Forgetting Can Be Unforgivable

By C. MacDonald

It's easy to forget the little things in life--like picking up milk on your way home or taking the trash out or washing the windows like you promised.

But some things are supposed to be unforgettable and if you happen to forget them, they also can be unforgivable. Take wedding anniversaries as an example.

Recently, I sat down next to a couple in their 70s at an Italian restaurant in Berkeley. It became quite apparent that the wife was miffed because her husband had not yet mentioned their anniversary, which was the next day. She said, "Richard, our anniversary is tomorrow, you know!"

Richard just grinned, hoping that she would change the subject and speak about something else. However, she kept at it relentlessly.

"Do you know which one it is?"

Poor Richard. He didn't. But worse, he knew that she knew that he didn't.

"Come on, Richard. You know which anniversary it is," she said, growing madder by the moment, making the deflated man (as well as me) feel increasingly uncomfortable.

"Well, you do know, don't you Richard?"

Richard was getting red with embarrassment by this time and could think of no way to get out of this one.

Desperately, he attempted a diversion by commenting on how his wife was as beautiful now as she was when they got married. It didn't work.

At this opportune time, the candle at their table symbolically burned out, causing his wife to temporarily lose her train of thought.

I was happy the couple got up and left. The last thing I saw was Richard walking out scratching his head, trying his hardest to remember that wedding day so long ago.

Editor's note: Lucy & Ricky (I Love Lucy,) and Basil & Sybil (Fawlty Towers,) have dealt with forgetting a wedding anniversary in episodes of these classic American and British comedy shows. If you need a laugh, be sure to watch how they handle it.