masterwordsmith-unplugged

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz

Once upon a time there was a wonderful television show called Cheers. It took place in Boston. Each day, the local patrons would gather at Cheers to discuss the events of the day, contemplate life’s burdens, explore life’s joys, and cry over a beer while they shared their sorrows. The theme song of the show always reminded those who watched it that it was nice to go to a place “where everybody knows your name.”

Cheers was wildly popular as a television show. However, it was far more important as the perfect representation of a real life place you could go to meet friends, share love, and spend time with those who truly matter in your life – to spend time with those who actually know your name!

We have found such a place in our hometown of St. Louis. It is called Reggie’s Backstage and is located in the Grand Center, the arts and entertainment district of St. Louis.

In so many ways, Reggie’s reminds us of Sardi’s in the Theatre District of New York City. It is located in the Grand Center of St. Louis, the arts and theatre heart of America’s 18th most populated metropolitan region.

As we sit at our favorite table (Rachel makes sure we get the same table each time we are there and Tina is always our waitress!), we can see the famous Fox Theatre across the street. It features Broadway shows and famous entertainers from around the globe.

We watch people scurry about as they head to the magnificent Powell Symphony Hall, where our wonderful hometown orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, dazzles everyone who gets to experience the beautiful sounds of the second oldest symphony orchestra in America. And we observe folks who are getting ready to spend a night at the incredible Black Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

The walls of Reggie’s are adorned with the facsimiles of famous St. Louisians – much like Sardi’s – including Nelly, John Goodman, Miles Davis, Clark Terry, Kevin Kline, Tina Turner, Kathryn Dunham, Vincent Price, Scott Joplin, and Phyllis Diller, to name a few. The St. Louis Walk of Fame in the nearby University City area highlights even more famous people of St. Louis origin.

The truth is, we have found Reggie’s to be important to our marriage of nearly 43 years. Why, you ask? In our interviews with successfully married couples on five continents of the world and in nearly 40 countries over these past 26 years, we have discovered that one of the most commonly reported notions of these couples is that of familiarity – of finding a place where you feel comfortable together outside of your home – a place where people know your name, sort of a home away from home.

Think of it this way, we all want a place where we are loved, treated with respect, taken care of, and called by our names – like an extended family. For us there are three places we have come to call “home” outside of our real home in our favorite city, St. Louis.

We wrote about Fuzio Restaurant in an article called For Love and Tuna Melts (on SelfGrowth.com) and our favorite Italian restaurant in the whole world, Giovanni’s on the Hill in our multiple award winning book, Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage.

Reggie’s has become another one of those homes away from home. So to Reggie, Rachel, Tina, and the terrific staff of Reggie’s, thank you for becoming part of our family. You have added to the joy of our long marriage together and we thank you for your friendship and for your support.

You see, in the end, it is the Simple Things Matter.

Love well!

By Dr. Charles D. Schmitz and Dr. Elizabeth A. Schmitz
Authors of Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage
Winner of the INDIE Book Awards GOLD Medal for Best Relationship Book
Winner of the 2009 Mom’s Choice Awards GOLD Medal for Most Outstanding Relationships and Marriage Book