Special Marriage

Through the years, my late wife and I were friends with several couples.  Often, the lady in a couple would confide in us, because she knew that we would never tell anyone about certain situations related to marriage, and would never give clues as to who had confided in us. Sometimes both parties would tell us secrets.

We were concerned about a few couples who said that they either slept in separate beds or who split up each night and slept in different homes.  

Why be married if you could not share a bed with your loved one?

The New York Times posted an article last year that seemed to bring understanding to my question.

If a devout Catholic obtains a divorce, they are not allowed to consummate a marriage with someone else.  That would be "living in sin."  However, the couple could get permission to live as "brother and sister" in a "Josephite marriage." 

Such a union was inspired by the relationship between "Joseph and the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus."

As I think back, the couples who told us they didn't sleep together were devout Roman Catholics who had been divorced. 

Another mystery solved.

More Questions

Back in the 1990's, the Q and A SIG of Mensa published a monthly newsletter called "The Rational Inquirer." 

Readers would send in questions on topics they were interested in, and other readers would respond by trying to address the questions.  For Instance:

Q: Why do we use a 12-hour clock instead of a 24-hour clock?

A:  The ancient Egyptians divided the day into 12 equal parts, and then did the same for the night. 

The Babylonians must have liked "12" because they then invented the 12 signs of the zodiac to describe the movement of the sun, moon, and planets.

The 12-hour clock just evolved over time in Europe.  It fit into the scheme of things related to the number 12.

Q:  What use is the groove on our upper lip, just below our nose?

A:  It's called "nasolabial philtrum" and without it we could not smile.  Chimpanzees do not have this facial feature, so they don't smile.  

Some folks insist that their dogs smile, at least when they are puppies.  I wouldn't try to see if pit bulls can smile. 

Francine sent me an interesting article on Sitcoms. Here is a list - how many have you seen on your TV screen?

I Love Lucy 1951-1957

The Honeymooners 1955-1956

Leave It To Beaver 1957-1963

The Andy Griffith Show 1960-1968

The Mary Tyler Moore Show 1970-1977

The Odd Couple 1970-1975

All In The Family 1971-1979

The Jeffersons 1975-1985

Cheers 1982-1993

The Golden Girls 1985-1992

Friends 1994-2004

The Simpsons 1989-

Seinfeld 1989-1998

The Office 2005-2013

Black-Ish 2014-2022

Schitt's Creek 2015-2020

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia 2005-

I watched 11 of these 16 sitcoms.  

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