Walking the Lineby Heather Long | More from this Blogger 15 Mar 2006 01:57 PM I watched Walk the Line over the weekend. My mother and grandmother were both longtime fans of Johnny and June Carter Cash. I grew up hearing about their fairytale marriage. What made it so appealing to me was the reverence with which both my mother and my grandmother spoke. I never quite understood it, as my grandfather died the year before I was born and I never knew my father. I know that in retrospect, the romance of John and June is what appealed to them. They did not have that romance and in a world of hard lives and hard times - a really successful marriage is appealing to all of us. Why else would we pay so much attention when the marriages of celebrities shatter? Why gobble up all the gory details surrounding Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston? Why so much speculation about Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise? Why do we keep scorecards and delve into the details that comprise those relationships? Because we all want a happy ending. We need to believe that love triumphs and overcomes. We want to embrace the fairytale - even if we only get to do so from a distance. Watching Walk the Line is an education for those of us who did not grow up experiencing the love story of John and June Carter Cash. The song Folsom Prison Blues tells part of their tale. But the rest is developed through the mutual attraction that takes years for them to act on. Libby talks about Johnny Cash: The Man in Black in her blog over in Pop Culture today. But what I saw in Walk the Line were two enormously talented and creative people who became something more when love developed between them. June Carter saved Johnny Cash from himself. The sequences covering his cleaning up from addiction and the strength her family provided him in light of the absence from his own acknowledged that despite the flaws, she loved this man. While we need to want change in order to make it - sometimes we need a hand to help guide us along the way. When they died in 2003, June first followed shortly by Johnny, my mother remarked that 'all true love' regrets being left behind. They were better people. They were better parents. They were better every things because they had each other. Truly - they were what many imagine marriage to be - a unified couple - two bodies, two hearts, two minds and one soul. They give me hope that if we all give a little bit more, make things a little bit better, reach out a little further - we can all have that with our spouses. We just need to walk the line and we need to recognize when it's time to cross it. Learn more about Heather Long  Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago. Relevantmarriage tags User Comments  WordsAplenty (4029) 25 Mar 2006 12:11 AMBeautiful article, Heather! I don't know much about Johnny and June. You've made me want to see the movie. It's nice to know that sometimes love does conquer all, isn't it?  Heather Long (16954) 25 Mar 2006 12:34 AMIt is. It's inspiring to know what love can empower you to do too. Thanks for the kind words. It's a hard movie to watch -- but worth it -- I think. Community Tags happily ever after, Johnny Cash, june carter cash, the man in black, walk the line Discuss this article
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