ColumbiaMagazine.com
Printed from:

Welcome to Columbia Magazine  
 




































 
Carol Perkins: Opposites Attract

Previous Column: The Birthday Gift

By Carol Perkins

As I once said, when you marry, you marry a stranger. Guy and I didn't know much about each other, but our values and morals were aligned. However, we were almost total opposites.

I am happy in a room of fun people while he looks at his watch. I love playing games, but he'd rather be watching "Gunsmoke." I am a reader, and he will read a book once a year. Traveling backroads is exciting, but he prefers the quickest route. Eating is a top priority, and I don't think it. He knows where his things are, and I usually don't have a clue. He will wear a shirt for years, as obvious in photos, while I like new things. Changing his mind is difficult, whereas I can change with the wind. I jump into business ventures/projects while he weighs his options. I take risks; he plays it safe. He likes slapstick comedy, but I think it's dumb. I will not ride roller coasters with him.


I multitask while he focuses on one thing and finishes it. If he's building flower boxes, he will build all of them before he stops. I go from one thing to the next and then go back. I am a worrier, but he is not. He claims to be a realist and says I'm a dreamer.

His shoes are in the closet while mine are beside my chair. I love Broadway hits, but he prefers whinny songs with sad stories. He watches reruns, but I can't stand them. Although he has potential, he is seldom silly; I like to be silly sometimes. He doesn't offer advice, while I can't hold back. I am spontaneous while he is a planner.

I know what annoys him. "Stay out of my office," he insists. He knows what annoys me. "Why do you want to do that?" he'll ask when I suggest changes. He declares that when I'm gone, he'll back a truck up and get rid of the stuff he calls junk. I don't believe him, but that's the way we operate.

We like to be together and apart. We can ride along and not say a word or discuss politics and religion for miles. The most common interest we have other than our children and grandchildren is traveling. Opposites attract and often stay together for a lifetime. Fifty-five years and counting.


You can contact Carol at carolperkins06@gmail.com.


This story was posted on 2023-01-27 13:35:51
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.



 


































 
 
Quick Links to Popular Features


Looking for a story or picture?
Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com.

 

Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728.
Phone: 270.403.0017


Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.