"He Who Must Be Obeyed"

Thanks to some of my family members who have let me know by email that they have been reading some of my blog posts ... by the way, you who are wading through these are all awesome! ... I understand that I need to clarify somewhat my "HWMBO" reference to my spouse.

The acronym comes from the expression "He Who Must Be Obeyed" which I mentioned in my first post.  Since then, I have referenced him as "HWMBO."  Anyone who knows HWMBO understands that he is a person who is used to being obeyed.  At the same time, he is not only a lovely and compassionate human being, but a wonderful husband, good father and stepfather, great provider, loyal, brave, true and utterly dependable.

His astrological sign is Leo and, in so many ways, he epitomizes the most positive characteristics of that sign.  Leos typically are monarchs among humans in the same way that the lion is considered to be king of beasts.  In HWMBO's case, those leonine tendencies are reinforced by his given name, which is related to the word for "king" in Romance languages.  Fortuitously, Leos are considered to be very compatible with Sagittarians.

The reference that I use is a very loose parody taken from the works of the recently deceased British writer John Mortimer.  In addition to being a champion of human rights and, in my opinion, a kindred spirit, Mortimer was a prolific dramatist, screenwriter and author, as well as a barrister, i.e., a lawyer who presents cases and advocates before a court.   Mortimer's best-known literary creation was the beloved Horace Rumpole, a barrister whose specialty is defending those accused of crime before London's Central Criminal Court, otherwise known as the Old Bailey.  Rumpole of the Bailey was developed into a popular series of books and television programs in Great Britain.  Many have been televised in the US by PBS. 

Rumpole, clearly a middle-aged plus gentleman in the series, has a wife of many years, Hilda, of whom he is quite fond even though he secretly refers to her as "She Who Must Be Obeyed."  Given several relevant analogies between the Rumpoles' marital situation and our own, I borrowed the idea from Mr. Mortimer, with all due apologies to him and his heirs for taking the liberty.

I hope that this explanation clears up the mystery.  If nothing else, I hope that you'll enjoy some episodes of Rumpole of the Bailey.