BURNABY, B.C. — Although Baerbel and Jim Allan are sitting down on a bench, Jim is being inspired by the crows that surround them, like a stand-up comedian.
“I go way back,” Jim starts joking about being a senior. “To ‘crow’-magnon time.”
When he’s not making crow puns about his age, Jim’s making crow puns about two birds squawking.
“(That’s) Mike Crow and Mack Crow. They’re brothers,” Jim smiles. “They argue a lot about economics.”
While he can comprehend crow now, Jim and Baerbel could barely understand each other when they first met while he was visiting Europe, and she wondered about the letters VGH on the hospital smock he was wearing in a photo.
“And I said, ‘Vancouver’s Greatest Hugger,’” Jim adds nobody smiled, let alone laughed. “Not an iota of response.”
Her English wasn’t good enough to get it. His German wasn’t good enough to explain.
“So, I had to demonstrate,” Jim smiles, followed by Baerbel beaming even bigger. “And now 38 years of wonderful marriage, here we are.”
While they both fell in love at first hug, their relationship deepened through transcontinental phone calls, and by the time they exchanged vows in their 40s, they were the best of friends.
“You marry sometimes for the wrong reasons,” Baerbel says. “Good looks or whatever.”
“I married for that too!” Jim interrupts.
“Me too,” Baerbel agrees with a smile.
While Baerbel and Jim try to visit the crows once a day, they credit the longevity of their love to making each other laugh throughout every day.
“It’s very nice to listen to my husband’s laugh,” Baerbel smiles.
“And I like to hear her laugh as well,” Jim says. “It’s even better if she’s laughing with me, not at me.”
While a crow cawing can occasionally inspire comedy from Jim—“They swear sometimes. Have you heard a crocus?”—laughing with his beloved Baerbel always deepens their love.
“I like listening to words of love, because I have an ear in the middle of my heart,” Jim smiles before holding Baerbel’s hand and spelling out the punchline, “H…e-a-r…T.”
