{"id":293558,"date":"2019-02-11T06:00:24","date_gmt":"2019-02-10T20:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=293558"},"modified":"2019-02-11T06:00:24","modified_gmt":"2019-02-10T20:00:24","slug":"ron-and-moon-smiths-dance-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/ron-and-moon-smiths-dance-of-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Ron and Moon Smith\u2019s dance of love"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-293558 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/ron-and-moon-smiths-dance-of-love\/smith1\/'>SMITH1<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-293559'>\n\t\t\t\tRon and Moon Smith are celebrating 20 years of marriage this year. (Bea Cabrera)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/ron-and-moon-smiths-dance-of-love\/smiths3\/'>SMITHS3<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-293560'>\n\t\t\t\tFile photo, taken in January 1999, shows Ron and Moon Smith\u2019s wedding at the top of Mt. Tapachau, Saipan. (Bea Cabrera)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Twenty-two years ago, Moon Smith, who was just looking forward to some peace and quiet in her room, succumbed to a friend\u2019s request to go to a dance class at the library annex to shake the blues away. <\/p>\n<p>Also responding to a friend\u2019s invitation, Ron Smith was headed to the same dance class and was looking forward to a casual and fun afternoon.<\/p>\n<p>At the library, and unexpectedly paired with each other, that first dance led to the start of a lifelong journey of listening to each other\u2019s music and dancing to the same tune. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the teacher said that I have to dance with Ron, I asked why? He was a stranger and doesn\u2019t wear slippers!\u201d Moon laughed. \u201cBut I did it anyway because it was required. \u2026I did not get his name and whenever I see him [after], I would just simply shout \u2018Hi, friend!\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Ron recalls that that first encounter turned into many sessions as they went to dance class every week and did many, many dances together, from ragtime to Israeli square dancing, to folk dancing, to tango and cha-cha. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou name it, we did everything. \u2026We weren\u2019t talking and, after every dance, we just went to our own separate corners,\u201d he said. \u201cEventually friendship blossomed. \u2026We had a lot of moments that cumulatively led to the building of a relationship. It took time of repeatedly getting together in various circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ron and Moon eventually got married in 1999; they just celebrated their 20th anniversary last January. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne important ingredient in our marriage is we have a lot of things in common in regards to the way we live our lives. \u2026The fact that neither of us drink, smoke and gamble are important aspects. In addition, we have similar world views, of life and the universe.,\u201d Ron said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think you can have divergent interests like hobbies or intellectual pursuits. Diverse interests is a good thing because if you have interests that are closely aligned, it results in competition. \u2026Another important thing is that you are compatible domestically so you have to be able to not just be tolerant but accepting of your spouse\u2019s habits at home and have similar interests in,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Moon agrees with Ron about respecting each other\u2019s interests. \u201cWhat he likes, he does. At home [or] at his office, he does his hobbies like fixing clocks and watches,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor my part, Ron knows I love gardening. \u2026But for dinner, lunch, shopping, or going to events, we are always together. \u2026Like normal couples, we fight and when we do, we walk away from the situation. When our emotions have settled or cooled down, that\u2019s when we talk things over and it works for us,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>Like dance partners, both individuals must learn each other\u2019s strength to perfect a move. This is the same with Ron and Moon. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI admire her ability to accept things that are outside of the box, so to speak. Her accepting nature and ability to transcend the paradigms that were taught to her previously and go beyond are very attractive. \u2026Moon lacks most of the things that would create the kind of contention that you see in more contemporary relations. \u2026It\u2019s the lack that I find attractive\u2026and that becomes an attribute in itself,\u201d Ron said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also admire her strength of character. \u2026Even though she is afraid, she will never show it. \u2026I remember we were in the middle of a massive squall between Sarigan and Anatahan. The waves were 14 feet high and were bringing down the sails. It was 3am and we had big, strong guys cowering underneath the bunk but Moon was out there with me on the deck, reefing sails. \u2026She was afraid but she doesn\u2019t let it overcome her and, when the cards are down, I know I can depend on her,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRon has never changed over the years and has remained very sweet. \u2026He is always there for me. When we were still dating and even up to now, when I want to go walking, he would go with me,\u201d Moon said,<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe takes good care of me and makes sure I enjoy and have fun. He especially has a good heart\u2026 always giving,\u201d Moon added.<\/p>\n<p>For Ron and Moon, Saipan will be forever the dance floor of their marriage. \u201cThis our home. \u2026The CNMI is the best place in the world and I would not like to live anywhere else. We have been to so many places all over the world, all throughout Asia, Europe and many places in the U.S. We\u2019ve been to Palau and Yap and, every time we go somewhere, the first thing that Moon and I feel is that we miss Saipan,\u201d Ron said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026More than just the clean air and water are the culture and the people. People here are not like people in other places because here, people are much more genuine, kind, more forgiving and tolerant. \u2026There is an opportunity here that would not exist anywhere else because people care about capabilities rather than qualifications.\u201d Ron added.<\/p>\n<p>Ron and Moon hopes to continue their dance of life, of togetherness and spend 20 more years of marriage. \u201cI have been calling him \u2018honey\u2019 for 20 years\u2026 I tell him I love him everyday because when we don\u2019t say I love you to each other it feels like we are missing something,\u201d Moon said. \u201cWe don\u2019t take that for granted and I make sure that I express that every single day. \u2026That will not change,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI treat Moon like I am still courting her because if I don\u2019t, then I am not treating her properly, because the reality is that importance is still there. How can that person be less important now than that person was when you first met them? The importance is the same,\u201d Ron said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026 Saipan has a loving community and it fosters a loving relationship. That\u2019s what we have and it is so incredibly wonderful and we appreciate it everyday,\u201d he added.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Twenty-two years ago, Moon Smith, who was just looking forward to some peace and quiet&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":293559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-293558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}