The Wedding

Father Vito Perrone married Kevin and Nichole yesterday afternoon at the Saint Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, Pleasanton, CA.

A caveat lector. There won't be any fashion statements and related subjects described in this blog.

The modern cavernous santuary of Saint Elizabeth Seton is well lit with natural light and lacking the artistic heritage traditionally found in the older majestic cathedrals.

The pews faced each other in the worship space. The bride and grooms families and guests seated respectively on one side or the other of the pews. The wedding party and Father Perrone occupied the open area in the middle of the santuary.

The wedding ceremony from the Entrance Processional to the Nuptial Blessing lasted about an hour. The very first hour together for Kevin and Nichole as one on a life time journey of happiness and tears.

For this guest, the definitive moment of a new beginning came after the exchange of vows and when Kevin and Nichole honored their parents. The newlywed couple took roses to the two sets of parents sat facing each other. The bride's parents were the first honored. They murmured and embraced. Then the young couple came to honor the groom's parents. I sat behind the groom's parents on the second row. Nichole's eyes welled with tears as she approached and embraced her parents-in-law. I saw the joyful tears of a new self and sad tears of separation from the old.

On 29 January, 2005, a part of life for Nichole and Kevin closed for ever and a new one began.

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. -- Matthew 19:6 (KJV)

Lost in Cyberspace

I sent two separate observations on the wedding yesterday. Both messages were sent on the iPAQ using a local wireless connection at the golf club house. They have not been posted as of this writing. Today I sent another test post from home. Nada. All three submissions have not been rejected, however. Something is going on with the Blogger server.

If the posts don't get published sometime today, I will do a replacement.

Orange and Yellow

There was this man in Paris who almost got away with stealing several paintings from the Louvre. After planning the crime, getting in and out past security, he was captured only two blocks away when his van ran out of gas.

When asked how he could mastermind such a crime and then made such an obvious error, he replied, "Monsieur, I had no Monet to buy Degas* to make the Van Gogh."

You thought I lacked De Gaulle to tell a story like this! Well, I did.

And speaking of artists, it was Van Gogh who articulated there is no blue without yellow or orange.

My orange and lemon trees are tempermental this year. There won't be many navel oranges and Meyer lemons to harvest this season. I have to draw the line somewhere.

If they get their act together for one last try this season, all will be forgiven. The request was if they would see the way Van Gogh did with colors, we can make blue. When they heard what I said, there was nary a quiver in their collective branches. Both gave me a noncommittal stare of silence.

A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. There will be blue sky at Kevin's wedding today afterall. The orange and lemon trees are artist-extraordinaire. They would make Van Gogh proud.

*The correct pronunciation for Degas is "day-gaw". For the purpose of the joke, it is pronounced as de-gas.

Raining and Good News

This blog is sent from the HP-iPAQ 5550 using a WLAN.

If it were raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks. So mused Irish poet/dramatist, Brendan Behan. It is raining now, but it ain't soup. Thunderstorm is expected later this afternoon.

Just checked the email here at work. Good news. The groom's father found someone else to do the camcorder duty.

A Wedding I Will Go

My cousin Kevin marries his fiancée Nichole this Saturday. The grooms's Dad, Emma's grandfather, asked me earlier this evening to do some candid movie of the event using his Sony camcorder.

Camcorders are battery hogs. I am sure there won't be a full complement of accessories and extra batteries to go with this camcorder at the wedding. We shall see.

Character

Irish: I shall be on hiatus for awhile.
He: How are the new glasses coming along.

Irish: They should be ready soon.
He: Adversity does not build character. It reveals it.

Irish: You are talking to an Irish.
He: Just the same, given what you've been through.

Irish: Slán go fóill.
He: Take care, lad. Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.

Neighborhood's Been Tee Pee-ed

Two nights ago, streets in our neighborhood were tee pee-ed by some kids or teenagers.* It was rather an amusing site to see the effect of the vandalism in the morning. Anyway, all the neighbors pitched in to clear up the mess. No harm resulted to either property or persons. The whole thing was more of a nuisance than anything else.

*Sorry. The method of this particular act of vandalism will not be described if the reader does not know what it is.

A Lesson in Winter

Here in the Centrai Valley we have been waking up to grey dawns and cold misty fog for the last three weeks. Each day the damp grey sky drapes sullenly over us, chafing our sense and sensibility. How we all long for the prodigal sun to return.

One should be thankful there is winter, regardless. It is winter that nips away the arrogance of our youth and reminds us the fragile presumptions of our lives. It is also winter that amplifies the new hope awaits us when turning over a new leaf in the coming spring.

On George W. Bush 2nd Presidential Inaugural

A fitting saying by another Republican President on W's second inaugural.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat." --Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, (1901-09)

Circle of Life

The Chang Jiang River hind waves pressing forward
A new generation succeeding the old
-- an aphorism of Middle Kingdom (L'Envoi translation)

"Where did they get these people?"
I have been muttering this familiar refrain ever since a junior grade intern with a bachelor in Criminal Justice temporary assigned to our division. He has been with our team for three weeks.

When he arrived at work today, we engaged in another session talking about an assignment for the third times in as many days.

I shuddered at the thought of my singing an introspective refrain from the "Mame" movie soundtrack at Richard's leaving:

"Should I blame the times I pampered him,
Or blame the times I bossed him;
What a shame!
I never really found the boy,
Before I lost him..."

Nah.