Marriage, Hope, and Obamania

Several events in the past couple of months were of emotional, not to mention historical, significance to me and many others – events that will definitely shape lives in 2009 and beyond.

First, the wedding of my former CNN colleague Lorraine. Here is a smart, funny and very attractive woman who, as the song goes, had been looking for love in all the wrong places. As is the case with many high-profile, confident women, the right men were always intimidated by Lorraine.

Then, when she was about to resign herself to a successful, but perhaps solo journey through life, along came Michael, a gentle, sweet man who said at the celebration party that he still couldn’t quite believe his good fortune in attracting such a prize. Smiles and tears filled the ballroom.

The icing on this wedding cake came with Lorraine at the microphone looking into her new husband’s eyes, fingers entwined, eager to publicly declare her affection. She began:

“You’re my savior and my soul mate, and I will love you forever.”

She ended with:

“But if you ever hurt me, I will bust your balls.”

Classic Lorraine. Classic moment that all of us in the room will now remember as the definitive bridal statement.

READER RESPONSE

My November column (“Age, Oprah and the Changchuters”) elicited several stimulating reader reactions. My premise was that age shouldn’t matter in a relationship that’s healthy and happy.

Allan wrote from Bali, where he said he landed 18 years ago from Canada. “A few years later I met a charming, good-looking Javanese and we struck up a relationship. Love blossomed – she was at the time 23, a 40-year age difference! We have been together 15 years and have been married nine years.

“I am now 78 … (and) my wife is 38. Our relationship is still exciting, close and loving.”

Allan, your story is terrific, and I wish you nothing but ongoing health and love.

For the view from the other side, Frisca e-mailed from her office in Jakarta.

“Mature men attract my attention like very often … I’m 22 years old,” she wrote.

“This issue is bugging me a lot, because like from I-don’t-know-when my girlfriends have been treating me like a real weirdo. It is quite difficult to fall for a single mature man. Most of them [are] already taken.”

Not all, Frisca. But you better get back to work.

THE BEGINNING OF OBAMANIA

When the man whom Indonesian childhood friends continue to call Barry officially becomes the 44th U.S. president on January 20, a new chapter in American history begins.

Never before has a person with any amount of African-American blood held the position before.

For a country that prides itself as a beacon of opportunity, that’s an incredible – and almost sad – statement.

But it also presents several firsts for Indonesia as it prepares to choose its own leader in a few months. Because, as we all know, Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., who was a Jakarta schoolboy for four years, will be the first U.S. president:
– To have lived in Indonesia.
– To have been awakened by the morning call to prayers.
– To have an Indonesian half-sister.
– To have more than 50 Indonesian stepcousins.
– To have eaten bakso.
– To understand what “Apa kabar?” means.
– To have fallen out of a mango tree.
– To have an official fan club in a Muslim country.
– To have a mom whom older Indonesians love even more.

It’s all something that’s triggered a nationwide surge of Obamania.

There are T-shirts, posters, action dolls and DVDs. There was even a woman who was paraded in the media as an adopted stepsister, whom Obama’s real relatives say is a fraud.

For a more lasting legacy, and to create a positive mini-tourist trade, here’s what I suggest be done to boost the Barry connection:
– Immediately put up a plaque at Obama’s former school. It should read: “The 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, attended this school.” Follow it up with a statue in a year if he doesn’t mess up.
– Invite First Sister Maya Soetoro-Ng and her family for an all-expenses-paid vacation to the land of her birth. How many Indonesian-American presidential siblings do you know?
– Honor Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, for her anthropological contributions and pioneering work in microfinancing with a posthumous honorary presidential award. After all, she could’ve gone elsewhere and her son would now be the toast of Tunisia.
– Insert a new chapter into Indonesian history books about Barry’s time here. Because then every schoolchild will believe that no dream is too big, and no beginning too small.

Hawaii native Dalton Tanonaka is the co-anchor of Metro TV’s "Indonesia Now" program, seen on Saturday mornings at 7 a.m. and Sundays at 1 a.m. He can be reached at dalton@metrotvnews.com.

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