weddings Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Funerals and weddings

I Love You Truly

Rather suddenly, I recalled attending many funerals and weddings growing up. And I don’t mean funerals of people I was close to, like the funerals of my grandma Agatha Green (d. 1964) or my great-aunt Deana (d. 1966). Or the weddings of my mom’s cousins, Donald and Robert.

No, most were my parents’ friends, and most took place at my church, Trinity A.M.E. Zion, in Binghamton, NY. I don’t know that it was explicitly stated, but there was an implicit expectation that we should attend these events at my church because it was what people in my community did. You show up.

The funeral part came to mind after the funeral of Al Easton. I attended a Death Cafe four days later. I was one of a half dozen facilitators in a ZOOM breakout room. At least three participants in our group of six were young college students who had never attended a Cafe before, and I needed to insert a conversation starter. Early on, I told about a story I heard at Al’s funeral, which was very funny, and I laughed heartily. (It loses something in translation.) I think the experience of going to a plethora of funerals has made talking about death less scary and more “normal.”

Also, as a kid, I read excerpts of and several articles about The American Way of Death, the groundbreaking 1963 book by Jessica Mitford about the emotionally exploitative funeral industry.

The same year as the Titanic

As for weddings, not only did I attend them, I sang at them as a boy soprano, almost always I Love You Truly, the schmaltzy 1912 tune:

I love you truly, truly dear,Life with its sorrow, life with its tear,Fades into dreams when I feel you are near,For I love you truly,Truly dear!

I performed this at least a half dozen times before my voice changed. It’s strange how that rushed into my memory.

Sunday Stealing: Funny The World

missed weddings

Another Sunday Stealing. Before I get into that, I should commend Bev Sykes of Funny The World for putting this up since 2008. I started doing it in 2009, off and on for a couple of years. Then, after ABC Wednesday ended and I needed something collegial with other bloggers, I found my way back to Stealing twice in 2021 (one was about COVID-19) and regularly since May of 2022. So thanks, Bev.

1. Your favorite part of the day

It’s long been around 5:30 a.m. when I wake up, go into my office, and check to see if the world has ended. If not, I do my Wordle (383 in a row), and Quordle. I post my blog link on Facebook; I used to post to Twitter, but I’ve been disinclined lately. I check my email, addressing the stuff I need to respond to immediately and deleting stuff I don’t have to open. Then, I’ll start writing a blog post if I have time, though I will likely finish it later.

2. Something you know a lot about.

Beatles albums, specifically, the difference between the US and UK releases. There were more US albums before Sgt. Pepper because the US albums had to have the singles included, and the UK releases eschewed using the 45s. Also, the US albums were shorter (11 or 12 tracks vs. usually 14). I wrote about a couple of albums here.

I’m also a calendar nerd.

3. An important person in your life.

I’ll pick Bruce, who used to be in the choir and IMO still should be. He is the source of Math Is Everywhere. He took my wife to her various doctors in the autumn of 2022.

My preferred pasta dish

4. Your favorite recipe

It’s for lasagna from an old Betty Crocker cookbook. Incidentally, I never cook lasagna noodles but add more tomato products than the recipe calls for, which generally does the trick.

5. An event that turned out differently than planned

There are a lot of weddings that fall into that category. My then-girlfriend and I were invited to a wedding in Albany on March 30, 1986. It was Easter Sunday. We called a cab 90 minutes before we needed it. It never came. So we walked. It was 87F (30.55 C), and we were all sweaty as we arrived in time to see the very end. A similar thing occurred on July 27, 1991, in New Jersey, involving my sisters, my mother, my infant niece, my then-bride, and me, missing my cousin’s wedding ceremony. All I will say is it wasn’t MY fault.

6. How you procrastinate

I’m playing Pinochle, spades, or Backgammon on my phone. But I don’t see it as procrastination but as a break between tasks.

7. The best type of surprise

Receiving music

8. Music that helps you relax

Huh. Does music make me relax? I dunno. It engages me, but relaxation would not be a term I’m inclined to use. Related: Neil Diamond turns 83 on January 24. Thank The Lord For The Night Time, which I just listened to, is my absolutely favorite Neil song.

9. A thing your life has in excess

Paper. I paid medical bills for which I need to get reimbursement. Various notes about genealogy. Unread magazines.

Nonagenarian

10. A book you want to read.

Are you kidding? My shelf is loaded with them. I’ll pick at random Renato! by Eugene Mirabelli, which I started reading and enjoyed reading, but then life got in the way. I like Gene quite a bit.

11. A person you’re always happy to see.

I’ve kept up with some folks I went to kindergarten with: Carol, Karen, Bill…

12. What time do you go to sleep?

Oh, it varies widely, 10 p.m., 1 a.m. It depends on how much I feel I still need to do. And utter fatigue comes into play occasionally.

13. A word to describe the past year.

Variegated

14. Your favorite household chore

Vacuuming, with a caveat. Using the vacuum is easy; moving the furniture to do the cleaning, not so much. Also, the sound of a vacuum tends to put me to sleep. I LOVE listening to others vacuum.

NFL football postponed?!

15. One thing you’d like to see

My genealogical chart with all of my great-great grandparents identified. I know 12 of 16.

More mundanely, I wanted to watch today’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Buffalo Bills game. But “due to public safety concerns in light of the ongoing weather emergency in western New York, [it] has been rescheduled to Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by CBS. The decision to move the game to Monday was made in consultation with New York Governor Kathy Hochul in the best interest of public safety and with the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers as the region prepares for the storm.”

It is the correct choice. Still, I have an MLK event to attend, so I hope to watch the recording before someone tells me the score.

Anna and Brian’s wedding

Anna married Brian on August 1 of this year on a farm in Glen, NY.

I’d known Anna practically since she was born. The narrative that her father Broome told at the reception after her wedding to Brian suggested that perhaps she wouldn’t have been born at all, but for me.

The way he tells it, it was his first day working at FantaCo, the comic book et al store I was managing in late 1983. either he wanted to come in late or needed an extended lunch. Since he was a law student, I thought maybe he needed some extra study time. Or maybe he needed to work some more hours at the law firm he was also working at, but neither of these was the case.

Instead, he wanted to go see Bread and Puppet Theater with this young woman named Penny he had met. Broome SAYS that I extorted the promise that he would name his firstborn after me. Interestingly, after Broome spoke at the reception, some friend of his told me that the first time HE had heard the story, Broome said he OFFERED to name his first child after me for the time off, which is precisely how I remember it.

In any case, Broome and Penny DID get married; I was present at a ceremony that was a surprise to most of the guests who thought it was just a summer party. They had two children, Anna and Luke. And Anna’s middle name is Green.

I finally figured out why he persists with this version, which by now probably he even believes: it’s a better story! Or as Luke’s girlfriend said to me about another topic, “That’s just Broome!” A wise young woman. Broome and Penny are in the foreground in a photo by Anna’s godfather, Lynn Stone.

Anna married Brian on August 1 of this year on a farm in Glen, NY somewhere southwest of Amsterdam, Montgomery County. I really liked the vows, which I presume was based on these handfasting vows:

Brian, Will you cause her pain?
I May
Is that your intent?
No

Anna, Will you cause him pain?
I may
Is that your intent?
No

*To Both*
Will you share each other’s pain and seek to ease it?
Yes

Fortunately, it did not rain, which was in some forecasts, for we could have had a sea of mud. It was, in fact, rather warm, but dry. Good thing there was a large tent covering, to protect us from the sun after the brief ceremony.

I had not previously met Brian. They were living in New York City, but now they are residing upstate. During the early part of the reception, Brian sang John Legend’s All of Me to Anna. He has a VERY nice voice.

At some point, the bride tossed the bouquet, and the youngest single lady, one I’m related to, caught it. Fortunately, they didn’t do the part where the guy catching the garter puts it on the leg of the bouquet catcher, because that would have been weird.

There was mucho good food and a constructed floor. The Daughter and I shared a dance or two before The Wife, The Daughter, our friend Bill and I returned home.

Best wishes to my namesake and her new husband!

September Rambling: overcoming adversity

One of my oldest friends is going to be working with Paul McCartney!

Why is September a slow writing month? Haven’t even gotten to look at many interesting links I have set aside to peruse later, then “later” never comes. Jaquandor’s having writing problems too, but it appears to have been rectified, according to his Facebook posts.

Arthur has had a woeful time on HIS blog, but maybe it’s the way it is after seven years of blogging. Or maybe he’s just excited about the fact that on Friday, November 1, he and Nigel are going to the registry office in Auckland, New Zealand to change their civil union to marriage. Mazel tov!

My friend Claire’s annual blog post.

SamuraiFrog was in a wedding. He was extremely anxious about it, but he did very well! Still, he’s still dealing with some stuff; good luck, guy.

My ABC Wednesday buddy Leslie on her beau’s improving health, but also her own self-described klutziness.

Phil Hansen: The art of the imperfect.

The oddest Facebook conversation I had about the owner of Barilla pasta and his anti-gay comments, which has spurred calls for a boycott, forced me to write: “It is necessarily true that one does not know the bigotry of every CEO. I don’t know how that translates to ‘since I don’t know what they all think, I’ll ignore this one’s bigotry.'”

An interview with Mark Evanier. Stories of his father featuring Harry the Gonif and ambulances. Plus a story about David Frost NOT about Richard Nixon.

I’ve been napping all wrong…

A suspected surrogacy scam revealed something remarkable. Plus, an arm and a fin.

Arthur shares his Labor Day message and an ad I like.

Dustbury manages to write about Microsoft Windows and the 1908 Chicago Cubs in the same post.

The Evolution of Alex Trebek’s Mustache.

COMIC BOOKS:
Back in the early 1950s, comic books were the Grand Theft Auto of the day, a “fall guy” along with rock ‘n’ roll for a nation looking for simplistic explanations for complex societal problems.

Evanier on coverless comics and the early days of Marvel Comics. BTW, Mr. Frog is still writing about those old Marvels.

Polite Scott is back with his medical reviews of current comic books. And you don’t even have to have read the comics to appreciate the analyses.

I imagine we’ve all felt a bit like Dougie McCoy.

MUSIC (mostly):
One of my oldest friends is going to be working with Paul McCartney! Here’s his NEW song.

Bobby McFerrin’s science lesson.

Comedian Gary Owen on “Black Churches”; and Lyle Lovett: Church.

Noshville Kotz, with apologies to John Sebastian.

The Fox by Ylvis. And I STILL don’t know what to make of this video. Maybe seeing the parodies of it, compiled by Chuck Miller, will help.

Chuck has also unearthed The Ballad of Albany and found a composer of the song. http://www.nippertown.com/2013/09/27/other-voices-other-rooms-119/#sthash.1wlWkrbF.dpuf

Before he was famous, Jimmy Buffett was in this faux band called the Now Generation. Here are amazingly “inspiring” versions of These Boots Are Made for Walking and Come Together.

GOOGLE ALERT (me)

Arthur and Jason spent episode 91 of the 2political podcast responding to comments I left on their previous episode. “Jason also talks about his experience after being attacked and robbed, including dealing with the criminal justice system.”

GOOGLE ALERTS (not me)

Ex-reporter lifts lid on his wrestling career. Roger Green’s book, titled Memoirs of a TV Wrestler, is available to download. “It is a no-holds-barred semi-autobiography, which lifts the lid on the wrestling business during the 60s and 70s.”

So to the age-old trick of putting an attractive lady beside a ‘hand’ (hello Roger Green, ex of Evo and now Radical marketing man) in a fast car and making both her and the tyres squeal.

The college wedding

Five years ago today, a couple of these people got married. The bride is named Lucy, a friend of my wife’s from college who I had not met until the day before the ceremony. The groom even my wife didn’t know (and – geez – I can’t remember his name).

Coincidentally, a football player named Ian Johnson got married to his college sweetheart, Chrissy Popadics, on that very same day, after famously proposing to her after his team, Boise State, won the Fiesta Bowl.

Last I knew (February 2012), Ian and Chrissy were still together. But I have no idea about Lucy and her beau.

But what I really wanted to talk about are colleges. Lucy’s wedding was at Brown University in Providence, RI. When you travel down the street, one crosses an archway and suddenly one is on the university grounds. I LIKE that, a lot.

It’s my considered opinion that campuses that are close to the city have a greater mutual connection. The College in St.Rose is like that in Albany. UAlbany is a split decision, with the downtown campus integrated, but the much larger uptown campus somewhat harder to get to. Binghamton U, in my hometown, is worse, isolated on the highway, and in Vestal, not even in Binghamton proper.