32 years for me this past week. Got married when I was 20. Had to find a young, naive one and get her married before she had any comparables - otherwise I'm afraid I would have been single forever. The key to all long marriages - set low expectations at the beginning.

The wife is and always has been a real keeper. She fished bluegills with me in farm ponds back in the old days and is willing to go out for salmon and tuna now. Doesn't need or want to go fishing but is usually willing to come along. She knows to look away when the guys are peeing over the rail and doesn't mind using the marine head. She's also tolerant of the inevitable potty mouth talk or innuendo that seems to be a part of nearly all discussions on a boat with fishing buddies aboard. She's willing to reel in fish but is also happy just to be on the water reading a book. With the enclosed cabin of my C-Dory Tomcat, fair or foul weather is not an issue and she's always willing to make the occasional sandwich or meal on the boat. She's willing to help with the fish processing and runs the vacuum packer and labels the bags. Doesn't have expensive tastes and tolerates me putting $'s into the boat and fishing.

She can run the boat but isn't that great at it. I swear if I ever went overboard with her at the helm, she'd probably go a mile or two before she realized I was missing. When it comes to driving the truck (even without a trailer attached) it's "don't even go there" - so I've given up on attempting that training. Still, I think I scored overall and I never thought about "trading up" or getting a divorce as in neither case could I do better than what I have now.