Posted on 11/25/2005 10:42:22 AM PST by Congressman Billybob
My wife, Kemberly, has left. That’s ordinary enough. It happens a few million times a year, assuming that half of all American divorces are the wife’s idea. But this is about the why, not the what, of that decision.
The why is unique, and extraordinary. If I were she, and she were I, I would do the same thing. (Work on it. That sentence is grammatically correct.)
My wife has been offered the job of Head Chef of a new restaurant out of town, to be built and run to her specifications. To that you say, well, some commuter marriages work. Not this time. The restaurant is a few miles outside Pago Pago in American Samoa. And that is 8,000 miles from my home in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Our situation raises an interesting philosophical question. Would you, should you, leave your husband/wife if the chance of a lifetime – the chance of several lifetimes – came along?
Here’s our story. The Internet recounted its beginning, so it’s appropriate it should recount its end. We began with serendipity, a Newsweek recommendation of my column that brought me together with a lady from Indiana who read it. We end with serendipity, also.
Anyone with skills as a chef, and manager, and caterer, would jump at the opportunity to run a brand-new, four-star restaurant, if such an opening came to his/her attention. A fair number of you are closet chefs. You watch the Food Network. You think maybe you could chuck your humdrum day job and build a satisfying future with a special food product, or a brand-new restaurant. You know who you are. I saw you smile.
But opportunities like that aren’t advertised in the paper. Like much else which appears in the newspapers, things aren’t what they claim. You can rest assured that a help wanted ad that says it offers the “Opportunity of a Lifetime,” doesn’t.
Here’s the story behind this story. Back in June, Kem made a business trip to American Samoa. The population is about 67,000, but of those the ones who come from mainland US or other nations are a smaller group and everyone knows everybody. When anyone new shows up, the residents get to know him/her promptly. It’s the equivalent of waiting for the stage in the American West a century ago.
Anyway, it turns out that a group of businessmen were interested in creating a new, four-star restaurant near Pago Pago. They knew what they wanted, but not who would do it. Enter a talented woman from North Carolina. Everybody invites each other in that group home for dinner. (There ain’t a lot of nighttime entertainment in Samoa.)
So, the folks on the island found out that Kem is a fine cook. They also found out that she knows her way around commercial equipment and management for kitchens, and multiple styles of cooking from many nations. To make a long story short, she had an opportunity to become Head Chef, and partner, with full creative control.
She looked at three possible locations for the restaurant, two for new construction and one a mansion with wrap-around porches overlooking the Pacific. Think of the architecture and environment described in Somerset Maugham’s famous short story, “Rain.” He was living on Samoa when he wrote that.
Kem has not described to me how long it took her to consider this offer that came out of the blue. Maybe she didn’t want to hurt my feelings worse by telling me that her delay was measured in nanoseconds rather than days or weeks. In any event, she returned to North Carolina, and immediately told me the good news (or bad news, depending on your viewpoint).
I understood right away how incredible this opportunity was for her, and why she wanted to accept it. So, instead of getting hysterical, I’ve worked with her on such details as getting a long-term, no-cut contract, and possible copyright issues with the name of the restaurant. So there you have it; probably the most extraordinary reason for the end of a marriage that you’ve ever heard.
Will I miss Kem? You bet. Do I wish her well? Absolutely. Since many readers of my columns are friends of both of us, drop her a line care of my address and I’ll get it to her. And if you’re in Pago Pago in about 14 months, look her up at the club, have “a Thanksgiving dinner that can’t be beat,” and say hello.
About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
I did NOT misquote. NIV in this particular verse is right on the money.
Then look at the difference between what the NIV says and what the Original KJV says, and tell me that the NIV's translation is accurate! The NIV is a rewrite of the original...and many things were not accurate in that rewrite.
So funny that you would say that...the KJV is the original version. What could be more accurate!
KJV is the first English version. If you wanted the first, original version of the bible, you would have to learn to read Greek and Hebrew.
This conversation is becoming tedious with you just finding ways to try to discredit me. I grow tired of it, and will not respond to any more of your tiresome dribble.
What exactly do you think "putting away" means?
Malachi 2:16
New King James: "For the Lord God of Israel says that he hates divorce..."
Jerusalem: "For I hate divorce, says Yahweh the God of Israel..."
New American: ""For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel..."
You need to withdraw your slander.
ping to 289
You would be wise to shut up and quit flaunting your arrant ignorance. You're giving Christians an undeserved reputation for stupidity in front of the whole world. The prophet Malachi spoke and wrote in Hebrew, not in 15th century English.
Did you know that there are multiple languages in the world? And that God did not give us His Word in English, but in Greek, Hebrew,and Aramaic?
You would be wise to look a little further and read post 286. I realize the original was in greek and hebrew...the KJV was the first done in English.
>>...the KJV was the first done in English.
<<
Untrue.
http://www.greatsite.com/facsimile-reproductions/wycliffe-1385.html
This is actually a better link - Wycliffe's translation predates the KJV by 250 years.
http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/index.html#timeline
I suspect what many here take for complacency is just acceptance of the situation, and trying to be graceful about something you alone cannot change.
I have been there, it was not my choice.
May God Bless you (both).
Keep the faith, sir, better things are in store.
I hope it all turns out well for both of you.
Don't think of this experience as an end; think of it as an opportunity to watch TV in your underwear, fart, belch and scratch, and to drink as much beer as you want.
Seriously, best of luck to both of you.
"so what do you suppose.."putting away" meant?
How about this ..."And Joseph, being a just man, thought to "put her" away privily.
The phrase refers to divorce.
The Bible also says, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? "
I Cor. 2-3.
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