The one about Ross and Sarah's wedding

This past weekend I flew from Portland down to Tallahassee for the wedding mass of Ross and Sarah....Ross and Sarah Peters.

Frankly, I had been looking forward to this event for the entirety of harvest.  I had been looking forward to it since Ross and Sarah got engaged actually.  I had been looking forward to it mainly because two of my good friends were getting married, two friends who I had spent much time and shared much with last year CAP.  But also, I was longing to see all of my friends again who I bid farewell in old Kentucky many months ago.

I got in late Thursday night and rented a car.  This time, I got the luxury experience known as the Chevy Cobalt.  It was the envy of every young man at the wedding and everyone wanted to experience the sheer power and prestige of the Cobalt.  At the rental car counter, a young man was working late.  I stumbled up to the counter with 2 cases of wine.  The attendant told me that there was a 15 dollar per day fee for being underage.  I said, "Well, here's the thing about that.  I work at a winery and have 2 cases of wine here.  Why don't you knock off those fees and I'll give you a bottle, savy?"  He seemed quite bewildered and said..."OK."  So I got 45 dollars off plus an additional 10 percent off of that.  Pretty good for a bottle of O'Reilly's Pinot Gris.  I spent the night with Ross' brother Todd and two of their other friends from Ohio.  And let me tell you, there's nothing wrong with Ohio, except the snow and the rain.  The next morning, Friday morning, I got the pleasure of enjoying a Jimmie Dean's microwavable breakfast sandwich.

Friday was quite exciting for all of us.  We had the rehearsal dinner and everyone from CAP started showing up.  We went to the church around 5 and then everyone started rolling in.  It was kind of the scene in Return of the King when the fellowship reunites.  Ross, Taye, Sarah and I were standing at the front of the foyer and the families of the bride and groom were between us and the door.  As people started filing in, we first made eye contact, across a sea of relatives.  You could see a subtle smile grow in love into full blown laughter.  We didn't have to say anything really, we just started laughing.  Jenny, Heather, Jennie, Laura and Cat-Lisa all showed up and in many ways the celebration started.  We made our way to Sarah's aunt's house for the rehearsal dinner.  We shared in the wine I had brought, in prayer followed by dinner and then in much reminiscing and laughter.  After dinner we made our way back to the hotel where we met up with Jesse and continued to tell stories both past and present to share in the company we had all missed so dearly.  Especially those of us who are overworked and live in heat less homes.  It was almost as if we were sitting in one of our rooms in a volunteer house.  Nothing much had changed really, we all fell into our old rhythm.  Jesse and I departed around 2 am to go to our hotel to get some sleep.

The next morning, Saturday morning, we awoke to celebrate the wedding of our dear Ross and Sarah.  Most of the morning was spent in preparation and anticipation.  Jesse and I awoke and had some breakfast, including gravy, and headed over to meet up with Cat-Lisa, Laura, Jennie, and the Peters family.  We basically hung around until it was time for the wedding to start.  We went to Publix to get some great subs and some cigars for after the wedding.  But that's all boring, on to the wedding!

The Mass was beautiful.  The priest who celebrated was from Ireland which is like an added bonus.  I think it made the Mass a lot easier for all of our Protestant brothers and sisters, quite charming.  When Ross and Sarah exchanged their vows and the priest said at the close of the mass, "What God has joined together, man shall not tear asunder" I started to tear up.  After mass, we made our way to the reception which was quite a sight to behold.  It was at an old school woman's club with moss covered weeping willows in the yard of green grass and gentle breezes.  Sarah looked lovely in her wedding dress as both families took pictures under a massive far-reaching tree.  Sarah was almost upstaged by one Jesse Timmons in a red bow tie, tearing up the dance floor ... but not quite.  Many votes were secured and Ross and I got more secure in our cabinet positions.  Love is a beautiful thing, I can't wait to see what the new day brings.  Many drinks were had, dances danced, great food eaten, love and merriment abounded.  I even made a toast to the lovely couple.  Naturally it was a toast with ALE 8 and Captain Morgan, our signature drink.  I did my Ross impression and tried to suppress my nervousness long enough to let everyone know how much I loved the newly married couple.  We danced a very special dance when Wagon Wheel came on.  We all joined arms and sang along, making sure to abridge the lyric, "He's a headin west from the Cumberland Gap to Johnson City, Tennessee" to "Johnson County, Kentucky."  It was just as it should have been.  Ross and Sarah left and made their way down to the coast.  The rest of us made our way back to the hotel to hold on to our last moments together.

The following day, we all headed our separate ways (again).  I could go into an entire section about how horridly I miss everyone and feel like I left a home in Kentucky.  But I won't, because we all know this to be true.  Here I am, in an old farm house in rural Oregon, no heat, green tea, Yonder Mountain String band playing, stocking hat, blanket on my lap, and my friends are elsewhere.  But I'm not going to get into it.  No, I'm not going to get into it.

Instead I will tell you a funny story.  When I was flying back to the People's Republic of Portland, I had an hour layover in Chicago.  So I planned to meet up with Mom and Dad to see them and get some Portillo's Chicago hot dogs.  Due to Southwest's lack of punctuality, I only had 15 minutes to get from my gate at one end of the airport, out of security, back into security, and to the other end of the airport.  So, I sprinted past the Chicagoans in and out of security and made it back to my plane as the doors were closing.  On the plane, sweaty and crowded into a middle seat, I was hungry and out of breath.  I had last eaten a piece of nasty airport pizza 10 hours ago.  So, I put out a newspaper and started eating the potent-smelling dogs.  As the mustard and onions dripped down my huge beard the Portlanders were horrified.  Maybe it was because I was eating hot dogs, or maybe because my beard was so nasty... maybe because they were wondering how a homeless man got on the airplane.  But, let me assure you, the dogs were well worth it.  I looked over at the man next to me.  He looked wide eyed and a little like he might vomit, so I offered him a bite.  He said no, so I just gave him a thumbs up.

Ross and Sarah are married.

Cheers and holler at your boy!

Well the summer is come and gone

As the leaves fall on the lawn

I think about the pleasures pass me by

And I'm thinking of my old home

And the loves I left behind

No, I couldn't go back there if I tried.

-O.C.M.S