(Below is the 1st Chapter of Bill’s debut book: Sweet Mellow Red)
True love is like a fine wine: sweet and mellow and red.
I believe there is a reason that certain people enter our lives. Some individuals are sent to remind us of the hardness of the human heart…they are barren grounds where little can grow. Others have souls of rich soil that give nourishment to green vines and sweet fruits. There are very few hearts, however, that yield a grape so exquisite that you yearn to bottle it up. Oh, to know such a person whose presence could be uncorked in a time of great despair; to know a love that can be trusted to pour its light into unknown, unsheltered nights.
I have the pleasure of knowing a person like this, a lady with red hair that shines auburn in the sunlight and whose blue eyes, at times, are as green as the sea shallows following a storm. Eyes that are wreathed in a deep, misty blue that always betrays the depth that lies beneath. She has a presence that pours over you as peace…and grace…and love. I have often pondered the mystery of what forms a person with a nature such as this. This person who has become the truest of friends to me.
Katherine—a lady that I call Sweet Mellow Red.
Great wines may indeed be dependent on rich soils, exposure to the sun, and high elevations. But there are other influences that make a great wine: tradition, for instance, and the careful attention of he whose hands work the vineyard. The creation of a “great vintage” is, in and of itself, an act of the truest love.
I will admit that I know very little of the production of wine, and less of fine wines—little of the art and great care that go into making a wine ‘fine’. Most of what I do know about wine is a collage of knowledge framed in picturesque vistas of false memory. Artificial moments collected through movie reels—powerfully artistic films—with backdrops of golden vineyards in the foothills of mountainous regions. Such scenes offer exhibitions of heartfelt moments, passionate romance, robust laughter, and deep love. It is love that stitches these tales together. Dramas, telling a story of fruits cultivated not just in geographic location but in the cradle of family tradition, rich culture, and a loving devotion to the vines. The wines in these stories are born works of art—beautiful portraits that influence all open to receiving their blessings.
Katherine’s story is a portrait such as this…