My next love would be Herbert. He was the drummer in our band and an unusual choice for me. I found him to be strangely attractive, very quiet, and most mysterious. He was not a flirt by any standard, nor womanizer as I had witnessed so many times before. He was a loner. During one of our tours we were forced to share a suite. I had a terrible case of bronchitis and needed medical attention, was prescribed medicine that would require taking every four hours. Herbert volunteered to wake me every four hours in the night to do so. I fell head over heels in love with this person who cared so much for me. Never in my life had my mother or father showed such care and concern. In fact, my mother had left her flock when I was one year old and the youngest of four. My dad’s girlfriend moved in and spent the next eleven years taking care of us.
I gave Herbert my heart, my soul, my life until...I found out someone else was managing to receive an equal part of his heart. I was devastated. How could he? How did he? He could and he did! I realized I was a bad judge of character when it came to men. More importantly, I realized all people in general have a dark side and a twisted nature. What we think is good can be bad and what we think is bad can be good. I thought Herbert was faithful, loyal, and the best thing since devils food chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. I was devastated and swore I would never fall in love again! Sometimes it takes a lifetime of experiences to teach us the wisdom we need to really enjoy and appreciate life on earth. Herbert’s most recent wife thought he was a wonderful man and father to her children all the way through until the day he recently died of a brain tumor. I wish I could have seen him or spoken words of forgiveness to him. I can only hope he knew he was.
