Tag Archives: Australia

Darling Speaks Funny and Sir is Rewarded (Part 2)

My Dear Satiable Sir,

As stated in a previous letter, I ordered an appetizer in my ‘Ah-mer-i-cun’ speak. My scallops morphed into a salad much to my confusion. In order to rectify the situation, I was brought a salad and scallops (I was full before we even had our entrée).

As I was tasting the scrumptious scallops, I bit upon something hard. I spat it out and inspected the offensive object. You took it from me and also gave it your thorough attention. It appeared to be a small piece of plastic. You called the waiter over, and added to his embarrassment after the appetizer kerfuffle by showing him the piece of plastic that was in my dish of scallops.

As an apology, the waiter brought over a very nice glass of port after our meal. As a non-alcoholic drinker, I laughed at the irony. I took a small sip of port just to say I did then I pushed the glass over your way. You took one for the team and happily consumed the conciliatory glass of hootch. That’s my stalwart Sir.

I love you dearly and most sincerely.

Always refined,

Darling

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My Over Egged Darling

Yes you did get it all when it came to entrees at that particular establishment, both salad and scallops. But let’s be honest you were always a “have your cake and eat it too” kind of girl.

The scallops were scrumdiddlyumptious as I recall. Looking back at it now I think the piece of plastic may have actually been one of the chemical “rocks” they add to hydroponically grown vegetables. I may very well be wrong but it seems like a perfectly reasonable explanation for how it got there. Regardless, it most certainly did not belong anywhere in your meal. 

As for the tasty glass of fortified wine proffered by way of apology, it really did seem the least they could. I’m not sure I would have been able to stop at one though. I have always been a “nothing exceeds like excess” kind of guy. 

Imbibingly Yours

From Sir With Love

©2014  Darling and Sir

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Toe-May-Toe or Toe-Mah-Toe

My Dear Verbose Sir,

Apparently I talk funny my love.

Once when we dined out, I ordered scallops,  in my damn Yankee speak, as an hors d’oeuvre. The waiter brought us our appetizers and placed a salad before me. He noticed the confusion on my face and asked if the salad wasn’t to my liking. I told him the salad looked great, but it wasn’t what I ordered. You informed him that I had ordered scallops in your proper Australian accent. The waiter sheepishly stated that he thought I said ‘salad.’ I suppose it was easier for him to guess what I said instead of asking for clarification from the Australian man sitting across from me. Or maybe it was a pride thing?

You thought it was hysterical. We both laughed, and it’s a great memory for us now. This wasn’t the only faux pas that happened to us during our many dining experiences, but I will save them for another letter. Suffice it to say I still like scallops and salad. I’m versatile that way.

Hungrily yours,

Darling

This is not a salad.

This is not a salad.

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My Ravenous Darling

You have nothing like a damn Yankee accent. In fact I would be hard pressed to establish what region you hail from based on your accent alone. I am sure your speech patterns have a very proper name, something like “North American uninflected” or other such guff. I have no idea what it’s really called but it is certainly not southern and definitely not Yankee.

I fear the problem came when you said out loud “scallops.” Here in Australia it is pronounced with a soft “a” whereas your pronunciation was much harder. Therefore to his tender ears it would have sounded like “scallops” with the “cal” part sounding the same as it would in “California,” whereas here in Australia the “a” is pronounced as an “o.” The “cal” sounds the same as it would in “collar.” Therefore to represent it phonetically it would read “scollops.” To his delicate hearing it sounded closer to “salad” than “scallops.”

Clearly you had an issue with seafood while you were here my love. Between the oysters and the scallops our culinary world was rising up against you. I know you prevailed, however you even lived to tell the tale.

Epicureaningly Yours

From Sir With Love

©2014  Darling and Sir

Mr. Sir, Is That You?

My Soothing Sir,

That first night after I texted you after all those years, I had trouble sleeping. My head was still reeling with the reality that we had just exchanged messages. I felt surreal. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that we had actually communicated. The next day at work it was all I could think of, and I know there was a part of me that couldn’t quite believe that it was indeed you.

With that thought process weighing on my mind, I surprised myself (and you) by ringing you out of the blue the next evening after work. I kept thinking that if I heard your voice, it would all be genuine. I had never forgotten your voice. I needed and wanted that connection to be able to accept that it really was you who was responding to my messages.

I dialed your number and you answered. I heard you. You said words and sentences to me, but I felt bewildered. I could tell it was you, but you didn’t sound as I had remembered. I felt let down and dismayed with myself. I was appalled to think that my memory of your voice – the one thing I had prided myself in remembering – was flawed. I tried to hide my disappointment in myself. I couldn’t contain my emotions, and I finally disclosed to you what I was thinking. You told me later how that made you feel. It’s really quite comical now, and I think I’ll let you finish this story.

Suffice it to say, that it all worked out in the end, and the puzzle was solved. I wasn’t as erroneous as I assumed. You are Sir – voice and all.

Mesmerizingly yours,

Darling

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My Shocking Darling

I remember that call all too well. Yes we had texted earlier in my day, and I had postponed an appointment so we could continue to do so. When I finally left I headed out and I can remember standing at my friend’s back door with tears streaming down my face. I was an absolute dribbling idiot. I headed home and cracked a bottle of wine. I just sat at my computer desk and tried to distract myself by playing some old computer game or another.

Night began to fall and there I was sitting in my darkened home with no light other than the evil glow of my neglected computer screen. There was a knock on my door and my same  friend had arrived to check on my well being.  It did not look good.  Here I was sitting alone in the dark inhaling a bottle of wine. All I could do was think of you. My thoughts and emotions were a blur. I reassured her that I would still be alive in the morning, and that I would not be on the next flight to America. She left and I continued my consumption. 

Well one bottle led to another and suddenly it was 10.00pm and my phone rang. I knew it was you. I had saved your details into Tango. At that point I don’t think I even knew that Tango had voice capabilities. I remember registering a modicum of surprise at that fact. In the context of my day it was small change however, the fact we had spoken for the first time in 14 years was the killer on that front.

You my love, had at least been to sleep. I however was one glass away from finishing my second bottle of what was quite frankly pretty awful wine and I was emotionally overwrought when my phone began ringing. Of course I answered, there was never any question. I remember being devastated when you said I didn’t sound the same. As you know I have always been a little vain when it comes to my voice. I tried to explain that the emotion and the wine weren’t helping. I could tell by the incredulity in your tone that you were more than a little doubtful on that fact. If for one moment I had thought you would call I would have remained stone cold stone sober. 

So there you have it. Our first conversation after fourteen years, and I was an emotional drunk. Why did you call again?

Imbibingly Yours

From Sir With Love

©2014  Darling and Sir

You Had Me At – Did You Think I Was Going to Call?

My Dear Commanding Sir,

I was skipping through movies, and I saw “Jerry Maguire.”  I remember the part where Jerry was expressing his love for Dorothy and says, “I Love you. You complete me.”  Dorothy replies, “Shut up. Just shut up you had me at hello.”

I was recalling our letter “The Virtual Beginning” where I reminisced the first words you ever said to me.

Well Sir, you had me at “Did you think I was going to call?”  I think it’s much more dramatic than “hello,” and it’s personal.

I don’t think you’re going to call – I know it.

Affirmingly yours,

Darling

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My Surprising Darling

You have just compared me in favourable light to Tom Cruise. What can I say?

Well I promise not to join some nut job religion, nor will I jump up and down on Oprah’s sofa when I next appear on her show.

I was always going to call my love, and I will continue to do so until you tell me otherwise.

Ringingly Yours

From Sir With Love

©2014 Darling and Sir

Ten Random Things (Times Two)

Darling asked Sir to list ten random things about himself and she did the same. Next time they’ll write ten things about each other.

So here they are, ten useless things about Darling and Sir.

Random Facts About Darling

1. Reads like crazy

2. Used to water ski 6 days a week

3. Taught dance

4. Loves the color purple

5. Works in education

6. Sings in the shower – loudly

7. Loves pedicures, facials, and massages

8. Listens to classical music

9. Never has enough lip gloss

10. 13 is her lucky number

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Random Facts About Sir

1.   Trained as an English / History teacher but barely did it.

2.   Used to have an excellent wine cellar until he drank it all

3.   Is a qualified marriage celebrant and has conducted many marriages

4.   Plays jazz piano to relax

5.   Is an only child

6.   Is a mad fan of Doctor Who

7.   Enjoys watching cricket (but couldn’t play it to save his life)

8.   Shares the same lucky number and favourite colour with his Darling

9.   Imbibes too much peat whisky

10. Recently took 4 months off and went on a solo driving holiday (24,000 kilometres in all) right around Australia.

©2014 Darling and Sir

 

Fondly Known as BP

Dear Sir and Ms. Darling,

It makes me immensely happy to be a part of this journey called ‘The Sir Letters’ on WordPress. As you would be aware, I started following your blog from its nascent stages. I will quickly run through the usual accolades that people shower on you, as a show of respect, before I move on to why I love your blog. You two are masters of the written word (no, no and no I shall not accept any refusal from you on this one), you embody soul and spirit through your words, it is impossible to lose attention when one reads your posts and I mean everything I have said here.

There is nothing more pleasing than a good love story. I believe, we enrich our own love for our dear ones, as we relate to and appreciate another’s love. Your story has been extremely thought provoking, to put it mildly. Oft times, I’ve imagined being with you to spectate as I read through your vivid portrayal of love. I feel like the camera on ‘Big Brother’, the all-seeing-eye, but I just flatter myself with that thought as you deserve the credit for being able to present it in such a manner. I have felt the laughter, the smiles, the fear, the sadness, the pain, even the tea that Ms. Darling once made.

Like so many of your followers, I wished to share the same place, to experience the same kind of love, to love and to be loved unbound. Like all good stories, yours teaches many lessons. It has taught me how to love, how to respect, how to not make mistakes as well as how to be patient. Now you know why I find your writings endearing.

You have touched my life in ways I cannot express and I am not even alluding to my limitations with the English language. I just cannot explain, even if my diction improved a 100 fold. It is something I feel. I will end this passage with one of my all time favorite quotes; this should suffice to sum up what I wanted to say –

 The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, heard or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.  – Helen Keller

I do have a few questions for you. Some are for Sir, some are for Ms. Darling and some are for you both as a couple.

Sir,

I understand that you met Ms. Darling online and over time you decided to meet her in person. What was your expectation of Ms. Darling when you decided to meet? Did you intend to evaluate if she was someone you could live with for the rest of your life, or was it out of curiosity to see how far this goes or did you already make the decision that she was the one for you and you wanted to plan what came next?

It was close to eighteen months between first meeting my Darling online and seeing her in real life. I had very real expectations of who and what my Darling would be, she did not disappoint. There was certainly no intention of evaluating her as we had taken the last year and half to size each other up; meeting in the flesh was just the last hurdle. She was very much the one and by the end of her trip we were very much planning what was going to come next.

I have read about how heart-broken you were at losing contact with Ms. Darling. I have also read about how your marriage had failed and how you felt bad about what had happened. During this phase, were there moments when you wished to check on Ms. Darling? Yes it may sound selfish, if you were trying to look her up during your testing times. But at the same time did you have the feeling that she could be living a difficult life too and maybe you could lift her spirits in some way?

I didn’t wish to check on her, I did check on her. I found out about her education and an awful accident that befell a member of her family. I didn’t do this often but I had a misguided belief that I would be happy if I could live vicariously through my Darling’s happiness.

We all know what would be the one thing you would correct/change, if you could travel to the past. But I wish to know, how would you have done it?

I would have slipped an engagement ring on her finger right there and then. I would have stayed in contact with her regardless, and if we had lost contact I would have jumped on a plane and gone to find her.

Why Ms. Darling (Why not Ms. Darling, will not be accepted)? What traits in her attracted you and at what point, if it is something you can discern, did you feel that you had fallen in love with her?

She is smart, funny and quick witted. I admire those traits and she consistently displayed them over an extended period of time. She is kind, a good mother and is a good listener, and these are all excellent traits. In terms of knowing when I loved her, I couldn’t tell you a date. I can say it happened fairly quickly. We both fought it and I dare say tried to deny it, however we were over powered by the emotion.

Ms. Darling,

You are a resilient, self-made woman whose thoughts are well crafted      and actions are well reasoned. Returning to the past is not an option for any of us, but how do you see yourself 10 years from now?

I really can’t say how I see myself 10 years from now. I can barely look into next week. I don’t mean to disappoint you, but I am flummoxed how to answer this. I suppose I hopefully see myself a little wiser with some gray hairs to match (or shall I call them stress highlights?). I want to be kinder, more compassionate, and a lot more forgiving. As for the physical demographics, I really cannot say. It’s kind of weird to think about.

When a close friend asks you about your story, do you open up and tell them all that happened, how you had felt and had been through? Do words roll out eventually incriminating Sir or do you carefully chose your words so as to not create any impression about him?

I don’t think I’ve ever shared my whole story with anyone.  I have yet to even tell friends – or family for that matter – about The Sir Letters in specific detail. I have mentioned that I’m writing again, and I may have even referred to the format in which I am writing but I have not told anyone the actual site. I am not one to boast of my writing. I know I have told people in general about Sir and that we’ve reconnected. My sister knows about Sir, and she’s talked with him.

With the exception of one person who knows the summarized version about my time with Sir, I have never shared in full living details about being with him. I think it was too special to me at the time, and I wanted to savor it and keep it to myself. To be honest, after Sir said goodbye I think I felt too foolish and hurt to share. I just buried it. I think the only place I’ve ever said harsh words about Sir has been in these letters, and even those were difficult. I don’t like the thought of anyone judging him or his actions.

Why Sir (Why not Sir, will not be accepted)? What traits in him attracted you and at what point, if it is you can discern it, did you feel that you have fallen in love with him?

If memory serves, I knew I loved Sir before I met him, but it was a love based on mutual intellect, shared laughter, and trust. It was a bit surreal. It was cemented when I met him in person. The moment that it truly sunk in, was the first night I was in Australia. I was so wired from the long flight, and Sir was incredibly patient. I wrote about how he was standing in his living room watching me. I stopped in front of him and looked into his eyes. They were glowing. Then he smiled at me. I’m surprised I didn’t hit the floor right then and there. I just thought, “I love this man.” His good traits are many. He gets my jokes and my weirdness. He just gets me. He can finish my sentences. He doesn’t flinch when I’m emotional. He’ll just say, “Wow” when I do something totally foolish or uncharacteristic of me. He is incredibly compassionate. When I saw him with his parents, he was so tender-hearted and kind. I remember thinking that any man who treats his parents with such love and respect is a keeper.

Sir and Ms. Darling,

When you started writing this blog, what was your purpose? Did you intend to write, to remind yourselves and journal the whole journey, or did you intend to open up to the world and see what others thought about this whole story?

The blog was very much Darling’s idea. When she told me about it I just asked for the right of reply. There are two sides to every story but I knew my Darling would need to work through the issues of our past (she still does). I personally felt it would be better if I were there to listen and where possible help. Who knows, I may be wrong.

I started this blog so Sir would always know how I feel about him hence “The Sir Letters.” It may sound macabre but, I wanted my feelings documented in case anything ever happened to me he’d have a permanent record. I actually contemplated writing letters the old-fashioned way (long hand with pen and paper), but I am very much a technology lover. I had a few letters written before I got up the courage to show Sir. When I did show him, he didn’t even hesitate; he asked if he could respond. And here we are.

Now that there is a small community of faithful followers, do you find yourselves approaching, reacting or writing differently?

At the risk of sounding conceited these are very much letters between the two of us. Sometime we probably write things that we may find a little hard to say out loud. While I know we have readers, I make no conscious decision to write for our audience. We often have a number of letters in draft form. We often discuss which ones should be posted in what order and so we try to mix it up so it is not all of the same tone all the time. But in terms of the content I would tell anyone to treat it like the off button on a TV remote control. If you don’t like what you’re reading, switch it off.

I concur with Sir. I have never even considered changing the way I write to him just because we decided to go public with our letters. That just wouldn’t be right. The only time we switched modus operandi was when we invited guest correspondents.

The letters have so far focused on the past. If I am right, there was only one letter that was set in the present. Would we have more letters on what is happening in your lives today?

I would agree that many letters focus on the past, but out of the 110 or so post that we have up quite a large number of them reference our current circumstances.  The old school teacher in me feels the need to set some homework and ask you to read through some letters again.

Tsk tsk BP.  Quite a fair few are impromptu letters written on spur of the moment on whatever I was thinking about right then.

That is all I have to ask, for now. I could ask so much more but, I shall stop. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to write on your blog. I thought of a portmanteau for your names – D’Sire. If you like it, I shall use it to address you on my comments in the future.

I wish you eternal happiness and peace. I hope the last letter we read on this blog ends, “Sir and Ms. Darling were once again together and they lived happily ever after….”

Good luck and Godspeed

BP (Walking With Her Forever)

Thank you for your letter BP. While you may not have been with us and The Sir Letters in its inception, you were pretty darn close. It’s out of characteristic and odd when I don’t see a comment from you. I guess I just expect them now.    ~ Darling

© 2014 Darling and Sir

Grip on Reality

My Dearest Sir,

I love your hands. It is such a simple statement, yet it holds so much emotion for me. We held hands everywhere and at every chance.  When I first found the videos of you playing the piano, I sat and stared at your hands; It surprised me that I recognized them. The memories came flooding back. Memories that I thought I had lost.  I played the videos over and over.

I kissed and sucked your fingertips.  We grasped hands as we made love. You touched my face with your hands. I can picture your hands on my legs and body. I see your hand holding mine at dinner. Your hands symbolized strength, security, and love.

I love you Sir – hands and all.

Palming-ly yours,

Darling

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My Darling

What can I say about my hands? I think the obvious thing is that I long for them to hold you again. It amazes me that you could connect them to my efforts at the piano. My YouTube videos? Well they most certainly benefited from the hits your repeated plays garnered for me. I would be more than happy to perform for you live my love. The song choice is yours to select.

I remember running my hands all along your body. I glided them from your ankles to your neck and all the regions in between. I caressed your face. I stroked your hair. I held you firmly yet lovingly against me. I ache to do so again.

You just don’t have to take the hands my love. You get all of me.  I await your summons.

Caressingly Yours

From Sir With Love

©2014 Darling and Sir

Fifteen Years Ago on March 7th

Dear Sir,

I met you sweetheart. You held me in your arms. You kissed me. You loved me. You changed my life.

I love you.

Yours truly,
Darling

15 Year Celebration

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My Dearest Darling

Has it been fifteen years? I l still remember that woman who walked down the airport ramp pushing her luggage on a trolley. She came to meet a stranger in a strange land. You changed me too my Darling. I love you still.

You Will Always Be My Darling

From Sir With Love

©2014 Darling and Sir