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<\/a>In his poem, \u201cLate January,\u201d which was published in Tossing and Turning<\/em>, John Updike ended with the line, \u201cTime\u2019s sharp edge is slitting another envelope.\u201d How eerily prescient that poem feels now, a year after his passing on January 27, 2009.<\/span><\/p>\nFamily, friends, and readers all over the world are still feeling his loss. Sure, we received our annual gift from him\u2014three books, in fact: Endpoint and Other Poems<\/em>, <\/span>My Father\u2019s Tears and Other Stories<\/em>, and <\/span>The Maples Stories<\/em>. But it wasn\u2019t the same, knowing that there will come a year for the first time in more than half a century when we <\/span>won\u2019t<\/em> have a new book by John Updike.<\/span><\/p>\n We all have our favorites, but for me, one book of his remains special: <\/span>Marry Me: A Romance. <\/em>That\u2019s because in April of 1995 I used that book to propose to my wife . . . with John\u2019s help.<\/span><\/p>\n I still remember how he laughed when I phoned to tell him my plan and ask, \u201cWould you help me propose to my wife?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou mean . . . like Cyrano?\u201d he said, with that unmistakable bit of mischief that you heard in his voice when something amused him.<\/p>\n \u201cNot quite that bad,\u201d I said, explaining that I wanted to propose to Zarina atop the Empire State Building but hesitated to give her the ring there, afraid that it might get dropped in the nervousness of the moment and be lost in the dusk. \u201cIf I send it to you, would you be willing to inscribe my copy of Marry Me<\/em> so I could use it to propose?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOh, why not,\u201d he said. \u201cTo my knowledge the book has never been used that way\u2014though it\u2019s a little ironic, isn\u2019t it, since they don\u2019t exactly live happily ever after in the book? I wouldn\u2019t want it to jinx you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t,\u201d I said. And he got the book to me just in time for a trip that Zarina and I were taking to New York City, where we were going to double date with my best friend from college\u2014Gerry Hoey, who\u2019s the Inspector General of New York City. The first stop was the Empire State Building, where we lingered at the top to allow some of the people to leave. Then I pulled out a small cassette player and set it on the railing. While \u201cArthur\u2019s Theme\u201d played and Gerry took pictures, I began slow-dancing with Zarina, then said, \u201cI have something to give you.\u201d She was expecting a ring, of course, but instead I reached behind my back and pulled out a plastic bag. I took out Marry Me<\/em> and handed it to her.<\/span><\/p>\n Inside, John had written, \u201cDear Zarina, If you say \u2018yes,\u2019 you might get a ring in the Rainbow Room. Hope it all works out. Felicitations, John Updike.\u201d And he dated it the day that I told him I was going to propose, 4\/28\/95. Four months later, for a wedding gift he sent us a copy of the limited edition of The Afterlife<\/em> short story, in which he wrote, \u201cFor Zarina Mullan and Jim Plath, May you live happily ever after.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Today, I\u2019m wishing the same for him.<\/p>\n (Photo and text by James Plath)<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In his poem, \u201cLate January,\u201d which was published in Tossing and Turning, John Updike ended with the line, \u201cTime\u2019s sharp edge is slitting another envelope.\u201d How eerily prescient that poem feels now, a year after his passing on January 27, … Continue reading