Why I Love Mr. Man (to the tune of..."He Never Wrote a Song for Linda" by Barry Manilow)

So, I just returned from a great 4th of July weekend at Paradise! If you are looking at a map, head AAAALLLLLLL the way down 95 and you'll find Key Biscayne. It's just a breathtaking place. Whenever I return from the six hour road trip, there's always some time for reflecting. I can only talk to everybody on the phone for so long, sing at the top of my lungs for so long, check out rest stops, bite my nails, you get the idea. And that's only the first hour! HA! Well, this trip I was thinking how Mr. Man is a rough and tough "man's man" kindofaguy who has a sensitivity in all the right places! (He would kill me if he knew I was telling you this, but he actually has a poster of JOHN WAYNE in his bedroom!!! That's probably the best metaphor to describe his philosophy of life!) Something you probably don't know about me is that I was in a long term, very long distance relationship for many years with a Cuban named Carlos. We first met over 12 years ago and were each other's rock through divorces, children, church biz (he was an Episcopal priest) and for all those years his name was my password and vice versa. You get the idea. He lived most of his life in Cuba and it was a lot easier for me to travel there! (My own two people accompanied me as teenagers to visit his church and family in Guantanamo and to meet his daughter, my godchild, and they loved him too.) Not to be graphic, but we finally got to consumate our love in August, 2007. In April, 2008, he was gone, due to complications from a quadruple bypass. When he met me at the Havana airport, the first thing he did was forcibly move my head to his chest, saying "Listen to my heart." (As if I hadn't been doing that all along!) We had a great relationship with music and every once in a while (especially in SOUTH FLORIDA) I'll hear THAT song. Well, it happened at the IBIS Lounge in Key Biscayne on Friday, July 2nd. That's me and Mr. Man's favorite hang out and they frequent tunes of the Spanglish variety. I heard the song and Mr. Man said, "You're in Cuba right now aren't you." What could I say? I was busted. I was teary-eyed. So he stood up, I stood up, and we danced...and with my eyes closed we both knew who my partner was, at least for the two to three minute soundtrack... I never shared how I met Mr. Man. In April, 2008, I took a dark-thirty Greyhound from Jacksonville to Miami to catch a flight to Havana to see Carlos who had been admitted to Intensive Care. At midnight, every passenger had to deboard for 30 minutes in Orlando. I reached for an orange juice, and this crazy brown man reached for the same bottle. He was waiting to catch the bus to Miami. He said I had nice calves! Then he asked me why would I be waiting at the Miami airport for four hours all alone when I could hit the beach at Key Biscayne and make a new friend. It made sense to me! So we hung out all morning and he rode a taxi with me to the airport and I waved goodbye. When I arrived in Havana, I WAS TURNED AWAY, the first time that has happened with ten visits over twelve years...When I returned home, I didn't even leave my house for three days, and this was after another long-ass Greyhound ride back home...Carlos died that week. I never got to say goodbye. Then Mr. Man started calling and we began an amazing relationship. So, that's one of the many reasons why I love him...I think you can consider yourself a very blessed woman if you have known two larger-than-life John Wayne types!!! Don't you?