"For Better or for Worse"
Many radio stations across the country still play reruns of Casey Kasem's American Top Forty from the '70s and '80s. They air it from 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM in the Orlando area, and I happened to hear a portion of it while driving to the office a week ago Saturday. Among the few songs I heard from the December, 1983 survey were Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield," "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel (doing an excellent imitation of the Four Seasons) and the top song, "Say, Say, Say," by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson.
Sandwiched somewhere in there was a Long Distance Dedication that merits a mention. Some of these can be syrupy and sappy, but this one was truly unusual. The writer of the letter was a young American male who met a girl named Jenny (from New York) while spending the summer in another country. They discovered that they had a great deal in common, and over the summer they grew to love one another and decided to pursue their relationship after they returned to the States. They both wrote letters to one another for a few weeks, but then hers stopped. He just assumed she was busy with college or her modeling career.
Over the holidays, he decided to fly to New York City to visit her. He was shocked to find out that she was no longer the woman he had fallen in love with. She had been in an accident: her once-beautiful face was disfigured. Her eyes that had been bright and sparkling were now dull due to blindness. As a result of her injuries, her personality had also changed. Most young men would probably have walked away. He did not. He spent a great deal of time and effort convincing her that she was the same person inwardly. Over time, she learned braille, and although it took a year, she regained her former personality. He dedicated to her the song, "You Are So Beautiful."
How many marriages end in divorce today because people choose to violate their vows that usually include the words, for better or for worse? This young couple was not married when this tragedy occurred, but he nevertheless took seriously the love that they shared. Listeners to the radio program have no way of knowing what happened afterward, but it appears they would have had the commitment needed for a successful marriage.