The Beatles Might Have Been on to Something

My Uncle Bill and Aunt Ona Lee seem to be on the right track. They met each other late in life, each of them having moved on from previous marriages, but they look to have made up for lost time.

They live in beautiful Eugene, Oregon. Not only is their home stylish and roomy, but it rests against a backdrop of gorgeous trees and plentiful wildlife. Bill has taken to naming a squirrel that frequents their backyard and regards the bushy-tailed rodent as a pet of sorts. I see dozens of deer during my stay there, to the point that they cease being majestic and start becoming a nuisance.

While watching football with Bill, I spot a doe grazing three feet from the house. The large windows allow for a perfect view, so I motion for Bill to check out the doe. The second Bill looks over, the doe decides to deliver a present in pellet form.

Oops. Not quite the sight I was going for. I guess not everything about nature is beautiful.

Bill and Ona Lee are retired, but they both find plenty of ways to stay busy. I am invited to spend the night, but am offered an apology because neither relative plans to be around the next day. Bill is golfing with some buddies and Ona Lee is meeting a friend for walking and shopping. When Bill gets back from golf, he immediately schedules a fishing trip for the next day.

The couple are completely in love. They have been together for years, but still have that newlywed dynamic. Bill reminds Ona Lee how much he loves her multiple times during my two day stay with the couple, and those are just the times when I was around. Ona Lee is quick to return the favor, and though she is less overtly expressive in her adoration for Bill, her eyes are quick to betray her.

And why shouldn't they be in love? Ona Lee is as nice a person as you could possibly meet. She makes a point to stay busy and to stay in shape, which becomes even more impressive to me as the evidence of her outstanding culinary abilities grows. As for Bill, well, he's a Mosier. That means he was blessed with almost superhuman genetics in looks, intelligence, and modesty.

When Ona Lee returns from shopping all day, excited about her purchases, Bill eagerly watches as she shows him the clothes and dishes she has bought. He not only feigns interest in her new shoes, he seems genuinely interested, which means my uncle is either a) disturbingly intrigued by womens' shoes or b) totally and hopelessly in love.

When it comes time for me to move on from my stay in Eugene, Ona Lee heads over to sign my van while Bill picks some apples for me from his front yard apple tree.

"Thanks Bill," I say, always a fan of free food. "Don't forget to sign my van."

"Oh, that's okay," he replies confidently. "Ona Lee signed it for me. After all, we do everything together."

Alright, that one made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

The point is, Uncle Bill found someone who makes him sincerely, thoroughly, unapologetically happy. Ona Lee is his meaning of life. Ona Lee is his life. And I've never seen my uncle happier.