September 3, 2025, Sumire Gant and Antonio Ruiz celebrate thirty-eight years of commitment and their marriage in Kaua’i, Hawaii. September also marks forty-two years since they first met in a hotel lobby in Baltimore, Maryland.

September 3, 1987-September 3, 2025. Thirty-eight years. 1982 weeks and 6 days. 13,880 days. 333,120 hours. 19,987,200 minutes. 1,199,232,000 seconds.

Once upon a time
in the cavernous lobby of a Baltimore hotel
I sat nervously
scanning the Washington Post headlines for my name
fighting off the guilt about my recklessness 
in Sodom and Gomorrah
Washington, D.C. 
     The coming crash is racing toward me like a runaway train.

Then
     There you were. 

You seem to come out of nowhere 
those dark red lips
cocoa brown skin
high cheekbones 
short wavy black ‘fro
an apparition
     Beautiful, peaceful, glowing. 

You were like a lighthouse 
radiating a beacon
Your smile assured me 
I was safe 
And 
     Everything would be all right. 

You extended those long arms
And 
I held your soft, thin brown fingers 
     Afraid I would break them. 

Instead
I felt your chill, cool, and wise strength
And
I was ready for you
And 
     I didn’t even know it.

I was frozen in the fast lane of sex, drugs, and rock n roll
My body was in that hotel lobby
My mind and soul were trapped in a prison I created myself
panicking at the prospect 
     That I would never be released.

And 
It all seemed to disappear
There you were at that moment
telling me softly

     Hi, my name is Sumi. 

You gave me the power to admit
(No better word)
I ached
I wished upon a star 
for a tiny moment of peace 
     As a balm for my pain. 

I babbled something incoherently
(It was probably the hangover)
lost to time 
I never expected a smile 
vast as the universe 
And 
a beaming light 
     Showering me with Zen.

You burst bright
into my life out of nowhere
     I could swear I saw a vision around you.

a California sandy beach 
And 
The blue water hugging it
caressing it
kissing it with a tall palm tree spreading its fronds over it
providing shade from the Sun’s warming heat 
where the beautiful people spread their wings 
And 
make love to the California Dream 
full of movie stars 
and rock stars 
And 
everyone who wants to be a star
     In the La La Land of their imagination. 

I couldn't believe I would see you again
in a hundred thousand million trillion years
of wishing 
And 
dreaming
And
Then 
     You were gone. 

I was left standing there
The newspaper hanging from my left hand
The other twitching at my right side
     Wondering if you had really been there. 

I finally lowered my head
humbled that you had paused 
for a moment with me 
on your way to the next moment 
where 
You would share the beaming light of your soul 
     With someone else.

Don’t even think about it 
That’s what I said
Forget it
I mumbled out loud
     I’m out of your league. 

You are too cool
Chill
And 
     Wise.

Unlike me
a bull in a China closet 
ripping up the fabric of the universe 
kind of guy 
chomping up the scenery 
stomping through the lives of others 
with muddy from stepping in shit boots
And 
I don’t care who cleans up the mess
     So long as it's not me.

I looked for any excuse 
not to call you 
(You told me you did the same) 
because, well
You were you
And
I was me
And 
Never the beast shall meet the beauty 
because 
I didn’t think I was cool
Chill
     Or wise enough. 

Maybe
I was scared
sooner or later 
You would discover the truth 
from my friends
witnesses to my recklessness
     Grrrl, he’s crazy.

You told me 
You have a good heart
And 
     I believed you.

Once upon a time
There was a beginning to this love story 
continuing into today
where we’ve learned to embrace each other 
in our best 
And 
worst moments 
And 
     To touch each other’s lives.

In those first few minutes
we learned
something we can’t see 
Or 
hear 
What passes between us 
And 
     Binds us even more today. 

We speak without speaking. 
We hug 
And 
     Feel our two hearts together. 

We stare into each other 
And 
     We see our souls.

And 
I think 
damn, no, fucking damn
I am the luckiest person in the world
cool 
And 
chill
together with you
     In our own La La Land.

You
are 
my 
California 
     Star.