For a few years now, I have resisted the pleas of others to join facebook. I just recently did so at the request of my friend Mark, who suggested that if I wanted him to know that I had a new post to my blog, that facebook would be the perfect method of communication. Little did I know that my sister Dianne had loads of photos to which I could now be tagged. I also started looking for old photos already on my hard drive that I could post. I ran across one of my favorites, one of me with three of my buddies at Dianne’s and husband Arthur’s wedding reception. Of course many comments followed on facebook which rekindled the memories and antics of that momentous evening.
I was truly honored to be an usher and frankly did most all of the ushering as Art’s three brothers were more than willing to let me earn my spot in the rotation. Dianne and Art had tried to have a dual or combined ceremony where both Catholic and Protestant clergy would preside. It is my recollection that our long-time pastor declined to participate so Dianne agreed to be married in the Catholic tradition. While she did not convert to Catholicism, she did commit to rearing her children that way and I must say they’ve turned out awesome.
At the time, the Catholic thing was kind of big for our family. Despite my protestant perspective that grace cannot be earned versus the Catholic tenants of faith and good works, the long-term impact upon our family dynamics could not be more benign. I was thrilled that Dianne and Art chose each other and am still proud of how well they have made things work. As I recently wished them congratulations on their 28th anniversary, they are our inspiration.
If I remember correctly, I only made one potentially disrespectful move (in the church that is). Prior to anyone else being in the church, I asked my cousin Tim to take a picture of me with my arm around the Virgin Mary. Tim thought better of being connected to my immature stunt so he refused to do so. His judgment would get far worse as the night progressed however.
They were married on December 17th, 1983 and had both graduated from Arizona State the prior day. Joshua David would be born nine months later. The pair also experienced the typical whirlwind of activities as family and friends had come from across the country to help them celebrate. I also had come home from Dallas and was excited to be part of the experience as well as seeing my family and friends. Dianne and Art were kind enough to invite my friends Paul H., Mike B. and Paul G., a move they are probably still questioning. In speaking with Art recently, I’m pretty sure he wasn’t in on the Paul G. thing:).
After the wedding, the reception was held at the Holiday Inn. I had no mischievous intentions whatsoever until Mike B. kept bugging me to find out where they were spending the night so that we could do something fun (for us I guess, mean to them). Mike was next to youngest of eight brothers and sisters and had lots of wedding prank experience he was more than willing to unleash on our innocent newest of newlyweds. The rest of us, including a surprisingly party ready Tim, were feeling pretty good or at least on the way there, so we put our/Mike’s plan into action.
It was not a stretch to assume that the couple was staying at the Holiday Inn. It only took a ten spot to buy off the bell hop and he obliged us by even letting us into their room. Apparently the last trick Mike had been a part of entailed tearing the bed down and putting it in the shower. Okay, well that’s exactly what we did. Then we, mostly me I think, drank the bottle of champagne intended for the couple. I left something like a five or ten dollar bill, like that would have bought a replacement bottle. Dianne still claims this was the worst thing I did. We all signed our names as though we were proud of our handiwork. However, I am pretty sure by this time that the Paul(s) were working on just being able to stand upright. I probably had their delegation authority.
We joined the party back at Art’s folks’ place as the couple opened gifts. Only two things stand out during that time as we were hyper-focused on when the bride and groom would return to their presumed refuge. One is that I remember Art’s brother (Martin I believe) serving me a White Russian, perhaps an omen. I don’t drink those any more, I prefer Swedish vodka:). The other memory was a lowlight for Paul G. As I was most recently reminded of by Dianne, the spirits Paul had imbibed earlier were exorcised onto the hosts’ lawn. So Paul H. checked him backed into the rehab facility (his parent’s house a few blocks away).
We raced back to the hotel without the Paul(s) to watch the couple go to their honeymoon suite. They got to their room as we peered from behind a nearby bush. It was a short stay. Minutes later a hotel manager came. We stayed long enough to see them move to another room. After a few minutes, we had Tim, who had probably not participated much up until now, knock on their door and wish them congratulations. It was our thought that having Tim be the one to represent us was a way of shielding ourselves from any wrath. No
one could get mad at Tim.
I wasn’t done with the mischief. I stayed at their house while they were on honeymoon. A lot of uncooked pasta was distributed. I believe this was spearheaded by my mama who actually taught me about putting spaghetti in the sheets as well as short-sheeting the beds. I was most proud of the pasta I strategically placed on top of the ceiling fans. They didn’t receive that surprise until summer.
Bobbi and I were on the receiving end of the pasta and other funny things in 1991. Dianne’s and Art’s retribution was substantial. Although Paul and the gang tried to find out where we were staying, I learned from others’ mistakes. We did find cat food and pasta in our ice cubes and wine glasses well into the next year following our wedding. Then there was my 40th birthday surprise which Dianne trumpets as one of her biggest achievements. She might be the master, but I was first:).
Happy Anniversary Art and Dianne!
P.S. Dianne found the original note. Unbelievable not that she had it, but that she found it. Clearly PVG was not present during the act and Joyce R. was. How could I forget her? I think we danced until the next day and I can't even dance.
