Celebrations: The art of marriage requires two hearts with one intention

MANCHESTER, NH – Every love story has its twists and turns. For Cliff Hurst and Meng Qi Hurst, the ride has been borderline wild, beginning with their whirlwind courtship.

According to Cliff, serendipity and kismet are indisputable truths. The two met in January of 2017 through artist and art professor Yong Chen, who was having his car serviced at Merrimack Street Volvo, where Cliff works. They struck up a conversation, which is unavoidable once you enter the “Cliff Zone.”

“I’d heard about him but never met him. But I knew he was from Quincy and asked why he came all the way up here to get his car serviced. He told me that he comes up to Manchester for service because he appreciated the good service. We hit it off,” says Hurst.

The next morning Chen asked Cliff if he could send him a watercolor “thank you” gift. Cliff accepted and was in awe of the portrait Chen had rendered. Cliff brought it to the attention of then Manchester Art Commission chairman Daniel Berube. Equally taken by Chen’s talent they arranged to have Chen’s work shown at City Hall.

Enter fate.

Meng Qi was one of the handful of helpers who assisted Chen in transporting his artwork to City Hall. Her son was a student of Chen’s.

Cupid, disguised as Chen, shot a photograph of Cliff and Meng together. After the reception at City Hall, they drove together to the Puritan Backroom, where they sat near one another.

The heart often knows what the head can’t quite yet comprehend. Both were smitten.

“As we left City Hall, she put her arm in mine and we walked along the sidewalk together as we made our way to the car, and in the car I had classical music playing from Boston, and Meng remarked, ‘Oh gosh, good music!’  I’m not sure what happened after that, but I think Yong Chen gave me her number and it wasn’t long before I asked her to marry me,” says Cliff.

Alone for more than 30 years, Cliff’s heart was suddenly full and he didn’t want to live another minute without Meng in his life.

“Her response to me was just amazing. She said, “We will care for each other,” and that is how it is,” Cliff says. “She is the most kind, caring, and beautiful person I’ve ever known.”

In their three years together, two of them have been blissful. One year they spent apart, due to international red tape that entangled their marriage, requiring Meng to remain in China awaiting her Green Card after the couple traveled there to spend time with her family.

It was not ideal, but Cliff and Meng made the most of social media and electronic communication to lift one another up.

Cliff, a self-described “country boy from Vermont,” has traveled the world and seen a lot in his years on this earth. But he counts himself richly blessed for having met a kindred spirit from half a world away in China, proving that love can conquer all, including 6,000 miles, two language barriers and government bureaucracy.

Current world events have made it impossible for Meng to return to China to see her mother, who recently had a heart attack, but the couple plans to make the trip as soon as they can.

“I wish people could travel more to learn that we have more in common with people around the world than we have differences,” Cliff said. A former vice-chair of the NH GOP, Cliff says he was considered “too inclusive” to rise any further in the ranks. He is a peacemaker, a gap-bridger, a community builder, and has little interest in divisiveness, whether political or personal.

That is why he wanted to share his story here and now. Love conquers all. Life is not linear, so the best way to stay on track is to stop following the track and keep your eye on those things that fill your heart, that truly matter.

In Chinese there is a saying, 有缘千里来相会 (yǒu yuán qiān lǐ lái xiāng huì) which translates as,”Fate/destiny has us meet from a thousand miles away.” For Cliff and Meng, love transcends all written and spoken languages. Love is a verb, an action word, a state of mind and a state of being that comforts, envelopes and provides.