RUBICON

I once had a real fine piece of property and a savings account building toward a barn that would have a pitched metal roof and real wood siding and a troweled smooth concrete floor.
I lost it all by giving in to an unlikely request from my young wife!
She pleaded that if I would just let her use the savings account to buy a little red sailboat she would be so very happy and would “never ask me for anything else” ever again.
So we went down to the Marina and bought the little red sail boat and parked it right on the flat spot leveled out for the barn. She painted the name “Ruby” on the stern and was quite pleased and was so satisfied in fact she indeed never asked me for anything ever again!
My Father and my successful farmer Uncle had taught me that a responsible self-reliant individual always lets the barn pay the way, but she was so insistent. I was young and able to resave the little bit of money set aside for the barn. It was such a small price to pay for the Cheshire cat wide smile it put on her face. Most importantly she did very well intend to keep the promise.

THIS LITTLE MISSIVE IS ABOUT A WELL PLANNED IRONY

The idiom”Crossing the Rubicon” means to pass a point of no return and refers to Julius Caesar’s crossing the Rubicon River and beginning an act of war in 49 BC. The Latin word rubico comes from the adjective ‘rubeus’ meaning red!

“The dye had been cast” Some twenty five years later at our son’s wedding I again met the promise keeper who had taken the “Ruby in the divorce. I asked her if Ruby was a nick name for Rubicon.

“Took you long enough” was her reply!