Would Have Been 37 Years This Year!

As today dawns I am flooded with memories of this day 37 years ago. I was excited to get the day going and looking forward to many great years of spending my life with Jennifer. Surprisingly I was not scared! We did not have a pot to piss in but we had each other and that was enough.

We both were anxious to get through the big day. There were a few challenges that morning, some I knew about and some I did not find out about until later that day. I did not know about Jennifer ripping a contact lens the morning of the wedding and the hoops she and her Mom went through to get a replacement. The breaking of a flower vase for flowers that were to be on the alter. Thankfully that also got replaced in time for the big show. A priest that was hung over from our rehearsal dinner and was almost late for the wedding.

All in all the show went on and it was a very nice service, we were blessed to have the church packed with family and friends. Then it was off to the reception at the old Blaine School in Walkerville, MT. Our friend Mike Dolan hauled us to the reception in a old restored Cadillac limousine. The old Blaine was rocking on that day. I took a ride up to the Blaine earlier this week. It is completely closed and pretty dilapidated these days.

I remember riding into town in our old Studebaker cattle truck with my Dad. It was a beautiful day. We had taken the truck up to the Blaine that morning to put all of our wedding gifts in it after the reception to haul back to the ranch. The old truck got filled with gifts and it was a good sized truck. I still have many of those gifts including the 13 place settings of China.

I remember getting dressed in my tuxedo with the pink tie and cummerbund in the back of the church with my groomsman.

I remember completing the paperwork for the marriage certificate with our best man (CD Holter) and maid of honor (Annie Martin).

I remeber one of my little cousins (this was his first wedding) blurting out to his Mom and Dad that he thought she was going to be in a white dress when Jennifer and her Dad were walking down the church aisle (Jennifer’s dress was pink). She felt she did not look good in white, because of her Irish white complexion. His Mom and Dad had explained the wedding to him and his siblings prior to the wedding and had told them the bride would be in a white dress. Needless to say he was surprised to see the bride in a pink dress. I hope the poor kid did not have trust issues with his parents after that. His parents were just here for Dads service and we had a good laugh about that.

The reception was a blur, but I remember the dollar dance and all the money we got. We pretty much lived on that the first year we were married.

Our nephew Michael Benner (who had just recently gotten his drivers license) and his friend Kurt were sent to the store to get more bread (I believe a couple of times) to keep everyone fed. Knowing Mike and Kurt I am sure they probably took a little side jaunt and cruised the drag while getting that bread.

I remember cutting the cake my Auntie Eve Casne had made for us. I also remember my Uncle Seal needing a stiff drink when he got to the ranch with the cake the day before the wedding. He said that was one stressful trip from Kalispell to Elk Park and trying to not hit any big bumps along the way that would damage the cake.

I remeber all the photos we had taken after the wedding and the one we forgot to take (the one with my folks and sisters and us). We got the one of just Mom and Dad and Jennifer and I but not one with Colleen and Cindy.

I had dreams last night about that day. It is good to relive the big day, but it hurts like hell to not have her here with me so we could laugh about it. We did that many times over the 34 years we did have together.

Like I said I hope she, her parents and Dad are having a good time in heaven today! I will do my best to get through today.