Forty-Two And Counting

"Happy Anniversary", Lizzie said, as I groggily sauntered down the upstairs steps from our bedroom. "Wow", I responded, "has it been five years already since I gave up cigarettes"? I was only half kidding, of course. I knew it was our 42nd anniversary of wedded bliss. I mean, who could forget an event like that? When it comes right down to it my memory is darned good about ancient history, especially when it comes to Lizzie. I'd better be otherwise I might get a verbal frying pan upside the noggin.
I first laid eyes on Lizzie at a fraternity party in Ames, Iowa, March 14, 1969. I so impressed her that she announced she would never allow one of her sorority sisters, let alone herself, to go out with me. So, six days later, on March 20th, we had our first date and it's been all downhill(is that the correct word usage?)since then. What did we do on that first magical evening you may ask? Well, there was once a very nice Skellys Truck Stop on highway 30, on the south side of Ames, Iowa and we ate our meal there. I am such a sentimentalist that I've saved the cancelled check lo these many years; $4.86 it read, for two steak dinners. Pretty smooth, huh! We became engaged July 20, 1969 at the exact same time as when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. I've often wondered if this action by Armstrong caused some lunar pull on my brain and forced me to 'pop the question'.
The actual event took place on----uhh, you already know that.
I married into a family that was, though not rich, how can I say this? They were way, way, way, above that of mine in status. My father in law had one daughter and he spared no expense in making sure she had a day to remember. We were married in St. Augustin's Roman Catholic Church in Des Moines, Iowa. You see, if the church is written up with a 'Roman Catholic' in it then it's a biggie. Had I been married in Boone, Iowa it only would have read, Sacred Heart Church. It's kind of a snob thing. Other than my new in-laws, of course, Des Moines people tend to look down on folks outside the city limits.

The wedding reception took place at the Savory Hotel in downtown DM. The Savory was special. My father in law, I've written of him before, the Ward Cleaver like guy, held back no expense. There was a large fountain with a swan and yellowis-ish liquid coming out of it's mouth and emptied into a large glass bowl and was recirculated! Sometimes I can be nine cards shy of a full deck but not this time. "WOW,FREE SCREWDRIVERS", I thought! Does life get any better than this?
I'm not certain how many guests were in attendance but I can give you an example of the type of folks from Lizzie's side of the family who made it. I did not realize that Bill Riley would be invited until I saw him at the the reception. Now, unless you happen to be an Iowan, your chances of knowing Bill Riley are almost nil. Mr. Riley was the all everything television celebrity, State Fair promoter, radio host, sports announcer at Drake basketball games. etc. He was the closest thing to, well, and it's difficult to say but, in the state of Iowa, God-like, all 5'6" of him! If you are clueless when it comes to Riley you can google him. He's now departed this earth but the point is, I must have married someone very, very special for Bill Riley to come to our wedding. I shook his hand after being introduced and left him with these pearls of wisdom: "Hey, I know you"! In retrospect, these were not exactly George Patton words. I was allowed to invite the great baseball player, Henry Aaron, but unlike Bill Riley he didn't show. He didn't even have the common courtesy to send a 'regrets' note.
So, the reception came to a close and Lizzie and I headed for the airport.
We flew out to Denver for the honeymoon. We left snow for more snow. I didn't realize planes flew to the Carribbean---or did I----whatever this means. We were on a three day timetable before returning to Storm Lake and to coach my high school basketball team. And so the roller coaster, hardly a merry-go-round, began.
There should always be a moral to the story and I've got a beauty. In our wedding Lizzie and I did it in a huge way when it came to support of friends. We had the usual Best Man and Maid of Honor. There were four brides maids and four groomsmen. In addition, there were three ushers. So, including us, we had the assistance of thirteen other friends to send us off into life together. Of those thirteen, and this is worthy of 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' or 'The Guiness Book of Worlds Records' all thirteen youthful souls are still married to the original spouse. Two are deceased and they remained with their originals, too. I mean, that's the stuff that could qualify us for the 'Ellen Show'. Someone call 'Maury'. That story could provide a script for a major motion picture.
Maybe we'll do it on number fifty!