Yet another bubble busted!

This morning on the early Sunday morning radio program "Standard Time", I heard Bob Hope's "Thanks for the Memories". On this show she plays standard tunes, mostly from the 30's to the 60's. If you listen to the show consistently you find that she plays the same songs a lot. She has played this song before, but for some reason all the stimuli in my life were aligned for me to actually listen to the words this time. This song was apparently introduced in a 1938 movie called, "The Big Broadcast of 1938" and written for that movie by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. As most anyone over 50 would know, it became Bob Hope's theme song for the rest of his life including the myriad of USO shows he did for the troops. (http://www.byjoy.com/BobHope.html). As the USO's and Bob Hope's TV show evolved, the lyrics to the song evolved to include events and societal change over the years, so the original lyrics were difficult to decipher. In addition, Frank Sinatra recorded his own version, then more recently a group called "Fall Out Boy" wrote and recorded a "rock" version using the title. The title, however is also confusing. You can find the Bob Hope version listed as "Thanks for the Memories" and "Thanks for the Memory".. Sorry, at this point, I don't really care which is correct. I can grammatically make both work. So what busted bubble am I talking about? I have always thought of the song as I believe Bob Hope used it through most of his life; a fond rememberance of times past which developed into endearment.... period. This morning, as I really listened to the original version, sadness grew as the insensitive, melancholic nature of this song unfolded. Yes, Bob and his costar Shirley Ross were thanking each other for the past memories, but it was as they were divorcing after a short marriage. The real message was "Oh well, it's over, but it was fun.... thanks! Good bye!" When you have been growing a loving relationship with the same person since 1959 including over 46 years of marriage, 3 sons, 9 grandchildren, and yes, a great grandson, you don't just say, "thanks, it was fun, good bye".. Although we came from different "worlds" we started our relationship including "the whole family" so we knew we could each exist in each other's world before we started to carve out our own path as a couple in this world. With God's help, we learned to cherish each other and try to change for each other and to accept each other where we each could not change. In the words of Tim McGraw, "a heart don't forget something like that". As we grow older, both of our bodies have changed in shape and the ability to endure, but when we look at each other, I think we still see those teenagers who cruised the root beer stands and got sunburned at the Indiana Dunes. I see how the years have etched a new kind of beauty in her and she calls this fat, short, bald man "hot".. Wow, what a stretch on her part. We can get down when we see that those days are past and won't be again for us, but the good memories bring a twinkle to our eyes and a childish grin to our faces. As we watch our grandkids doing and thinking a lot like we did, we are also thankful that we are able to watch them do it. My problem is that while Bob Hope's song used to start me going back through these files in my mind, chuckling as I go, I can no longer get this pleasure from that song. We didn't make these memories together to cast them aside and go on to another life with another person. I expect that when I hear this song in the future, I will begin to pray for folks who are in the battle for the survival of their relationship. I will have to find a different song to trigger the happy memories of the past, because this one just won't do.. As I look over this post, maybe I should rename it, "a love note to Georgia".. hmmm. You see, that bubble hasn't been busted. It continues to grow as we face new and different challenges together.