post wedding facto

Annie and I went to a friend's wedding last evening. 5:30 on a Friday. I've never been to a wedding on a Friday before.

It was a lovely and intimate ceremony in a small Episcopalian Church. The pastor was the same woman who baptized the bride 10 years ago. (She wasn't baptized as a baby.) It was an emotional experience for everyone there.

I have know the bride since she was born. Her family has been close to Annie's family for many years. We have been friends for many years. Almost 20 years ago, her Dad contracted meningitis for a second time. It affected his brain. It left him with the mind of a 6 year old. He lives, today, in a nursing home in Wisconsin.

Her Mom died of a virulent cancer, the likes of which I've never seen before, less than a year ago. She was diagnosed and died within a matter of weeks. She had always been healthy. She just suddenly sickened and died.

Her name was Candy. She was as sweet a person as you will ever find. She was one of the most absent-minded and forgetful people I have ever known, yet it was that pleasant absent-mindedness which endeared her to so many people. You've heard of the absent-minded professor? Well, she was the absent-minded sweetheart.

It was an emotional experience to see her daughter married, yesterday. I remember that young lady kicking my hand as it lay on her Mom's belly, Candy having said, "Come feel this! This is what she does to my bladder!" She kicked hard. Poor Candy. I'm sure she had to change her drawers rather frequently.

This young lady has been the rock her Mom needed through all the hard times that followed after her Dad got sick. I hope these hard times are done for her, and that only good times are left for her to be had. She's had her share of the shit life can throw at you. More than her share. It's time for her to share in the good life.

Good Luck, Jess. And

Peace.