Fiddle Dee Dee!

My romantic relationships have always been…tumultuous to say the least. They've ranged from utter disinterest on either my part or the guy's to insanely passionate and cruel by and for both of us. Kind of like an Eminem song.

With that in mind, I've chosen to keep "the kiss" the one I like to call "The Earth Shatterer" in the vault for the time being—scorching memories buried under the icy ground for the moment.

But I'd still like to give you a picture of the most romantic onscreen kiss and scene that ever affected me. Yeah, I know I write sci-fi and futuristic but the other side of that coin is, I think, history and while I've never been a civil war buff, how can any movie rival (well, okay there are a few) the magnificent love saga of Gone With The Wind? It's the kind of love story that most women dream about: think of it, a man, a gorgeous (well dressed) manly man, Rhett Butler (even the name is dreamy and sexy) loving you unconditionally no matter how foolish or reckless your behavior and keep loving you for decades hoping against hope you'll realize what the heck's going on and finally wise up. The only man who can match your blazing emotional passions and laugh at you both while doing it, the laughing part being a big deal to me if no one else.

That Kiss— the one between Scarlett & Rhett at the bottom of that magnificent, sweeping staircase (I'd love any man who could give me that too! Yeah call me a merc!) The one after he tells her she's not turning him out that night—it's the one that depicts the pinnacle of romantic passion for me. Scarlett starts out resisting and by the morning she's singing and giggling to herself. How can you resist a man who's forceful but not abusive? For me he's the ultimate. That kiss might have been brief but for women like me who can't respect any man not stronger than themselves—emotionally, physically, mentally—Rhett's brief kiss with Scarlett is the one that sets the bar—forever.

For me that entire scene from the kiss to the top of the stairs embodies the statement of the hotter the flame burns the faster it burns out. If you've been scorched a few times yourself you probably know what I'm talking about—when it burns it burns baby. And when it burns out? Like Atlanta it's ashes to ashes...and Gone With The Wind.

P.I. Barrington