Raw Drip

My dear friend Edna Lee is getting married in a few weeks and she has chosen yours truly to be her matron of honor.

(Personally, I wouldn’t be my first choice for the wedding photos, but I guess Ed likes to walk on the wild side.)

Of course, I’m thrilled for my friend and honored to be a part of her wedding,  And still thrilled & honored despite Ed’s recent request order for me to write & deliver a speech during her wedding reception.

While I’m incredibly flattered by her faith in my writing & speaking abilities – I’m all too aware that it’s her wedding day.  This is a big deal.  This is not the time for one of my quirky quips.  As a writing challenge, I’m more than a bit humbled and awed by the great responsibility…

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After Ed nixed my initial suggestion of an x-rated limerick on the grounds that her mother would disapprove, I was forced to re-examine my approach.  I began pretending that I’m a really skilled wordsmith and brilliant creative writer.  WWJAD (what would Jane Austen do)?

When channeling Jane Austen didn’t stir up any big ideas, I went back to the basics.  As with all design, you need to start with a good concept and let it grow.  I began by running through a list of possibilities:

• A heart-warming poem?  Nope, not Ed’s style.
• A collection of famous quotes about love?  Nice, but shouldn’t this be more about Ed’s love?
• A stirring tribute to the power of love?  That just demands mockery from my wickedly witty friend.
• A PowerPoint presentation with marriage tips?  Definitely more her style and it’s cute.  Unfortunately, maybe too cute…

Frustrated and devoid of inspiration, I decided to comb through boxes of old high school mementos in search of ideas.  Amongst the folded notes and yellowing photos, I discovered my small collection of year books dating back to junior high.  As I opened the cover from my 1989 high school yearbook, I found it – inspiration from a very unlikely source – Dick.

There, on the inside cover of my annual, written in the 3rd grader scrawl I’m just now learning to decipher, is this most ardent expression of love:

Samantha,

The evolution of spam is usually a topic best left to the extremely educated members of the scientific community, but today I’ll relate this story in layman’s terms for you, my sweetheart…

SPAM IS THE AMBROSIA OF THE GODS!!!

(Just kidding – I think!)

Anyway, I can’t wait to have another great year with you in my arms and in my life. I love you.

P.S. I want my (BEEP) to (BEEP) your (BEEP).

P.P.S. I can’t think of much to say – obviously – so I’ll just say infinite hugs and kisses coming your way.

Never before or since have feelings of love been so eloquently expressed on the page.  Feeling weak in the knees, aren’t you?

Okay, so it’s mostly the ramblings of a Monty Python-obsessed, love-struck teen boy.  But there – amongst the spam – is also Dick’s trademark playfulness, his intelligence, and his immensely loyal spirit.  Everything I ever needed to know about my future husband was in that note in my high school yearbook and only now do I appreciate it in all it’s goofy, spam-handed glory.  As well, everything Ed ever needed to know about her soon-to-be husband is already out there – in an email, an expression, or maybe in a moment that passed between them somewhere along their journey together.

Pushing aside all my cute concepts and pithy prose, the only meaningful thing I can say to my friend on her wedding day is that this constant rediscovery of her lover is the gift of marriage.  It’s a gift that unfolds day in and day out over time, revealing itself in ways old and new, subtle and delightful and it’s theirs to have and hold, from this day forward.