DR. BOOKER: A ROMANTIC FOOL?

 by Dr. Booker

Dr. Piper and I have had many late night discussions about romance. She often looks at me as if I am an alien and I can see she is trying hard to figure out what planet I am from. Before she left on sabbatical I told her how I became a romantic. I also asked her if it would be all right if PepSi University had some romantic fun while she was gone, so she would not have to face it while she was here. She agreed to my idea and suggested that I share my story.

But Dr. Piper also warned me that every time the LOVE word is mentioned by me, her Blackberry will ding--no matter where she is in the world. I suggested that she put her Blackberry on vibrate and she turned bright red and said she would not be comfortable with what "that implied." That is the difference between the two doctors: I would love that vibrating Blackberry and she would rather have a ding.

How did I become a romantic? It didn't come naturally to me, and I admit I had to work at it. I lived in a home that had two parents who never smiled at each other, never touched hands, never hugged and certainly never kissed. I thought this was normal behavior, until I started watching old movies on television. I mean OLD black and white films and they introduced me to romance. Two films stand out to me: It Happened One Night (1934) and Random Harvest (1942) and they are two of my favorite films of all time. These films showed me that couples could laugh and tease, they could share intense longing looks, and they could kiss like they have been waiting a lifetime to do so. I knew then that I wanted that kind of love, and not the kind my parents had or didn't have.

When I discovered Pepa and Silvia, it was like the old movies had been updated. Here we had flirting, fighting, seduction, and the long awaited kiss. I loved these two women and was hoping their love would last forever.

A student recently asked me, "Dr. Booker, what is the best thing about being in love?"

Not surprisingly, I couldn't give one single answer, but here are my top five answers for today:

1. walking into a crowded room and making eye contact with your partner and you just know everything...you just know
   
2. holding hands while walking out of the movie theatre
3. waking up early and seeing her sleeping next to you, and she is smiling
4. she makes you a cup of tea before you know you want one
5. kissing her after she has the hiccups, holding and kissing her after she has cried, kissing after you have danced the slowest dance in the entire world. Kissing...just kissing.

Being a romantic allows me to have a happy outlook on life, without being in denial. Romantics see the world clearly, but we do know two things: that there is much to hope for and that someone is there to greet us at the end of the day.

Dr. Piper's Blackberry must be dinging all over Europe by now. While she is gone we will be silly and romantic. Just like Pepa and Silvia. We have been inspired by these two women and we are going to dance, frisk, eat and kiss. There is a reason that we have chosen to work or attend PepSi University, and now is the time to celebrate that decision.

Dr. Booker