Monday, May 12, 2014

May 12 – “Congrats to the Chief”

I had the honor of performing another wedding on Saturday morning.  On the beach, no less.  The happy couple was the fire chief and his bride, now Mr. and Mrs. Mike and Dana Wisko.  Beach weddings are my favorites for many different reasons.  Sure, you have to mention the beautiful scenery.  Can’t beat having an ocean in the background and you didn’t even have to pay for the right to use the venue.  Beach weddings also seldom require a tux.  Or even a suit.  It just seems to the right thing to wear a Hawaiian shirt and shorts.  Of course my wife won’t let me wear shorts to officiate a wedding unless the couple has specifically requested it.  But I am happy just to avoid the whole coat and tie experience.  Sometimes the weather can wreak havoc on a beach wedding.  There are not many places to hide if it starts raining, but then it rarely rains here on this tropical island paradise.  More often the weather issue involves heat and humidity.  But then, that’s the nature of the beast … here on this tropical island paradise.  As it turned out, the weather for this wedding was just about as perfect as you can get for a May weekend.  The skies were just cloudy enough to provide relief from the sun.  The cool breeze was blowing off the Gulf.  Not whipping sand around, mind you, just enough to help us all deal with the humidity. 

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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