[quiet bear]

Ok, I didn't really know where to post this, but it is something I had to share.

Not a lot of people know much about me and my life, as I am fairly guarded with details. However, for the purpose of this post, I will have to let people see some of me.

Ok, today, I worked 14 hours of overtime back in the warehouse, loading trucks. Not my department, but it's very peaceful work, solitary and not challenging, so I am able to think wherever my mind may choose to go.

Anyway, a truck came in that was bound for Shreveport, La. The driver and his wife came in, and asked me which door to back in to. I could tell right away, that this man was, how do I put this without offending...slower thinking.

Then he asked where the men's and ladie's rooms were (most truckers do). I started to tell him how to get there, but I could see he was lost with my explanation, so I took them down there myself, and waited for them, to be sure they got back ok. You don't want to get lost and wander somewhere where you could get hurt.

Anyway, he comes out first, and we're standing there, waiting for his wife. They're probably in their mid 50's or so, and I ask how long they'd been married. He tells me that he and his wife met at some camp for 'retarded kids' (his words) 35 years ago, and that they'd been married 31 years. I asked him if they were counselors, and he says "No, we were a couple of the retards", and he starts laughing.

So, the whole time I'm loading their truck, they're sitting on the bench. Holding hands. I get done loading the truck, and unhook the dock plate and whatnot, and show the man where to sign the load sheets...he gives the papers to his wife, looks me square in the eye and says "I can't write".

Finally, they go out to pull the trailer off so they can close the doors, and I'm thinking, "How did he get a license, let alone a commercial trucker's license, without being able to write?"

I watch from the dock door as they close the trailer doors, working in perfect unison. They've done it thousands of times. They walk up to the cab, and he opens the door for her, takes her hand, and like a perfect gentleman, helps her up. It brought tears to my eyes, literally. The unspoken love these two had was almost palpable.

I'm thinking...here are two people who've got everything.

Anyway, sorry for being sappy, but I was moved by the fact that these two people, who've probably struggled in 'normal society' (whatever that means), their entire lives, have flourished where their hearts are concerned.

I mean, I have a fairly decent I.Q., but I've never known what they have.