How Cute (Wordless Wednesday) and Words for Wednesday

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Linking up with Wordless Wednesday, Keith, Catsynth, and Sandee at Comedy Plus.     

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Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and has become a moveable feast of word or picture or music prompts to encourage us to write stories, poems, or whatever strikes our fancy.    

This month, Sean Jeating is providing the prompts and they will appear on River's blog.

This week's words/prompts are: 

1.instruction  

2.stupidity  

3.ignorant  

4.disregards  

5.joined  

and/or: 

1.shy  

2.not  

3.means  

4.from  

5.destruction

Charlotte's colour of the month is Pumpkin Orange.

use either list or both, or mix and match, just have fun.

About 6 years ago, our Little Girl met, well, let's call him Gary, while they were both in the military (National Guard or Reserves, i'm not sure how that works). 

She had broken up with her previous boyfriend, who was quite a piece of work, and Gary was a gentleman with her in every sense of the word. 

About two months later, Gary's mother, a flight attendant, was going to fly in FROM somewhere and Gary was going to be on a mission, so couldn't pick her up or spend time with her.  Little Girl picked her up and took her out to dinner and in the conversation let drop, "You know, Gary says you are his best friend."

Gary's Mom looked at her and said, "I appreciate your telling me he feels that way, and I'm glad he trusts me with his friendship, but when he meets the right girl, whoever she is, she better take my place as his best friend."

The night before Gary proposed to Little Girl, he told his mother, "She's my best friend now," and Gary's Mom was thrilled.

The wedding was this past weekend, and what an adventure.

Last year, at the after Christmas sale at a craft store, Little Girl picked up almost every bit of autumn decor they had at 90% off and they decided to plan a fall wedding because as she said, she already had everything she needed for it!  Pumpkin Orange, plum, deep reds, harvest yellow and other deep seasonal colors were the decor, and each bridesmaid had a different style dress, but all in the seasonal color palette and it worked beautifully.

My Sweetie (Little Girl's father, of course, we are old fashioned) and i quick cleaned Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday and it's the fastest i've ever done 3 loads of laundry there in my life, along with the shopping.  We then high-tailed it to a place about an hour to the north of NOLA where the wedding would be and checked into a hotel.

There was time to shower and change before we headed to the rehearsal and the dinner.  Little Girl had told us we could skip it and come only on Sunday to the wedding, but i've found he who DISREGARDS INSTRUCTION in these matters will be IGNORANT of what to do during the ceremony.  The practice was short and the picnic style supper was delicious, then we went back to the hotel to get some rest.

Once we were up, packed, and checked out of the hotel, we went to the wedding venue, which they'd rented for the whole day.  There was an outdoor seating area for the ceremony and the weather was perfect and balmy (for the swamps of south Louisiana, anyway).  The reception was in the large indoor facility, and there was a smaller "house," for lack of a better term, which served as the bride's room.

Most of my day was spent tending our little Annie, as her mama was a bridesmaid and her papa was in charge of making sure the food was set up by the caterers and tending the bar with their friend who'd been hired for the occasion.

I was relieved of her company while i was in the make-up chair.  Since most of the time i don't wear make-up and all i have is a bit of lipstick and mascara, i submitted to Little Girl's wishes and let the professional make-up ladies have their way with me.

When it was "magic time," what followed was NOT by any MEANS the conventional wedding of my day.

The officiant, a lovely lady who was a friend from the military walked in first to some very pretty, flowery music, followed by Gary, his mother on one arm, his stepmother on the other (he's close to both of his moms and both of his dads).  The dads were already seated, and he escorted them to their respective husbands, then my Sweetie and i followed.

That's when the music changed and the "beer boy" came in.  No flower girl, they'd opted for one of Gary's friends walking in to some rocking song, drinking a beer and then passing beers to those in the crowd.

"Beer boy" was followed by wedding attendants, including one of Little Girl's gay male friends walking with one of the bridesmaids and standing on the bride's side at the front.  He held a scroll instead of a bouquet.

Once all the attendants were at the front flanking the groom and officiant, the music changed again and Little Girl walked in by herself to a love song.

The officiant welcomed us and talked about how glad she was to see these two finally marrying, as she had watched their friendship and love grow from the beginning.  She then asked them to read the vows they'd written to each other.

This was the signal for the scroll to be passed down the line of bridal attendants to Little Girl, who proceeded to unroll it with a flourish.  It was over five feet long when it unrolled, and as it opened and kept opening, we all laughed.  She then turned to "those present" and said, "Don't worry, I only wrote at the top!"

When Gary was directed to say his vows, he said, "You made me feel so unprepared, I only have a piece of paper!"  It was worn and had been folded and unfolded several times as he'd worked on it, we were close enough to tell.

Once they'd said their vows, the officiant joined their hands in a "handfasting," a tradition of tying the hands of the bride and groom with a special length of rope, and then having them pull their hands apart so it forms a knot, to symbolize they are now united and cannot be undone.

Time for the rings, but where was the ring-bearer?

Well before the ceremony, i'd been conscripted to tape the box with the rings under one of the chairs as they "pulled an Oprah Winfrey."  Everyone was instructed to look under their chair and the husband of one of the bridesmaids pulled out the box, then solemnly walked it to the front.  He hadn't known he'd be doing it, but he suspected something was up when his wife the bridesmaid was very specific in her instructions to him on where to sit.

The officiant married them with the words, "By the power vested in me by an eight-hour online course in marriage officiating, I now pronounce you husband and wife!"

Picture taking followed, then a buffet supper and speeches, cutting the cake -- they did not do the "smash the cake in each other's faces," thank heaven.  Little Girl said, "I paid too much for this make-up job for its DESTRUCTION by cake!"

When it was time for the groom to toss the garter, he wasn't SHY about how he retrieved it, even in front of all his parents and in-laws.  Rather than have her demurely lift her dress to the level of the garter so he could remove it, he stuck his head under her dress and came out with it in his teeth!

Gary and Little Girl danced, then she danced with her brother (my Sweetie is not a dancer, and she knows it, and her brother is) and Gary danced with each of his mothers, and then the dance floor was open to all.

As it approached 8pm, the groom announced, "If you have children here, this might be your cue to head outside or say good-night, as this place is about to be not so safe for kids."

They switched to heavy metal/head banger style music, and had a rave.

In every group like this, there is at least one person who is IGNORANT of his limits, and i felt very sorry, once all the dancing and partying was over, for the young man who did get very ill outdoors in the bushes.  He really hadn't seemed to drink that much, but who knows.  Anyway, his girlfriend was there and she wasn't drinking, and that's what was important, as she had the car keys.

Everyone who was left when it was over helped pack the decor and the leftover food, and we made sure all the garbage bags were tied off, and most of them headed back to the hotel (where they had a group rate) while my Sweetie and i headed home as i had to be at work Monday morning.

For any who are wondering about the unconventional wedding and whether they really are married or not, they are.  Just over a year ago, they went before a justice of the peace and got married by the law, so Little Girl, who is no longer active military, could get spousal military benefits.

They simply didn't feel married without a celebration with their friends and family to make it official in their own eyes, no matter what the law of the land says, and they made it count and made it their own.

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Today is:

Cayenne Festival -- French Guiana (celebration of the capital city)

Day of Homage for the late King Father -- Cambodia (Norodom Sihanouk)

Day of National Concern About Young People and Gun Violence -- US (students around the nation are asked to sign the Pledge Against Gun Violence)       

Feast of the Three Noble Ladies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (female pharoahs; date approximate)

Fete Nationale de l'Evacuation -- Tunisia (Evacuation Day, celebrates the day all foreign military finally and fully left)

Global Handwashing Day -- International (scrub up! prevent the spread of germs)

Guangzhou Autumn Trade Fair -- Guangzhou, China (through Nov. 15)

Hagfish Day -- a day to celebrate the uniqueness and necessity of even the ugliest of sea creatures, like the hagfish

Ides of October -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also on this date

     Harvest Festival of Mars

     Ludi Capitolini (games in honor of Jupiter)

     Winter's Day

Mahakiki -- Hawai'ian New Year Season (a four month season where warfare is forbidden and many ceremonies take place; begins around the time of the first sighting of the Pleiades in the Northern Hemisphere)

Mertz of All Possible Mertzes -- internet generated and on the day "I Love Lucy" premiered; i guess Fred and Ethel were the definition of what a Mertz should be!

National Cake Decorating Day -- again, because every website gives a different date

National Cheese Curd Day

National Chicken Cacciatore Day

National Grouch Day -- sponsored by Alan Miller, chairman of the board of NAG (National Association of Grouches)

National Fossil Day -- US (National Park Service information) 

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day -- US  

National Mushroom Day

National Roast Pheasant Day

National Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day -- US

National Tree Planting Day -- Sri Lanka

National Take Your Parents To Lunch Day -- US (sponsored by Kiwi Magazine, encouraging parents to go to school and have lunch with the children, learning what goes into a healthy lunch) 

Newspaper Week -- Japan

Poetry Day -- birth anniversary of the Roman poet Virgil

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day -- Canada; NSW, Australia; UK; US   

Rectification Day -- Burkina Faso

Sewing Lovers' Day -- internet generated, as those who love to sew deserve a day to celebrate

Shemini Azteret -- Judaism (Jewish completion of the annual cycle of reading of the Torah; begins at sunset, through nightfall tomorrow)

St. Teresa of Avila's Day (Founder of the Reformation of the Discalces[Barefoot] Carmelites; Patron of lace makers/workers, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people; Amos, Canada; Berzano di Tortona, Italy; Pozega, Croatia; Spain; against bodily ills, headaches, sickness, the death of parents)

Teacher's Day -- Brazil

White Cane Safety Day -- US (celebrating the achievements of the blind/visually impaired, and recognizing the white cane as the symbol of their independence)

Wishbones for Pets begins -- US program asking professional pet sitters to gather pet supplies and donations for homeless pets through Thanksgiving

World Rural Women's Day/International Day of Rural Women -- UN; related observance

     Mother's Day -- Malawi

Birthdays Today:

Paige Davis, 1969

Sarah Ferguson, 1959

Emeril Lagasse,1959

Tanya Roberts, 1955

Tito Jackson, 1953

Richard Carpenter, 1946

Victor Banerjee, 1946

Jim Palmer, 1945

Penny Marshall, 1942

Linda Lavin, 1937

Lee Iacocca, 1924

Mario Puzo, 1920

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1917

John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908

Marty Mann, 1904

P.G. Wodehouse, 1881

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 1872

John L. Sullivan, 1858

Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844

Publius Vergilius Maro / Virgil, 70BCE

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Untouchables"(TV), 1959

"I Love Lucy"(TV), 1951

"Abe Lincoln in Illinois"(Play), 1938

To Have and Have Not(Publication date), 1937

"La Mer/The Sea"(Debussy orchestral composition), 1905

Today in History:

Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals, 533

Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," is staged in Paris, 1581

Asser Levy is granted a butcher's license for kosher meat in New Amsterdam, 1660

The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon), 1783

George Washington takes the first formal presidential tour, of New England, 1789

Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to the Island of St. Helena, 1815

Child labor law takes 12-year-olds out of the work force, 1874

Edison Electric Light Company is incorporated, 1878

Koln cathedral is completed, 633 years after it was begun, 1880

The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin' lands in Lakehurst, NJ, 1928

LaGuardia Airport opens, 1939

Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time, 1946

The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia, 1971

The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England, 1987

Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL, 1989

Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990

The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, 1997

The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn, 1997

NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io, 2001

China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission, 2003

The final breakthrough occurs on the east bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps, now the world's longest railway tunnel, 2010

Actress Alyssa Milano tweets "If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’", prompting a flood of replies across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, 2017

The government of Thailand issues an emergency decree banning public gatherings amid the increase in pro-democracy protests and criticism of the king, 2020

Businessman Daniel Noboa, 35, becomes the youngest person ever elected President of Ecuador, 2023