Joining
the family and close friends, Engine Five and its company were there for the occasion,
as were several others of the fire-fighting family. The soon-to-be mayor of Galveston, Jim
Yarborough came as well, before his long day of last minute campaigning
began. The crowd wasn’t a huge one, but
they were all excited to be a part of a pretty special occasion. The couple’s children stood up with them, and
we made it through the ceremony with a few tears and a lot of laughter.
The
reception followed at Rudy and Paco’s restaurant. The entire place was reserved for the event,
and pretty much all the space was needed.
I’d only been there once before, but the food was incredible. We got to choose from three entrees, so I picked
red snapper over steak or chicken. Hey,
being the son of a former deep sea fishing boat captain, I had no choice. Even the appetizers were top of the line squid
tentacles. Isn’t that what calamari
is? Again, not something I’m used to
ordering at Sonic … or even Shrimp and Stuff.
The highlight of the reception to me, though, was the wedding cake. I must say I have never seen one like it
anywhere. It had three or four tiers,
like you might expect, but the resemblance to a traditional wedding cake pretty
much ended there. This one had been
built using twinkies, those chocolate cupcakes with cream filling and the white
icing squiggled across the top, pink coconut snoballs, several versions of
dingdongs (that used to be one of my all-time favorites), and what looked like
chocolate chip muffins. They were all
held in place with icing. Absolutely
decadent. Culinary heaven for a junk
food addict, for sure. The kids couldn’t
wait to grab their own personal favorite.
I heard one lady assuring a little girl that the cake would still be
there and be fresh no matter how long she had to wait. With all the preservatives involved, she
could wait a few years and they would taste the same. Didn’t discourage the little girl in the
least. Me either. Do you know how long it’s been since I have
had a snoball? Or one of those
cream-filled cupcakes, for that matter? Well,
that’s just too long. Strictly for the
sake of not making the couple feel bad, I forced myself to partake of a bit of
pink fluffiness. And some chocolaty
gooiness. Not the best follow-up to the
red snapper delicacy, but it sure tasted good.
If Mike and Dana will continue to provide the same mixture of fine
dining cuisine and surprising sweetness to their marriage experience, I think
they will do just fine.
And
I’m not the only one who is optimistic about their future together. The groom’s daughter stopped by our table
during the reception. When asked “How
are you doing?” she replied with probably the sweetest soliloquy on marriage
that I have ever heard. I wish I had
been able to tape it and replay it for the bride and groom. But no.
This was something that would lose its effectiveness unless done in
person. Oh, I could try to summarize the
sentiment. After all it included some things
like “I’ve never seen my Dad as happy as he has been since he’s been with her”
and “I got a sister out of the deal.
Even though she kind of drives me crazy at times, I’m really excited to
have her.” But without the passion she
communicated, and the depth of love that was the source of it, anything I would
say would surely pale when compared to the real thing. If she hasn’t already, I hope she finds the
ability to share with her Dad and his new wife the same things she shared with
us. It would sure mean a lot to
them.
Quite
the beginning. Congratulations to you
and your family, Mr. and Mrs. Chief, er, Wisko.
Genesis
2:24 says, “For this reason a man will
leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one
flesh.”
Father,
walk with this new family as their journey together continues. Your presence in their life can only make
things better for them. Amen.
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