You know marriage can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the person you marry and how hard you're willing to work at it.

I think somewhere in the Bible it says that a nagging wife is like a leaky roof. I would also imagine that a bad husband would be like a bad sore foot or something, but generally marriages are very fragile agreements that can go to pot as quickly as you can say 'divorce'.

But whatever your take on marriage, to me it's downright ludicrous to be getting married four, five, six, seven times. I figure two should be the limit. That is, of course, assuming that death is not the cause of the final 'separation'. I read yesterday that Melissa Gilbert got married again and for some reason it irked me. For those who don't know, Melissa Gilbert played the role of Laura Ingalls on a television show called Little House on the Prairie that was on JBC in the 1970s. Gilbert played Laura, a sweet little girl who grew up on a farm somewhere in America. Lovely show. They don't make them like that anymore. Today's TV is filled is all kinds of crap; but I digress.

This is Gilbert's third or fourth wedding. And like so many other Hollywood stars before her, I am sure it won't be her last. Well, let's put it this way. I hope this one will be her last.

The way I see it, if you can't get marriage right after two tries, maybe, just maybe you should leave it alone. Marriage is not a mystery you know. Marriage is kind of like shopping. You look for the product that you will be most happy with and that which will bring you the best value. Some people are not good shoppers and as such would be better served if they asked for help when they went shopping. It would serve them better than trusting their own judgement.

Some people do not have an eye for people who are good for them. These are persons who whenever they're out to choose a partner, whomever they choose should NOT be the person they end up with. I know a girl who is so bad at picking a decent man she would be great working for the police because whenever she sees someone she likes, more often than not, they either have a criminal record or are on their way to one. Some men only seem to fall for women who are digging only for gold or looking for something shiny.

For persons like these, marriage is a no-no. Look, if you get married once or twice and it doesn't work, why would you think that getting married three, four, five, six, seven and eight times, like Elizabeth Taylor, is going to make it work? Marriage is not a career. It's a commitment.

It's a commitment that requires work and a lot of patience; just ask my wife how much patience she has had to exercise over the years we have been together. Ask my first wife too. It's not easy but it can be a lot of fun and very rewarding.

The reward, however, comes from making it work and being mostly happy in the end. The reward comes from knowing that you're going home each night to someone who makes you smile and makes you feel loved and safe.

That feeling is largely elusive in today's world but trying to marry every soul that comes along is not going to make you find it because the big mistake that a lot of people make, is believing that love is something you find. Being able to live in harmony with someone is not something you find, it's actually something you build.

Levyl1@hotmail.com

The way I see it, if you can't get marriage right after two tries, maybe, just maybe you should leave it alone.