Noodles and I had a knock down, drag out argument in front of the kids the other day. Somehow the movie Back to the Future came up and she started explaining it to our inquisitive young'uns. Soon, however, she tried to tell them that the crux of the plot was that Marty McFly went back in time to fix his dysfunctional family. I hit the roof. I loudly and lovingly explained how the true gist of the plot was that Marty went back to 1955, interfered in his parents lives and had to restore things to their proper course. The subsequent wealth and social status were but a side effect. Anyway, the whole incident brought back a concept that I hadn't thought of in a while: Noodles and I are incompatible.

If you've ever filled out a dating service application, (you know you have, even if it was only one of those mass mailing flyers addressed to the "single person" at your house) you'll see a number of questions about your interest, education, etc. Well, suffice it to say, back in the day, no reputable dating service would have fixed us up. They would have asked, "what would you like to do on a nice summer afternoon?" Noodles would have answered, "Go to a baseball game." I would have answered, "Go to a movie." We'd both read each other's responses and say "ew." You get the picture. No romance. But fortunately, we didn't waste money on a matchmaking service. Instead we happened to get introduced by mutual friends and within a few months were searching for whatever conversational trivialities might prolong the evening.

So now, 17 years later, a trivial disagreement made me wonder about the genesis of our relationship once again. What exactly brought us together? When we discussed it over dishes (one of the great pillars of our marriage), Noodles put forth the theory that I was attracted to her openness to discuss and explore new ideas. Works for me.

(I know, I should have some more schmaltz here, it being Valentine's Day and all. But if I really got romantic on V-day, I wouldn't be here blogging, now would I?)