This Mysterious Thing Called Romance

Romance is like pornography. We can't define it but we know it when we see it.

Or do we? Romance isn't one of those things that flaps in the wind like a flag. It isn't a frozen frame in a movie that shows two people walking in the park, holding hands, and kissing. That's a movie. It is a fantasy.

Maybe that's what romance is. A fantasy created by an invisible scriptwriter in the sky.

Some dictionaries define romance as a mysterious feeling of of excitement associated with love.

Well, okay, what is love? What is excitement? What is mysterious?

Are you beginning to get the message? Defining romance isn't easy. Maybe in the final analysis, romance is what we decide individually for ourselves.

We know what excitement is. There's that giddy, shaky feeling when we are near or when we touch someone we feel attracted to. We begin to breathe a little faster and a little heavier when we are near enough to feel the warmth of someone. Our heart rate increases when we touch lips.

What more do we need to know? Certainly, a complete and full understanding of the chemical analysis of love would not enhance our feelings. In fact, it might fix our minds on minute details to such an extent that we can't or don't want to, have fun.

Just imagine, you're lips have just touched your partner's. Suddenly, you visualize molecules increasing in heat intensity and jiggling around like Mexican jumping beans. You say to your partner, "Dear, did you know that the chemical composition of lip skin is 41 percent boric acid?"

Imagine the reaction. "Yeah, yeah. What's on Channel 69 tonight?"

I'm keeping my options open and defining it any way I want to. I don't give a rat's bun about Channel 69.