Aaron Sorkin delivered a commencement speech at Syracuse University last week, ranging over a wide field of topics as is usual for Sorkin. Two things I found were incredibly poignant and to the point on relationships:
There’s a story about a man and a woman who have been married for 40 years. One evening at dinner the woman turns to her husband and says, “You know, 40 years ago on our wedding day you told me that you loved me and you haven’t said those words since.” They sit in silence for a long moment before the husband says “If I change my mind, I’ll let you know.”
I don’t know the full story, but this is now stored in my head as my favourite anecdote about the male way of thinking. The next was part of a wish for success:
For the class of 2012, I wish you joy. I wish you health and happiness and success, I wish you a roof, four walls, a floor and someone in your life that you care about more than you care about yourself. Someone who makes you start saying “we” where before you used to say “I” and “us” where you used to say “me.”
Perfect sentiment.