Eddie and I go way back. 50 years back.
We met during summer orientation when I was busy taking notes on how to be a good little incoming freshman at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He was older, drove a VW bus, had long hair and a beard, was very handsome, played the guitar, had more albums than I did, and was even Jewish! You might say I noticed him big-time, but I thought he was way out of my league. I was hanging out with a different guy when school started in the fall, but when he told me he wanted me to meet his cool, older friend who lived in an apartment, and it turned out to be Eddie, well, you can figure out what happened next. And we've been together ever since.
I wanted to do something really special for the 50th anniversary of our first date. (We went to see "2001: A Space Odyssey" at the Orpheum Theatre on State Street. My roommate tagged along and sat between us.) I knew that one of our favorite singer/songwriter David Wilcox wrote custom songs, so I asked him if we could do a trade. I'd some some photography for him in exchange for a song. We struck a deal!
David, who has never met us, called me (this was going to be a surprise for Eddie) and asked a million very good questions. Then he went to his studio and came up with a song entitled "For My Beloved." I couldn't believe how great it was (catchy tune, great lyrics, pretty much spot on in terms of who we are). I was so glad he included something I remembered to tell him near the end of our phone conversation: our wedding rings are inscribed with a quote from Song of Solomon "I am for my beloved, my beloved is for me." David made that the centerpiece of the song.
After secretly listening to my new favorite song a few hundred times, I decided to set it to old photos. I've got lots of those, as you can imagine. Lots. So I sifted through 50 years worth of images, and when I presented the finished product to my beloved, there may have been a few tears involved. Coming from both of us.
If you'd like, you can watch the 3-minute video here.