No, don't worry; this isn't another mere movie-based rant in which I tended to seek a little too much inner wisdom from sheer mindless American-grade entertainment; I am going to try to make this a genuinely serious subject from which I wish to shed some thoughts I harbored upon, based on an experience I recently had the fortune to take part in the previous weekend. I would put this in the Creativity forum, probably, but I am going to try to make this relatively short and not simply drone on.

Still, considering I will be relaying some inward thoughts that came to heart (note I did not use the term "mind", in this case, because you all probably know me well enough like that by now), you may find just a bit of snark in this monologue-filled story, also, but please understand that, all in all, I hope to be taken seriously in the ultimate point that I would like to make at the end of all this.

... But, let's start off right away with just a bit of humor. I had two preliminary questions on my mind as I was driving up to Magnolia to attend the wedding that I did last weekend (for clarity, I am not speaking of Lantis's and Rachel's, though theirs occurred at about the same time):
1) When my own blessed day comes for me, am I actually going to find myself worrying that entire day ONLY about the fact that I am likely to no longer be a virgin by the night's end? Sure according to my faith sex is all fine and dandy within the confines of marriage, but I'd like to think that that will not be anywhere as near to my mind as will simply be the joy at being united with my Princess (at the altar, I mean, not in the marriage bed) on the day that, by then, I am sure I will have been hoping desperately to see for a very long time. And -
2) Would it be considered irony that, while on the road to an occasion in which I would be celebrating a marital union, I had been listening to old episodes of Married With Children on the radio, a show whose humor is specifically hinged upon one man's snarky (good word, there, snark) cynicism about marriage?

Side Note: In case anyone out there feels so inclined to ask why, well, sometimes the worthless music that dominates half the available stations on the radio this past decade begins to hurt my ears so badly some days that I would rather burn episodes of old TV shows upon audio CD's to listen to over actual music, and with me personally there has to be some semblance of noise in the car. I make no secret of that.


... Anyway, I arrived just barely on time to the sanctuary of my home church in Magnolia, noticing that not only did I find myself more willingly dressed properly for this particular occasion (for those who may not know, I HATE the petty rules of being well-dressed for every little thing that happens in life outside one's household), but also, after a quick glance around the darkened sanctuary as I had taken an appropriate spot towards the back of the room, ... I found there were several faces present from the religious student organization (called the Association of Baptist Students, or ABS for short) I had been a part of while in college - people whom I knew had left long before me and, as far I had known, had graduated from my school and moved on to another life far away from Arkansas and therefore I would never see any of them again. I was amazed at this, but it made me think that, well, that's how important a people that my two friends who were being married to each other must be to all of us - to both myself and even those people I had known and been friends with at one point or another while in school but had not seen or heard from in the two to three years that have passed since I myself graduated.

... And it is true; the bride and the groom were very important friends to the rest of us who came from far away to celebrate such a joyous occasion with them. (There was even one couple among my ABS brothers and sisters, who, upon their marriage, had moved all the way to the east coast of North Carolina, so I definitely never expected to see them again, and yet there they had appeared, at the wedding.) At least for me, personally, the groom had been someone to help me overcome a rather great struggle I had faced while in still in school, and the bride was someone whom I had greatly admired and been fond of for her strength of feminine character for many years, a compliment which you might be surprised to find that I do not pay to women in real life that terribly frequently.

Just how truly important the marriages among my similarly-aged friends from both this church and the ABS was confirmed to me once more as the church's pianist had begun to delicately play a slower version of Pachabel's Canon and the bride, most rightfully dressed all in white if ever there was an appropriate occasion for it, seemed to almost shyly enter the sanctuary. ... I have actually sometimes wondered in the past why it is the bride who makes the grand entrance in wedding ceremonies while everyone present stands up from their seats to behold her like men would have commonly done in older days to maintain a sense of chivalry whenever a lady entered or left their presence, but if anything, I suppose it would it would be because the bride is sort of the precious gift being given, or offered, into the marital bond in these kinds of things.

One thing I admit I have always hated and found very undesirable in women is pettiness (in general), and especially when I see or hear of them acting as such over not only their own weddings but often even those of others, it sickens me. but, one glance at the bride assured me that here was a true princess, a woman who surely was no Bride-zilla (as is the most appropriate-sounding term I have heard for the unfeminine type of woman I briefly described above). In truth, I am willing to bet that a horde of elephants could have crashed through the reception hall in the back, breaking every last trace of fine China that had been passed down through her family or whatever, and that sweet smile would not have faded from her face for a single moment, ... well, assuming of course that said horde of elephants hadn't trampled anyone to death or anything. For her, there was probably no major disaster and certainly no minor inconvenience that would have ruined this day. I believe whole-heartedly that there truly are times when you can can tell almost everything about a person just from the appearance they currently wear, alone. And for her, there was no mistaking it.

The ceremony itself was a beautiful one, and that was probably mostly due to its sheer simplicity while maintaining the due elegance and dignity of the proceedings. The only quirk I could find, really, was the one point at which the bride had sort of stumbled through a few of her words as she was reciting her vows, probably out of simple nervousness, but even that one momentary lapse in the proceedings could be considered endearing on her part. ^_^

There was something I can say aloud here that I finally came to notice, though. Not that I at all believe that their hearts were not in their words simply because said words were rehearsed ones that, if I remember well, are traditionally uttered during the exchanging of vows in weddings held within the holy confines of churches, but I wonder if there could be anything wrong with a couple speaking their own thoughts and feelings at such a time. Surely it would have deeper meaning that way? And I could not imagine that that sort of thing would be considered inappropriate or abominable before the eyes of the Lord. Perhaps I should try to start a movement for unrehearsed wedding vows or something. If my time ever comes, I would like to think that there are many truly precious things that would come to mind for me to speak as I am gazing into the face of my princess through her snow-white veil.

And so, that's how it was. I was never the kind of person to care much for or find any true meaning in wedding ceremonies before, but, now I am glad to have bothered to attend this one. There was something of an air of holiness and sanctity about the sanctuary that I was sure I could feel that afternoon, but for me, that would naturally come with the great hope that I hold in my heart for this marriage, of all marriages I have known or personally witnessed, between these two precious friends of mine. But, again, they are obviously precious to many, certainly not just myself. This is one boldly proclaimed bond of life-long love that I have every bit of faith will last as it was meant to.

Still, perhaps no wedding occasion can go entirely without interruption or odd happening. An hour and a short reception later in which I became curious to later reflect on that I had become unusually sociable reuniting with so many old friends, we had all gathered outside of the church as always to see the new happy couple off on the start of their own personal journey through life and its often nightmarish twists and turns. ... And, unexpected at the time but now entirely comprehensible to me, the father of the bride spontaneously leaped out in front of the car and began to (pretend, I think, although you can never be too certain) cry out, "Don't take my baby away from me!" If you had known this guy like all of us from that church do, you would have easily believed him when he claimed to have made such a spectacle for the sheer humor of it, but, at the same time it would be easy to understand if it was ever discovered that he was using that excuse as a front for releasing a few suppressed feelings for having to give away his little girl into the care of another for good that day. And of course, now I realize that I had best hope I never conceive a daughter myself if I do not ever want to find myself standing bodily in front of the groom's way at her wedding, demanding that he kill me first if he truly intends to take her away. Actually, no, scratch that; he'll probably never make it past his first date with my daughter before I would imitate Al Bundy in Married With Children by steadfastly dragging him out of the house while periodically bashing his head into several walls and staircase railings along the way. ^_^

... Hunh. I actually pity the bride's father, now.



By the close of the day, the words of wisdom I ultimately wish to convey can perhaps be summed up in the description of three souvenirs that I had taken back from the wedding to the hotel room in Magnolia in which I was staying that night ->

1) the crumpled paper describing the wedding proceedings,

2) the small vial of saponifying fluid that, when reacted with human breath, creates a delightful flurry of bubbles that only young children could be amused with (don't ask; I always remembered it being white rice endearingly thrown like magical fairy dust at these occasions), and

3) the earrings of the beautiful young bridesmaid who was so gracious as to allow me to escort her back to my hotel room to help lighten the perpetual burden of the naturally ensuing loneliness. ^_^

... Oh, sorry. I suddenly began to interject hopeless little fantasies of my own into this thread, didn't I?



But, really, what I wish to speak on to the fullest extent of my Protector-of-Angels-like confidence is that Sarah's and Pate's marriage is, I truly believe, the most noble and true depiction of what love between man and woman was originally intended to be from the very beginning of the world, but theirs is unfortunately just one of very few faint sparkles of light in the vast darkness that is this often-twisted world's timeline, if you will forgive my overly vivid use of metaphors. What I have been a part of a week ago now only reassures me that I have a true and just reason for writing the story of SOE with its utterly fantastical naivety and seemingly over-the-top happy-go-luckiness, for, just as the people of Elvenia have to keep the innocence and unselfishness of their love for each other strong in order to protect their world from Darkness, so to I cannot help but believe that love in the waking human world has to shine strong - even if amongst a precious few - as well if the world is to keep from completely falling to pieces as well.

And, after reflecting that, of all of the loves I have seen developed - and the ensuing marriages held - amongst all of my dear friends I have known in the ABS over the last several years, there is not one for which I do not hope will avoid ever falling apart and becoming as though it never existed at all, and so I again look with renewed hope that one day my own time shall come, too. Maybe the princess of my dreams is yet to be known, and she actually does not currently walk in the guise of a pretty female friend among my fellow former classmates and believers in the same faith, but she carefreely traipses along the path of her own life out there somewhere, just as innocent of my existence as I probably am of hers.


... Who can ever know for certain? Maybe it's the girl who proved to be almost obnoxiously rambunctious when she first graced the Mag and once called herself Be@uty Queen Etna?

(Okay, not really, but you get my point.)


... I'm sorry. I know this still turned out to be a pretty long post, anyway.

You and I have very different perspectives about relationships but I gotta admit, I have to admire your energy and your romantic passion for finding that special girl. I hope you find what you are looking for.

I appreciate it, Bo.