This is my friend Mal. I've known him for about 30 years, since working for the same organisation way back when. He was a Health & Safety man back then. When he retired he moved down to the coast with his wife, Christie. And there's a beautiful love story for you.
Mal qualified as an electrical engineer and became an officer in the Merchant Navy in the 1950s. He worked on tankers/transport ships in the Indian Ocean and the Med, but then he got assigned to a cruise ship. Officers like Mal were allowed to mingle with the 3rd Class passengers, more senior officers could associate with the upper decks, and the Captain’s party was open to all. Formal dress was mandatory. It was 1930s preserved in aspic.
Every night there were parties hosted by one officer or another. A lot of drinking went on. For every party Mal and his fellow officers threw, they would borrow the big silver tureen from 1st Class and make a lethal fruit punch. One night the punch was particularly good, and Mal had decided the next girl to walk through the door was his. It was Christie, who was on the cruise with her best friend. Mal switched on the charm and chatted her up – and that was that. They fell for each other and never looked back.
If his chosen profession had been plumbing or carpentry, he’d never have met her, because Petty Officers were not allowed to mingle with passengers at all. It was fate, serendipity, good fortune, call it what you will, because Christie was the love of his life for over 40 years.
She died over two years ago now, and it is a daily struggle for him to adjust to being alone. It’s hard, so where we used to meet up a few times a year, we are now trying to have lunch once a week so he can chat. He’s got himself a new cat, a Siamese called Herman after Goering (don’t ask), he goes to the Church get-togethers and fends off the old ladies looking for husband number 4, he even goes to an exercise class once a week to try and keep mobile. He likes his food and his wine (a bit too much but who can blame him?) and still tells a good story.
He’s not quite the man he was when Christie was alive, but the way he’s working on making himself a life worth living is pretty inspiring. Having lunch with him is always a pleasure.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
