine. Phew, was that sentence long or what?? Actually all I wanted to do was ask, this being my first post here and all, was a simple, “Where do I begin??” just as Shirley Bassey did, not to mention all those who picked up the lines after her!! Hmmm…. Looks like I needn’t have. I seem to have made a beginning alright!! Now how good a beginning it is remains to be seen!!

Before I sign off:

Welcome to you one and all, to this, my space on the World Wide Web.

What????? You want to know who I am????? Oh you mean to say I have not introduced myself??? How remiss of me!!!

Well I am just your ordinary next-door homemaker. If you stick with me, against all odds, you will have the honor of being bored to death reading pretty inane and mundane long posts about slices from my life, my views/opinions on happenings around me, maybe a short story or a poem. Nothing special!!! And oh, let me warn you at the outset, I use lots of question marks and exclamation marks.

Are you game??