Living on Love

20 years ago today, the local paper in Midland, MI (where I had gone to high school and stayed for a few years after) ran an excellent article about my grandparent’s story. They literally “Lived on Love Street”. Here is what they published on February 13, 2002.

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He walks through the entrance to the living center and makes his way to the second room on the left. Lois, his wife of 65 years, is waiting there for him.

She still recognizes him, although she suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.

For him, she can manage a smile. He smiles back as he says, “Hi, Doll!” then gently gives her a kiss. The Kaisers seem to have a connection that triumphs over the trials of aging and time. As Victor tells everyone, they’re “living on love.”

And he means that literally and metaphorically.

The Kaisers carry such great love for one another that it seems almost fated, and well suited, that they found themselves retired to a simple life living on Love Street in Midland.

The Kaisers’ small and well-kept house on Love Street is where the couple chose to grow old. It was where they lived when their children got married and their grandchildren were born. It was where the couple spent quiet evenings together. It was where Lois sewed and Victor ate the meals that she prepared every evening.