By Stanley Richard
“You must put some harmony in your romance,” my mother told me years ago. In many of my relationships — and even marriage — I never fully understood Mom’s meaning of harmony in romance.
I think I truly realized what she meant after my wife, Elizabeth, and I visited the Pont de l’Archeveche, commonly known as the Locks Bridge, which links the Ile de la Cite to the fifth arrondissement of Paris.
There, in the rain and also celebrating the 69th anniversary of the 1944 Allied liberation of Paris, about 200 couples of many ages, races and faiths, some with children clinging to their knees, embraced, kissed, held hands and looked into each other’s eyes.
Arm in arm, couples purchased steel locks from vendors. With a marker, couples inscribed their initials and the date, cementing their affection. Like me, some perhaps marked hearts, smiley faces or other symbols of togetherness.
Next, we were to affix our locks to the bridge’s railing. The placement of the locks was a challenge because the fence contains thousands of locks. With a pray-
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To contribute to Your Travels, send a large, high-resolution JPEG attachment photo and a description or essay of up to 400 words to traveleditor@arizona republic.com. We’ll contact you when your item is scheduled to be published. er, we located a spot near the bottom. Bending over, we attached our lock to the link fence. Tradition dictates that we make three wishes and throw the keys to the lock into the river. We followed tradition. Above the passing boats, we turned our backs to the Seine River, tossed the keys and awaited the splash. Our keys landed, along with many others, like pellets falling from the sky. We milled about, wondering about the many wishes sent heavenward. This being Paris, love was in the air and it was contagious. Along with so much romantic fervor tossed about and the liberation of Paris being celebrated in the street, I caught the love vibe.
How could one not? My Parisian friends Joanne Doll and her boyfriend, Samir, said, “I love you. I love Paris. I love America.” The crowd yelled, “Thank God for America.” Undoubtedly, with the many languages spoken on the bridge and the attending embraces, love must have been the common noun.
My wife and I renewed our 36 years of love and devotion to each other as we crossed in the direction of Notre Dame Cathedral. I experienced tears, lightheadedness and an elevated heart rate. These locks symbolized our special something that has kept our marriage vibrant these many years.
Paris does that to you. Harmony was instilled in us on the Locks Bridge on this special rainy day. We can say that we have this romance thing “all locked up.”
Thank you, Mom. The writer lives in Paradise Valley.