LETTER: Holding hands is not a form of PDA

Dear Editor, Many interesting things were said in an article on Monday, Feb. 11, many of which I happen to agree with. I am against Public Displays of Affection such as playing tonsil hockey or necking and petting in the major traffic areas of campus. However, I tend to disagree with the opinion on holding hands in public and the staring into the eyes of the one person on this Earth who actually should mean everything to you. Now, if they were to bump into or clothesline everyone as they walked along the sidewalk, I would begin to have a problem. Now, having no true experience on the subject of marriage, other than fantasizing about getting married to the person I love the most, I decided to ask my parents, who have been married for 28 years, their opinions. My first comment was to the effect that I felt something was missing from his marriage and that his wife’s opinion saddened me. To which my mother replied, “I agree with you. But I also see that there is something in the two individuals who are married. They own envy – and you don’t really need that. Yes, I have stretch marks and pounds left over from the pregnancies, but the resulting children are more than worth it. And the many moves have been great adventures, with new friends and experiences in each place. I guess people focus on things that are important to themselves. I also really enjoy being so close to Dad that when something comes up or someone says something, we can look at each other and be thinking the same thing. We still disagree and are individuals, but the advantages of having someone close are really awesome.” Again, my parents have been married for 28 years. My mother has stretch marks and unlost pounds from seven children. In my lifetime, we have moved at least four times that I can remember and every time was different and exciting to all of us children. That’s the kind of marriage I want to raise my children in.

Jim Brown