In a previous post on Sarah and Sullivan: A Love Story For The Ages, I wrote:
A letter expressing that love is a testimony which time cannot diminish. The page may fade, but the words never do.
Some words are immortal because they capture those mystic chords of memory. These mystic chords of memory were formed when the morning stars sang, and the cosmic symphony played its first concert at the dawn of creation.
The story of Joe Datsko and Doris Ross is one of those wartime romances which would have been forgotten except that Joe kept the letters—718 of them to be precise. Now, at 90 years of age (as of February 4), the Ann Arbor, Michigan, World War II veteran is “typing the letters” of their correspondence when he was in the Navy.
Eventually, those letters between Joe and Doris grew into a love which culminated on August 8, 1946 when they were married. Their marriage and ever-increasing love continued until February 14, 2010 when Doris faded from this mortal life.
Now, Joe is revisiting those letters and reliving the memories which have faded over the decades. For him it is a connection to the one with whom he shared over six decades of life on this planet traversing the cosmos.
The last written correspondence from his beloved Doris was found on the dresser the day she died—February 14, 2010. It was, appropriately, a valentine card expressing her thankfulness for all the years which they shared.
I am reminded of a song by Vera Lynn: It Hurts To Say Goodbye.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65r9s2tWUAA
For Joe as the song says:
Wherever you are,
you will always be near to me,
wherever I go,
you’ll be here in my heart.
Joe and Doris’ love will be remembered long after he is gone because he will be sharing their letters with the rest of us. Perhaps, somewhere in the streams of the cosmic ocean, Joe and Doris will meet again. Will he find his Nani once again? Nani was Joe’s name for Doris. It’s Hawaiian for beautiful.
For Joe, heaven is summed up in three words—travel, romance and music. Are not all three to be found in the cosmic ocean which we will rejoin when our journey on this orb ends?
Once again, Vera Lynn: We’ll Meet Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHcunREYzNY
G. D. Williams © 2011
For more information on Joe Datsko and His Letters:
http://www.annarbor.com/news/at-nearly-90-joe-datsko-continues-to-pursue-his-love-of-bike-riding/
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