Boy Meets Girl, Explored
In recent years, when I am not working on longer fiction or penning essays on various socio-political issues, I've been amusing myself with little "boy meets girl" stories. I don't really know why. I've found it fun to do. Maybe, I'm trying to answer that age-old question, "How in the world did those two ever get together?”
although the time lines of some of my stories spill a little past 1999, none are really 21st Century tales. Although I've been present this quarter-century, I'm old and not sure I really understand current courtship. Herman Hopfeld once wrote:
"You must remember this:
A kiss is still a kiss,
A sigh is just a sigh.
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by."[1]
But was he right? He wrote the song nearly 100 years ago, and as I look from the distance of age, I wonder if "the fundamental things apply" in the same way they did back then. Maybe they do. I'm just uncertain enough about it that I haven't felt comfortable tackling any contemporary tales. I'll stick to the 19th and 20th centuries, among life I've experienced myself, or history that I've researched extensively.
I don't know if any of these "little romances" will bring any new understanding to you. I hope they will bring a laugh, a smile, or maybe a tear as you think about loves pursued, loves won, or loves that never happened, but you sort of wish they had.
Happy reading!
Sandy Wilbur
Gresham, Oregon
February 2025
[1] "As Time Goes By," song by Herman Hopfeld, 1931
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