Why Can't This Night Go On Forever?

For this piece, titled Why Can't This Night Go On Forever?, and is 60"w x 48"h, the subject is a golden moon over lake Superior with Split Rock Lighthouse, the jagged rocks of the cliffs and endless blue skies and waters. This painting actually has quite a story behind it. On my first date with my future wife Kathy, which was set up by some friends, we went to where else but Perkins for a bite to eat .. where all the college students went in those days ... and then decided to set out on a little adventure up the Scenic 61. We drove with some friends all the way up to Split Rock Lighthouse, and for some reason, we pulled in and the gate was left open. Normally, the gate would have been shut, but tonight the park ranger forgot, and so a little after midnight we parked close to the lighthouse and walked up to the edge of the cliff. The moon hung over the water and sparkled across the lake while some people had a campfire across the bay. As I looked at the moon and the lake and the scene I remember thinking why can't this night go on forever? Most first dates might not be so adventurous and spontaneous as ours was, but that's just the way I was made, and it wasn't too much longer I proposed to my wife at Coppertop Church on the top of the hill in Duluth ... with the moon once again smiling down on us, sparkling and dancing across the water...