Amy Kropp....
didn’t fall asleep at the switch last night, so she was able the see the Front Line episode - Let’s Get Married. I hope it will be re-run, it would be interesting. Amy’s take was that is was high-quality and interesting television, but not exactly anything new. For example, “And the solutions proposed by the modern "marriage movement" are nothing more than the teachings on chastity and marriage that the Catholic Church has been teaching for years.

She looked at the quotes and quips from the Front Line website. (These could come in handy if pressed to whip up a wedding/anniversary card at home!) I think we favored the same quote:
"Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere, Rhett and Scarlett, even Jack and Rose from the cinematic tale of the Titanic -- each snuffed out their powerful love while the heat of passion was turned up full blast. Why? Because it couldn't last. The heat of passion was never meant to. Can you imagine Romeo and Juliet grocery shopping?" Exactly.

I have told my daughters that the only reason Jack was the love of Rose’s life was that he slipped into the icy Atlantic. That kind of goofy, idealized love just cannot withstand real life. Jack and Rose might have actually been able to have a long and loving marriage, but the elderly Rose would have been ranting about Jack kickings his socks off under the table and leaving his Jockey’s behind the bathroom door instead of in the hamper 18 inches away. Ooops. I’m projecting my own experience onto this, right?

I’ve wondered, too, if Romeo and Juliet was the best Shakespeare introduction for young, hormonally stimulated teenagers. Now, as a responsible parent, I see the dramatic portrayal of the consequences of not obeying one’s parents combined with impulsive behavior. When I was 15, watching three matiness in a row on a Sunday afternoon at the Rivoli Theatre in beautiful Cedarburg, Wisconsin, this was all about true
I guess in the long run, my ideas of marriage were shaped by my happy childhood and my parents’ enduring committment to each other. If I were wacky and litigious, tho, I could sue the Cedarburg school district for warping my perspective and setting me up for bad decisions based on love at first sight. I wasted several years of my life pursuing bad relationships based on true love. Hmm. Maybe I should include Franco Zefferelli and the Rivoli Theatre, too.
What the heck, I’ll include the makers of SweeTarts and Root Beer Barrels just to ‘sweeten’ the deal.