Other Rogues

I can draw some things from the shadows of Rudyard Kipling with his military lore, life in India, and general globe trotting. Exposed to his writings in my early college days, I had trouble comprehending his words. Now, later in life and given experience, my understanding has greatly improved. Perhaps I should not align myself with The Ladies for fear of some readers taking it too seriously. I will use his first few lines, sub his central passages with my own, and conclude with his final verse.


THE LADIES
I've taken my fun where I've found it;
I've rogued an' I've ranged in my time;
I've 'ad my pickin' o' sweet'earts,
An' four o' the lot was prime.
Rogue? Yes, there is a scoundrel in your midst. My first marriage lasted a mere six years where the second ended in divorce after thirteen years. The latter gave me a daughter. Her mother and I maintained a very amicable relationship. Our daughter has always been a major part of my life. I wish I could say that for her half-brother. I failed him and my first wife in a bad divorce then took a job where I lived out of a suitcase for eight years of his childhood. Now he is a fine gentleman and a great businessman, husband, and father of no credit to me. Children are always gravely impacted by our selfish acts.
I was driving my daughter to middle school and to break the silence, she asked, “Daddy, what’s your favorite animal?” “Chicks?” I said. At which, she dutifully swatted at the air between us and sighed, “Ohhh, Dad.” and right or wrong I never hid my dating life from her after the divorce.
During one of our weekly Tuesday night dinners when she was sixteen, I was telling her of plans to return to Brazil after twenty-five years. A business opportunity had come up and I was able to locate the family of my best friend Jose Finardi. Unfortunately, Jose had died of a heart attack five years earlier but his wife Odete and the children invited me to stay with them. I then mentioned that you can never go back but it would be interesting to know what happened to Rosinha. “Who is Rosinha?” Normally, I would never bring up a history that might belittle the significance of her family. Her romantic side glowed as I told of dropping my life in the USA and immigrating to Brazil for the love of a lady. Over time, I have shared many personal experiences as they are much a part of the romance of travel. Touching the lives of individuals along the way vastly broadens the horizon.
Life is a matter of choice. I have always chosen airline tickets over toys. I equated my recent purchase of an HDTV as ‘it could have been airline tickets to Tahiti.’ Stranger yet is that I rarely watch TV. Perhaps the reality is that I was simply trying to lure a fading heart back into my arms. I guess I should have worked more on my charm than material things.
Life is not equipped with a rewind button to fix a bad choice or fast-forward to see what your decisions will bring.
Still not resigned to complacent behavior, I do savor the magic at a moment in discovering real love. I will overcome Kipling’s claim (The more you 'ave known o' the others the less will you settle to one.) for love is unsettling.
I've taken my fun where I've found it,
An' now I must pay for my fun,
For the more you 'ave known o' the others
The less will you settle to one;
An' the end of it's sittin' and thinkin',
An' dreamin' Hell-fires to see;
So be warned by my lot (which I know you will not),
An' learn about women from me!