There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), "On Reading and Writing"
Surprisingly enough Hollywood hasn't used this idea for a love story (or has it?). Two people from different walks of life connect after their eyes meet at a hotel where they are attending different events. They talk, find out they are from the same area of town, and, strangely enough, they will be apartment complex neighbors within a week. As they get to know each other they decide they want to have children together, become engaged, and, then, before the wedding can take place, the bride-to-be dies from flu complications on a plane ride. Sadly, enough this is a true story, as told by John Perry Barlow (former lyricist for the Grateful Dead). [Go to this
link and listen starting at about 38:00 to the end.]
What I find particularly intriguing is that the account of the couple's meeting sounds a lot like the account of an acquaintance, who, not necessarily a victim of love at first sight but close to it, spotted a guy from across the dance floor and felt that she needed to meet him. They met, and she says, a la John Perry Barlow mode,
made a connection. The feeling was mutual and within a few weeks they were engaged. Luckily,
this story does have a happy ending and the love larks are now married (two months after their intital meeting).
So what is the moral of these stories? Maybe those of us who spurn stories of love at first sight are just jealous that we haven't made that special
connection. Could it be we're making things more difficult than it needs to be? I'd like to know if there's a common personality type that suffers from love at first sight more than others....
