“Where there is love, there is life.”— Mahatma Ghandi

Patty and Mike Rascavage of Tamaqua will be married 50 years in August. When he was 18 years old and Patty was 15, she first tried to get him to date her sister and then date her friend, but he was only attracted to her.

“We dated for two years,” Mike said, “and then we married and our life together has been very interesting ever since.”

The parents of three children who all live within blocks of their home, Patty and Mike have found that empty nest is a wonderful opportunity to spend more quality time together, especially since he’s now retired and she operates a hair salon in their house.

Mike’s relationship advice is to keep respect for each other during difficult times. “When we would argue about money, we realized that money isn’t everything. It’s not as important as the love we have for each other. Marriage is about give and take and when I do something wrong that upsets her, I always apologize.”

Of course, every love story must include what the couple likes to do together and the Rascavages have shared many activities, but one in particular remains fondly in Mike’s mind.

“I like to ride a motorcycle,” he said, “and one day Patty bought a Harley Davidson just so she could ride alongside me.”

Mike plans to make a Valentine’s Day dinner of crab legs and tenderloins for them.

When asked to define the love he has had for Patty for the past 50 years, he answered as if he was about to go on their second or third date. “I just can’t wait to see her and I look forward to spending our days together,” he said.

Finding love

“When you trip over love, it is easy to get up. But when you fall in love, it is impossible to stand again.” — Albert Einstein.

Brandon Lux and his fiancee, Haley O’Brien, found love in Jim Thorpe.

“It happened on fall day when I was walking down the main street in Jim Thorpe and I saw a beautiful woman carrying large bags and walking toward me,” Brandon explained. “I saw that she had a camera for a TV station, so I asked her what she was doing a story on. She interviewed me about the tax plan that the town was going to impose on the trains.”

Brandon said that he was immediately attracted to Haley’s easy smile and beautiful eyes. “On that day, I knew I had met who would become my soulmate and best friend,” he said, “but it’s not always easy for me. I have autism and I get pretty stubborn whenever we argue, and I am improving. Haley is a strong-minded woman and she holds her ground. So, I try to see her side and not become unavailable to her feelings.”

They share their enjoyment of “little pleasures” as he called them. “We like to go out for a drink or to eat and watch TV. We enjoy people, too and we embrace their differences.”

Brandon shows his daily love through affectionate texts to Haley when she’s at work or surprise her with flowers or plan a middle of the week date night. For Valentine’s Day, she will cook dinner and he’ll clean up the kitchen.

“To keep love alive, sometimes it requires work and sacrifice,” he explained. “You always have to stoke the fire to keep it burning.”

Haley adds that when they had first met and she was filming him for the interview, she still has freeze frames of him from that day.

“We’ve gone through lots of changes, one was both of us being unemployed at the same time, but our relationship has evolved. We have always shared responsibilities. Brandon is a person of integrity. We share the same values. We are very loyal to each other. Love takes work. It’s an action, not just words. It’s not an afterthought and we take it very seriously.”

60 years of marriage

“So now faith, hope and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love.” Corinthians 13:13.

For any couple married 60 years, these words are great resources for relationships. Take Jean and Manny Guedes who have lived in Palmerton and raised two children since 1967. They met under what would be described as not ideal circumstances.

“I was supposed to go to a Halloween dance in Allentown, but my boyfriend at the time was drunk and couldn’t make it,” said Jean. “My brother convinced me to go so I was there crying all by myself. Manny was there by himself too and he asked me to dance.”

Manny kept calling. Jean dropped her boyfriend. And as they say the rest is history, but not without the trials and tribulations every marriage has to face.

“Anyone who tells you that marriage is easy, they are lying,” Jean said. “For us we had first to deal with our families because I’m Ukrainian and Manny is Portuguese. Then we learned quickly that you get out of marriage what you put into it.”

“There are many issues to resolve,” Manny explained. “For me, I always take a step back when there’s a conflict and I think about how what I say will affect Jean. We make adjustments. God has been good to us.”

Manny has had a romantic side to him ever since they met. He surprises Jean with flowers, but his specialties are his home- made cards. Though he’s not a man of many words, he writes, “I will love you until the very end.”

The couple will be celebrating Valentine’s Day at home since Jean has recently recovered from pneumonia. They live each day by the creed: “Be there even if you don’t want to; be kind when you don’t feel like it; be ready to understand when you don’t think you can.”

Jean and Manny have a faith- based marriage. “Jesus died on the cross because he loved us. To honor him, I have promised to love Jean forever. We have been blessed,” Manny said.

Jean said, “We met at a dance and at a wedding, we danced the jitterbug together. I’m still dancing in my kitchen whenever I hear a song I like.”

Our destiny

“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone — we find it with another.” — Thomas Merton.

Candy and Jason Pychinka of Jim Thorpe were married in 2014 and have nine children, three adopted, and six together. They dated on and off through high school, but when Jason joined the Marines, he said to her, “I’ll be back for you, kid.” And he did, but it wasn’t until 20 years later.

“We were always kind of near each other when he came home from the Marines,” said Candy. “Then one night I was on Facebook trying to find classmates for a 1996 class reunion. I was looking for Jason’s sister, and I found him. I sent him a message, and he didn’t answer until one year later to the day. We texted back and forth and talked all the next day.”

Jason drove 500 miles to tell Candy that he had never stopped loving her. “I believe the universe has meant us to be together,” said Candy. “Despite our crazy schedules, we find ways to communicate to each other whether it be by a funny meme or a two second video.”

Jason, who spent 10 years in the Marine Corps, said that love has many challenges to it, especially when many children are involved. “It is what it is,” he said. “Love has to be unconditional and with our lifestyle, we have to take a step back and breathe. I learned much about discipline from being molded by the Marines. I believe that the decision to love is present with each new day.”

To the surprise of no one who knows the Pychinkas, they will be spending Valentine’s Day with their children.

Love keeps four couples together no matter what adversities life continues to drop upon them. Cupid got it right when he shot his arrows through two loving hearts to be linked together forever as one.