(Fred) 

Following the evening of May 16th, 1970…

  When I fell in love with you…

      I was unable to see you for over

         One hundred days and nights…

            Except briefly on the afternoon

               Of May 18th when I brought you

                   The poem “Green is the

                     Color of My Love and My Life”.

Yet you were always

   On my mind during that

      Long summer when I did not

         Know if I would ever

            See you again.

Then on the evening of September 13, 1970…

   As I stood in the graveled driveway of

      An old farmhouse in Ephrata, Washington,

         And the headlights of a Jeep bringing you

            From the canyons of Idaho swung

               Into the driveway,

24 hours of ecstasy began,

   For which I would have given my life at that time,

      And for which I would give my life now,

         Rather than that it had never happened.

And since that time I have enjoyed the

   Exquisite pleasure and joy of being with you

      For over 11,000 days and nights,

         Adventure upon adventure, until now…

I am ready, eager and hungry,

   If the elegant machinery of the natural universe

      Should enable it, to be with you

         For not just another 11,000 days and nights with you,

            For not just another 11 million days and nights with you,

                  But more simply for-ever to be with you, endlessly.

Time is short for us now

   Based on the usual standard of short life-spans…

      But the usual standards may no longer hold,

         Due to the awesome onrush of

               Science and technology, particularly,

                  Bioscience and biotechnology,

                     Which foreshadow the arrest and

                        Reversal of biological aging

                           And the perfection of

                               Biological suspended

                                 Animation.

And on the heels of that

   We see coming the emergence

      Of nanotechnology,

         Which may sooner than we think,

            Enable us to live either in biospace or

               Cyberspace or a combination of the two,

                  And perhaps even if we wish,

                     Merge our two bilateral personalities

                        Into a quadrapole personality,

                           Which in many ways we already have.

With all these things in mind, now I pledge and vow,

   That you alone shall be the focus of my innermost life,

      Forsaking all others, from this point forward,

Linda, I love you,

   With every fiber of my being!

      With this bracelet, I reaffirm our Lifepact,

          My Commitment,

            To be there for you Always.

               Will you be my partner, my lover,

                  My soul-mate, endlessly?

(Linda)

When we first got together at

   That old farmhouse in Ephrata,

      We shared tears.  We spoke of our

         Longing for an enduring love,

            And how we both feared such a thing

               Was just not possible.

I feared that legal marriage

   Would strangle our love affair. 

      Would dampen out the glorious shine

         And tingle our love gave to our lives.

            I told you that you’d always have to

               Court me.  Never treat me as wife,

                  But always as a lover.

                     And that you have, my love.

For over three decades now

   We’ve laughed and played together like children.

     Worked like tyrants. Dreamed together like gods.

         We’ve met many challenges by standing

            Shoulder to shoulder. 

And now, 32 years after having made

   My first commitment to you,

      I no longer fear legal marriage.

         I have now lived with you and loved you

            Almost a decade longer than

               I lived without you before we met.

And I now know beyond any doubt

   That our love can and will last

      Because our love is stronger,

         More beautiful, more joyful

            Than I ever dreamed possible! 

So today, with this bracelet

   I hereby reaffirm my LifePact,

      My commitment to you

         to be there for you always.

            As we explore the stars together…

               And many shades of green…

                  Wing tip to wing tip.

Fred, I love you with every fiber

   Of my body.  Will you be my lover,

      My Partner, my soul-mate,

         Always and forever?