[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 72 (Wednesday, June 5, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5030-S5031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            SENATOR AND MRS. BYRD'S 65TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, a week ago today, on the 29th of May, I was 
fortunate to celebrate 65 years of marriage, 65 years of wedded bliss--
in this day and age, a somewhat uncommon occurrence. I am sorry this is 
so, for I wish that more people could know the joy I have had in 
finding one's soulmate early in life and then sharing that deep 
companionship over many happy years.
  In the 16th century, John Ford wrote:

     The joys of marriage are the heaven on earth,

[[Page S5031]]

     Life's paradise, great princess, the soul's quiet,
     Sinews of Concord, earthly immortality,
     Eternity of pleasures; no restoratives
     Like to a constant woman.

  Mr. President, my strength, my comfort, was born Erma Ora James, the 
daughter of a West Virginia coal miner. She was my childhood 
sweetheart. We married in 1937, in a time of great hardship and trial. 
Together, we have seen great changes in the world--a world war and 
numerous other conflagrations around the globe, the dawn of the nuclear 
age, the advent of space exploration, the collapse of communism, 
breathtaking medical advances, astounding technological growth, rapid 
social changes, and resurgent terrors. We have known the highs of life 
and we have known the lows of family life--the delight of two fine 
daughters growing up, marrying, and having children of their own; the 
tragedy of the loss of a grandson; the indescribable love of holding 
newborn great granddaughters in our arms. For two hillbillies--that is 
what we are, two hillbillies--from West Virginia, it has been an 
exciting and wild ride, and I am glad I have had Erma to share it.
  In my mind's eye, Erma Byrd will always be that sweet, young girl who 
allowed me to woo her with candy and chewing gum that were given to me 
by another schoolmate. She is a strong woman, but she is a quiet 
woman--even somewhat shy. I know she would rather that I were not 
speaking right now, and that is just the way she is--never seeking the 
limelight, keeping her focus on her family and her home. Being the wife 
of a Senator has never impressed her. She never developed any airs of 
self-importance, and she has never let me develop any airs either--
although some people may think otherwise. She keeps me grounded, or, as 
my old mom used to say, she never lets me ``get above my raising.'' 
When I start to get a bit too proud, puffed up with my own 
accomplishments, she doesn't pop my balloon but, rather, knows how to 
gently deflate it before it swells too large. But she has always been 
there for me, helping me to campaign, always making herself available 
to the people of West Virginia. She is my biggest cheerleader and she 
is my kindest critic.
  Erma has always been an equal partner in our marriage. Her domain is 
the home, where she rules as a benevolent dictator. There I am not 
Senator, just Robert. I mop the kitchen floor for her each Saturday 
morning--or I used to up until about a month ago. She will admit that I 
don't do the windows. When the duties of the Senate filled all my 
waking hours, and when I was going to school at night to earn my law 
degree, Erma kept the home fires burning. She took the lead in bringing 
up our two daughters, teaching them to be the fine women, mothers, and 
grandmothers they are. Without her help and her support, I could not 
have put the level of effort into my work that the people of West 
Virginia deserve and have come to expect; I would not have a law 
degree. Erma proves the old adage that ``behind every successful man is 
a successful woman.'' Perhaps Alfred Lord Tennyson put it better when 
he wrote in ``The Princess'' as follows:

       The woman's cause is the man's: they rise or sink together.

  Mr. President, together, Erma and I are complete and whole, a total 
that is more than the sum of its parts.
  The 65th wedding anniversary is, by tradition, a diamond anniversary. 
In my life, Erma Ora Byrd is the diamond. She is my strength in times 
of fear, my comfort in times of sorrow, my perfect complement. She is a 
priceless treasure, a multifaceted woman of great insight and wisdom, 
of quiet humor and common sense. She is the reservoir of serenity at 
which one can slake the thirst of a stressful day.
  I can only thank her and thank the Creator that she has put up with 
me for 65 years and now 1 week.
  Mr. President, I would like to close with the words of Charles 
Jeffreys in a poem he titled ``We Have Lived and Loved Together.'' I 
dedicate it to my wife Erma and to all the lucky, happy couples who 
have, like us, been fortunate to spend a lifetime together. To the 
young married people who work for me, to all who are starting on their 
married lives together, I wish them well, and I hope that someday this 
poem will speak for them as well.

     We have lived and loved together
     Through many changing years;
     We have shared each other's gladness
     And wept each other's tears;
     I have known ne'er a sorrow
     That was long unsoothed by thee;
     For thy smiles can make a summer
     Where darkness else would be.

     Like the leaves that fall around us
     In autumn's fading hours,
     Are the traitor's smiles, that darken
     When the cloud of sorrow lowers;
     And though many such we've known, love,
     Too prone, alas, to range,
     We both can speak of one love
     Which time can never change.

     We have lived and loved together
     Through many changing years,
     We have shared each other's gladness
     And wept each other's tears.
     And let us hope the future,
     As the past has been will be:
     I will share with thee my sorrows,
     And thou thy joys with me.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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