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Volume 6, Issue 10, Number 1
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October 12, 2002
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At last my love has come along
-- "At Last" by Etta James
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
October 12 was Melanie's wedding in Indiana. So once again I got on a plane. In the rain. As the plane is backing up and I swear to goodness the damn plane hits something. As if I needed any reason to hyperventilate. So I'm looking out the window and there is some guy in his yellow rain slicker and enormous rain hat bending over peering under the plane as if he's looking for parts to fall off. I am like, if we don't move forward basically immediately in an orderly fashion I am going to flip out here on the little 24 seat plane. Bla. So of course the whole way there (all of like an hour) I am making these deals with God and trying to come to peace with my 'sinful soul.' And people wonder why I don't like to fly. (LOL)
I stayed with Juli at her new house outside Indy, which was a lot of fun. Her husband was going up to Chicago for a convention of some kind, so we got to lounge around in our sweats and talk shop.
The wedding was great fun as I got to hang with a bunch of old Sorority sisters that I haven't seen since our reunion. It was odd since so many of them live near Chicago, so Kathy and the Mels hang out together all the time, and now they see Scoozer pretty often too. I got to meet Kathy's 'intended' and he seems like a really nice guy. She and Shawn are getting married on Dec. 14, which is close to the worse day in the world for me, so Hubby and I are having a bit of a disagreement about that. (More on that later.) But anyway I had some neat conversations with Shawn about parenting and marriage with children etc. Plus Melanie and Bill's song was one of the neatest songs - it was just so perfect (and being an hormonal pregnant woman is just so helpful in the tears department at a wedding!) There was also a lively discussion around the table about why Hubby wasn't at the wedding and why he's not keen on me going to Kathy and Shawn's wedding. And I did such a poor job of explaining Hubby - so they all probably think he's being a jerk. But, happily, the only person who has to live with Hubby is me. And I adore him, antisocial and all!
I also got to visit Juli's parents' absolutely fabulous retreat home outside of Brown County - and I mean it was so cool! The windows on the main house which overlooks their forest really reminded me of a lodge at Vail. My dad would just love this place. They've got about 90 fully forested acres and are across the 'street' from the Brown County entrance. We had Sunday brunch at Abe's Lodge, which brought back a TON of fun memories. It was so funny because on Saturday morning I called Hubby to say that we were going to spend that evening after the wedding at Brown County and wasn't that great and remember how cool Brown County was . . . and there was the pause on the other end . . . and I'm like, "Oops, that wasn't you I ever took to Brown County to hang out, was it? Well if I ever had you would have loved it!" Happily Hubby thinks I'm an idiot anyway, so when I prove his point it's no big deal. Juli heard me trying to apologize for confusing Hubby with Boo or Spring-fling man, so then I told her the story about how Grandma went to order our wedding goblets with the wrong name on them. She actually laughed out loud and is like - "And Hubby married you anyway?"
So, of course, I am totally lusting after this retreat. The main house has the great windows and a dining room that will seat about 30. Plus next door is the 3 car garage that has additional quarters above it (2 bedrooms, full kitchen etc plus under the garage is a game room with pool table and ping pong table. Dude, I NEED this house! The funny thing, the only person in my family who could afford it is my dad, and he would never have time to go there, and Mom and Buck would spend every free moment of their life hiking and fishing at this place but could never buy it. (This would be why Tim has a group cabin at Seven Springs. Smile) But really it was fun to be at the old haunt all of 11 years later.
What just capped off the whole weekend though . . .Ok, I get off the plane and call Hubby, because we've decided it's just much easier for me to call as I get off the plane and then I get on the metro at the same time he gets the kids in the car, and then we meet at Springfield. So I get off the metro at Springfield (which is the end of the metro) and there is a black woman in full African regalia kind of standing by the car. Now - remember, I have just spent a great deal of time telling people that I don't know if I'll make it to Kathy's wedding because Hubby hates large social situations like that and he's not a real people person and is the type that doesn't go to Super Bowl parties because that interferes with watching the game. Anyway, as I get in the car Hubby looks at me sheepishly and says (as this woman basically waves Hi to me and then walks around the side of the car --- AND GETS IN) and Hubby says, "this woman needs a ride to Hylton Chapel. Is that OK?" Um, given that she is already in the car saying hi to my dear children, what are we going to do, pull her out? Hylton Chapel is a good 20 miles on the interstate (!) from where she is, and is actually on the way to our house. There is NO way in hell she is going to find someone else to take her. So as we drive away my beloved anti-social husband is making goo-goo eyes at me and saying that it was such luck we came along because she could be there all night if we didn't give her a ride.
Well, guess what. This woman was NUTS. Totally. I was trying soo hard not to laugh at Hubby. So here is this crazy African woman saying her name was Joanna Maria Jesus Christ and her husband Jesus Christ this and her husband Jesus Christ that and did I show you our wedding invitation and let me read the bible to you which I just happen to have in my bag here. So we took her to her little faith meeting at the Chapel and as we drive away Hubby just sighs and says, "Why is it that whenever I try to do something nice it's a disaster."
