There are objects everywhere waiting to tell you stories, if only you'll look for them.
If you ever find yourself nestled deep in Tawawa Park in Sidney, take a stroll and look for the big red covered bridge.
The Ross Bridge, named as these things often are -- for a local mover and shaker -- crosses Tawawa Creek, which is more formally known as Mosquito Creek.
There is something alluring about a covered bridge, the more timeworn but viable the better. Objects of utility, their simple beauty is striking. And they once littered the landscape in Ohio amid the latter part of the 19th century. Just a few scattered sentinels can be found today, a reminder of a different era.
This bridge is a modern iteration of the type that were once found across west Central Ohio, made by Reuben Partridge. I wonder what Mr. Partridge would think if he saw the way people have left their mark on something meant to honor him.
Scratched and dug and gouged and chiseled into the beams and the rails and the window frames of this bridge are the names of thousands of people, mostly presented in pairs, likely reflecting the youthful glow of love's first gleam.
Who are Kevin + Jen?
Their names still stand out like supernova amid the heavens, but what about their love? Did it rage as brightly and flame out as quickly as their celestial doppelganger or does it still burn, strong and bright?
You can't help but wonder who exactly is BVF, and whether he is still in "LUV" with Virita, as he was in 1981.
Where has time taken these two? What joy and grief have they experienced, and were they there to share and bear it with each other?
Bill and Anita made their mark in 1974. But this is 2013.
One hopes that they are about to celebrate 40 years, marked by times good and bad, but always together, but time and love both have ways of playing funny tricks on people.
Does Joyce still love Don?
The romantic in me says yes, that each of these couples' love has stood the test of time, that it is deep and true and etched in their hearts like their names on that wood.
The cynic says that, given the explosion of divorce and rise of single-parent households, there is, at best, a 50 percent chance that these two are still together, seven, 23 or even 39 years after they made it public. Of course, maybe they have a better shot than that -- it must be true love if you're willing to attempt vandalism.
It is just a bridge, and these are just carvings. But when I see love graffiti, I can't help but wonder whether the metaphor of these hearts and names represent love as a bridge to nowhere, or the solid foundation for a life of love.
