FAMILY MATTERS
Short-sighted views on world and wine not always bad
By Michael C. DeMattos
The request was simple enough. I wanted my wife to pick up a bottle of Red Truck wine for dinner later that evening.
You would think that a wine called Red Truck would be some kind of screw-cap wine that is more appropriate for a brown paper sack than a quiet, romantic evening. You would think that, but you would be wrong.
A red table wine that has a fine bouquet reminiscent of a bygone era, it is a best buy at just under $15. While it is definitely fruit-forward, the finish is soft, with mild tannins and velvet mouth feel.
But I digress. I told her approximately where she could find the bottle at the local grocer and clued her into the likely price range.
An hour later, she came home with a bottle of Avalon, which I had never tried. I must say that it was also fruit forward, with hints of cherry and other berries not found in the Islands. Still, I suspect that it is the hint of tobacco, which adds a bit of sophistication, that have many claiming it one of the best wines under $19. Again, I digress.
My wife said she never found the Red Truck. It must have been out. She did, however, find the Avalon, which she thought had a pretty label.
Later that week, my wife and I were at the grocery store picking up some things for the dinner table. Naturally, I perused the wine section. I was looking for something vibrant (and economical), perhaps from Chile or Australia.
I selected a bottle of Mad Fish Shiraz. It is young and fruity and made to drink immediately. Heavy with blackberries and pepper, it was an ideal choice. Yet another digression.
I put the bottle into my shopping basket and headed for the register when, out of the corner of my eye, I spied the Red Truck sitting on the top shelf.
I retrieved my wife and pointed out the bottle. She looked at me, then looked up at the bottle, and then looked back at me again. This simple movement told me everything I needed to know. My wife is a beautiful woman of Hawaiian, Japanese and Portuguese ancestry. Her skin is the color of sand, and her hair falls on her shoulders like a sheet cast over a bed. After years of marriage, she remains stunning.
OK, OK. Digression. The other thing you should know about her is that she is ... well ... vertically challenged. She never found the bottle because she never saw the bottle.
She then pointed out the Avalon, which I happened to miss altogether. I would have had to be on my hands and knees to find this ruby jewel. We both laughed aloud at our unique perspective of the world.
It dawned on me later that night after a glass of water — light and crisp, fresh from the wells deep below our lush island, with not a hint of chlorine or fluoride — that seeing the world through another's eyes is not such a bad thing.
The new perspective may reveal a world previously unseen with treasures unknown. With an open mind and a heart trained on the beautiful, one may discover that life, like a loving wife, beautiful red wine or crisp glass of water, is fine indeed.
Family therapist Michael C. DeMattos of Kane'ohe has a master's degree in social work.
