Speaking of the Rose of Sharon...

My love was presumably named for a flower.  Though they can get quite tall and look for all the world like a tree, the Rose of Sharon is actually a bush.  They grow all over Manhattan and I love them.  The name is biblical, coming from the Song of Solomon, "I am the lily of the valley and the rose of Sharon".  

The are covered for six months of the year with large blossoms that can be either a fair pink or a deeper magenta or a cream color with a magenta center.

They are lovely.  Just like The Rose of Sharon Anne Christine Frei Turrentine.

The Rose of Sharon

Her full name is The Rose of Sharon Anne Christine Frei Turrentine.  The Turrentine is the married part.

And thirty years ago I was in love with her.

Sharon was my college love and the girl with whom I moved to New York.  We were together for years.  Four?  Maybe slightly less.  Maybe slightly more.  I don't think either of us would know exactly.

It was never going to work, but that didn't mean that I didn't adore her.  I did.  I last saw her fifteen years ago when she and her groovy husband David came in for the 25th Anniversary Pride Parade.

Seven years ago I wrote a song about her called "My First Mistake".  Carly Simon says to be a good friend to your songs and never tell their secrets.  Sorry Carly.  "Mistake" is Sharon.

And on Saturday she heard it.  Johary sang it in the guest portion of the program, then I reprised it near the end and dedicated it to the girl who inspired it. 

Sharon is a precious part of my life story.  I don't want to lose track of her again.  When you love someone that much, it never goes away.  At least not for me.