Martha and Mark, who masterminded the format of this presentation, asked me to write something covering the era of the 1970's regarding Peter and Mary. This was not as easy as other decades for me, as I was away at school, etc for most of the 70's, and when I did come home, I wasn't paying much attention. Most of that time I was an adolescent who was of course critical of everything and unable to see very clearly even when I was paying attention. Now, that I have been out in the real world for a few decades I am able to appreciate the real strengths of Peter and Mary' s relationship. They seem to have mastered the art of taking care of each other while each retaining enough of an independent life to not resent each other. And on top of that, they still seem to enjoy each other's company.

One example that encapsulates it all is the trip to Jamaica we all took when I was in high school. Most of the trip was perfect....I remember all of us going out to hear Reggae, and Peter and Mary obviously enjoying the trip and each other. I remember Peter going off on one of his excursions by himself, which Mary allowed him to do without complaint.... I remember a shady character on the beach who gave Martha and me some pot, Mary finding out about it and actually talking to us rather than flipping out about it (I won' t say whether she actually tried it!)...when planning each day I remember Peter' s standard line: "whatever your mother wants", a wonderful approach he could take with her because he knew she wouldn't' take advantage of it, and she was always looking out for him too...

And finally, I remember Peter getting a kidney stone which forced us to cut the trip short, and fly back to Chicago with Peter in incredible pain, having only had the benefit of the bizarre administrations of a crazy Jamaican doctor. But during that part of the trip, not only did Mary take care of Peter, but even in pain I remember him apologizing, as if it was his fault! And back in Chicago, when he was in the hospital, I remember his main concern was that he didn't like Mary having to drive all the way down to Michael Reese. He practically prohibited her from visiting! And the most amazing thing of all is that all of those traits of taking care of each other, giving each other (and Martha and me) room to live our lives, and having a great time together are still very much alive today, as I'm sure our 50th anniversary celebration dinner which is coming up will show!

From Paul Senn