indyvidual,

Good point made.

But in life how often do we get all three of
money, sex, and love?

Even Rupert Murdoch doesn't always succeed.

How many of you are in "mixed marriages?"

Care to share?

We all may learn something.

"Money, Sex, or Love - What matters more to you?"

- Is this like a Rock, Paper, Scissors thing?

Maybe people prioritise different things at during times of their lives?

Hi Foxy,

"Marrying someone from a different culture or race used
to be frowned upon."

When I first met my future wife, shortly after one of her brothers passed away and she asked; "I have to fly home and attend my brothers tangi (mourning ceremony followed by burial), do you want to come?" Me being me immediately agreed. The marae was about 30 minutes out of the nearest small town, along gravel roads, and we arrived about 2am in pouring rain, having driven 4 hours in a convoy of vehicles from Auckland, with about 20 people on board. Not knowing the protocols at the time, I was glad for the assistance of the wife's younger brother, as we were to be powhihi'd (welcoming ceremony) by the tangata (a woman). The young bro said; Paul, us men enter behind the women, you don't need to hongi the body if you don't want to, I thought at the time "that's good", kissed or hongi a few dead people since, and he went on to explain all the protocols inside, I will speak in Maori about my brother and I will introduce you then, if you hear the words "haere mai" after I say your name then you know tyour're welcome here. Then we hongi (touch noses, don't close your eyes) the men, kiss the women on the cheeks and touch the children on the head. Then we'll all go to the wharekai (dinning room for supper, most important) and then we'll be woken at 6am for wash, breakfast and church. I said; "when do we sleep" bro; "We don't'! All in all, that first tangi was a real experience for me, one pakeha 500 Maori, I think I was in the minority.

cont

cont

BTW, If I want to speak in English in the wharenui (meeting house) I first must ask the kaumatua (senior man/men) sitting seated at the entrance for permission to do so. They always give permission, just part of the protocol. When speaking personally to others in the whaenui, most speak in English. Only once have I been given the "talking stick", you have no option you have to speak on something, any subject and then sing a waiata (song), I spoke about Australia, the nephew saved the day for me, when I finished speaking he jumped up with the guitar; "Come on Uncle, 'Waltzing Matilda'..."

http://teara.govt.nz/en/te-kawa-o-te-marae/page-2#:~:text=The%20p%C5%8Dwhiri%20(or%20p%C5%8Dhiri)%20is,welcome%20visitors

Dear Paul,

What an incredible experience your life has been.
Thank you for sharing. It actually brought tears to
my eyes. I could visualize it all. Like watching a film.
It brought back memories of the funeral of my daughter-in-law
father's funeral. He was Russian Christian Orthodox. Same
as my gran. It also had its rituals including the lining up
to kiss the body in the open casket.

Again Thank You for sharing.
Your marriage sounds remarkable.

Hi Armchair Critic,

We do go through different phases in our lives - that's true.
It's rare to have all three - money, sex, and love, all at
the same time. Not many have that. It's a question of priorities,
isn't it? What's more important to you. As I said - not even
Rupert Murdoch always gets it all. My husband and I started
off as most couples do - with not much money. But we both
worked and it was never a problem. As for love, well we
always had that.