I find myself thinking about marriage and relationships a lot, possibly because I'm a wedding officiant, I don't know. Every once in a while I get to thinking about an old friend I used to have who had some of the best advice regarding marriage. She was 93 when I met her and we had some great talks. She was a strong advocate of separate rooms for married couples because it added a sense of spice and adventure. She and her husband had had rudimentary intercoms in their rooms that the could send sweet nothings through. And then there was the fun of sneaking around children to get to each others rooms. She also advised me on men coming home drunk "because they do that, dear, after business meetings that go late". She said the other young wives in their circle of friends in the 20's and 30's (the 1920's and 30's, not the women's age) would get upset with their husbands, railing at them - but not her. She'd welcome him home in the wee hours and offer him a night cap, then mix him a triple martini and talk about her day until he'd finished it. Then she'd leave him, unconscious, wherever he dropped and he'd wake the next day, embarrassed and abashed, remembering nothing about the encounter with his sweetheart the previous night. And she'd smile and coo and give him nothing to anchor his hangover on - and he'd clean up his act for some time until he'd join the boys again and get reminded of the evils of drink by his lady wife later on. "No sense arguing with the five martinis that came before you, my young girl" she'd say. They were married well into old age. I figure anyone who's close to a hundred in years, makes one feel welcome to be around and is happy in themselves has good advise. She told me once that she believed people lived on in the memories of those who loved them, and she's got a home in my mind for certain. I found myself thinking about her earlier today, about her adventures and her mirth, and just wanted to share. Because she always made me laugh, and because I kind of want to be Alice when I grow up.