CONTACTS
SUBJECTS
Personal, General, Family
Candy and Larry, Amy's Wedding
Government
0505 -
0505 - ..
0506 - Summary/Objective
0507 -
050701 - Follow up
050702 -
050703 - Beautiful wedding in the mountains, I think near where Candy and
050704 - Larry live, and of course where Amy grew up. Nice visiting with many
050705 - relatives, friends, and former co-workers.
050706 -
050707 -
050708 -
050709 -
050711 - ..
0508 -
0509 -
0510 - Progress
0511 -
051101 - This was a lot of fun. Amy is about 20, and beautiful, especially so
051102 - in her wedding gown. The ceremony was at a private home in the
051103 - countryside, about 30 miles East of Sacramento off Highway 80. The
051104 - steady sound of a brook running nearby underscored the sense of peace
051105 - and life giving that marked the event. It was warm at 3:00 PM when
051106 - the guests began to be seated, a little uncomfortable to be sitting
051107 - outside. Some took brief shelter in the shade to avoid excessive
051108 - sweating in the formal attire required for the occasion. But when the
051109 - ceremony finally started and we had to be seated, the sun was shaded
051110 - by high overhead clouds. This reduced the temperature to a bearable
051111 - level, lending a fortuitous aura to the event.
051113 - ..
051114 - When the Minister asked, "Who gives [Amy] in marriage; Larry stood
051115 - and said something like: "Her Mother and I do!" I later asked Larry
051116 - if he had considered a more classical formulation like: "I, Lawrence
051117 - of Auburn, give this fair maiden to marriage."
051119 - ..
051120 - Still, didn't understand why Pat would not have said something like:
051121 - "Her mother and I do!" Anyway, it worked.
051123 - ..
051124 - The Minister explained the symbolism of the wedding ring, in this case
051125 - one with diamonds and variety of form. He drew distinctions between
051126 - the strength of the wedding commitment embodied in Amy's ring relative
051127 - to a simpler ring. This was a moving point for young people starting
051128 - off together. After the ceremony, I asked if he ever cites the
051129 - harmony and symmetry of plain rings as totemic of equally favorable
051130 - omens. He laughed and said he does try to shape the point to suit the
051131 - occasion.
051133 - ..
051134 - I was a little surprised Amy remembered me. It has probably been 10
051135 - years since I last saw her, but she knew my name when I congratulated
051136 - her at the reception.
051138 - ..
051139 - This is more than I can say for me. John Davis and his wife said
051140 - hello at the reception and I could not place him until he gave me
051141 - his name (maybe it was the full beard, which I don't think he had the
051142 - last time we met). I barely recognized Jimmy. He is bigger than
051143 - when I saw him last at Pat and Peg's about 5 years ago. Jimmy was
051144 - holding his son Zackery, and later introduced Millie and me to his
051145 - wife, just before we left.
051147 - ..
051148 - Fran Drake was very ebullient and effusive in her hellos, and
051149 - remembering our start in Sacramento at the Cardio Pulmonary job. I
051150 - asked about her daughter, and Fran said said she is doing well.
051152 - ..
051153 - Most of the family was there. I met all of Peg's sisters for the
051154 - first time in a single group. After so many years of hearing about
051155 - the big family gatherings, it was nice to see them altogether. Her
051156 - youngest, Ruth, was particularly fun to visit just because we had
051157 - worked together with Pat in 1978, 79. She chided me a bit about using
051158 - 50-cent words in correspondence. Ruth asked about the outcome of
051159 - Welch v State, so I gave a little run down.
051160 -
051162 - ..
0512 -
0513 -
0514 - Craig
0515 -
051501 - Ruth introduced me to her youngest son, Craig who is a programmer
051502 - with HP in Roseville. He is getting married in December to a girl
051503 - now working on her doctorate at SFS in pharmacy. Craig expects to
051504 - be transferred to the HP Palo Alto office soon and will be living
051505 - with his fiancee at her SFS campus apartment while she completes her
051506 - studies. Craig's fiancee is part Indian by her father. They are
051507 - having two weddings; one in New Deli in December and a second in the
051508 - US sometime later. He described what will be an exciting and memor-
051509 - able Hindu ceremony, in which he will be riding a horse. Mike Welch
051510 - joked, that he need not worry about falling off the horse, because
051511 - they will likely tie him on.
051513 - ..
051514 - Craig has serious views on what he calls "socialization" in forming
051515 - human relations, particularly regarding race. We discussed this at
051516 - some length. He related his experience visiting friends in East LA
051517 - for several years while growing up in San Fernando Valley.
051519 - ..
051520 - I advanced the general proposition that humans are genetically moved
051521 - to react to visual differences, such as size, color, gender, as first
051522 - order self-preservation. I raised this in response to his observation
051523 - that non-white people have an additional burden in our society (i.e.
051524 - the US) to overcome in getting plugged into the mainstream (i.e. "the
051525 - good life"). I agreed that people who appear "different" in any
051526 - setting by definition tend to encounter resistance, because visual
051527 - observation is the first means to evaluate anything. Accordingly,
051528 - minorities must rely on intelligence, grace, verbal skill, projected
051529 - attitude and conduct to overcome initial barriers to acceptance, that
051530 - those who do not appear to be different, do not face. I pointed out
051531 - this condition exists for all races. Additionally, race like other
051532 - forms of interpersonal relations are random. Sometimes acceptance
051533 - comes quickly, and sadly sometimes never. Hopefully there is an open
051534 - mind available that can be moved by factors beyond appearance.
051535 - Sometimes there is not, either as a result of the "socialization"
051536 - Craig cites or because an individual simply lacks the character or wit
051537 - to move beyond simple factors, such as appearance, to more substantive
051538 - characteristics.
051540 - ..
051541 - About this time, Peg came along and warned Craig about my tendency
051542 - toward serious exegesis. Craig then invited Karen to dance, or
051543 - maybe it was the other way around.
051544 -
051545 -
051547 - ..
0516 -
0517 - Karen
0518 -
051801 - From a distance she and Amy look very much alike. Peg said that
051802 - sometimes when she calls on the phone and Amy answers, it takes her a
051803 - moment to realize it isn't Karen, so apparently they have similar
051804 - telephone manner and voice inflection.
051806 - ..
051807 - Karen is still in San Diego, and asked us to visit her when we are
051808 - next down that way. She is still running, perhaps not quite as much.
051809 - She said she injured her toe and so needs different shoes or possibly
051810 - just a less rigorous routine. Anyway she looked well and fit. Peg's
051811 - sister, Lois (I think), and I were remarking with Karen how wonderful
051812 - these weddings are; we joked about how nice it would be if Karen got
051813 - married again, just so we could have another wedding to get this group
051814 - together again.
051815 -
051816 -
051818 - ..
0519 -
0520 -
0521 - Mike and Janet
0522 -
052201 - Talked a little with Mike and less with Janet. I did remind Janet
052202 - that the last time we danced together was at Karen's wedding about
052203 - 11 years ago.
052205 - ..
052206 - Their daughter, Ann Marie, just started her first year at Chico
052207 - State. She looked too young to be in college. Someone said this is
052208 - a sign I am getting old. Talked to Ann Marie a little about her
052209 - studies and life away from home. Their son, Erik, is a freshman in
052210 - high school. Mike said that after a family meeting Erik was allowed
052211 - to join the football team, playing guard or tackle. Initially Janet
052212 - had disapproved; but later Erik was watching a friend at football
052213 - practice one day and the coach invited him to join the team. So the
052214 - family considered it again, and Janet gave a reluctant approval.
052216 - ..
052217 - I asked Mike about agitation on social issues he encounters as a HS
052218 - administrator? He indicated it is much less than expected from
052219 - reading the papers and tracking the national pundits. Apparently
052220 - drugs and race are not the dominate issues at his school in the manner
052221 - that exists in other locals. Mike mentioned the lack of English
052222 - proficiency among the continuing wave of Asian immigrants (probably
052223 - hispanic as well), as a major challenge. He also feels the
052224 - controversy between creationism and evolution finds expression in the
052225 - front lines of daily secondary education.
052226 -
052227 -
052229 - ..
0523 -
0524 -
0525 - Kathleen and Rita
0526 -
052601 - Kathleen and Rita came alone. Rita's husband had a death in his
052602 - family and so was back East attending a funeral today. Didn't get a
052603 - chance to ask Kath how her job search is going. She was kind in
052604 - saying nice things about SDS. Rita looks very well and seems to have
052605 - managed after all these years to direct her strong will in a positive
052606 - direction. We had a brief, but intense discussion on the alcoholism
052607 - that troubled her for so long, and still grips Stephanie.
052608 -
052609 -
052611 - ..
0527 -
0528 - Pat, Peg, Jim, Barbara
0529 -
052901 - Didn't get a chance to visit much. Pat and Jim seemed to be talking
052902 - together quite a bit. Millie said Jim visited with her though and
052903 - she appreciated that. Told Jim I will get by to visit soon.
052905 - ..
052906 - Peg invited us to visit them and we will try to do this before too
052907 - long. Pat appeared fit. He is still riding his bike regularly to
052908 - maintain cardiovascular strength, essential to recover from heart
052909 - attack (myocardial infarction) a few years ago. Pat made an anxious
052910 - comment about me getting gainful employment in connection with growing
052911 - a social security fund to sustain inevitable retirement.
052912 -
052913 -
052915 - ..
0530 -
0531 -
0532 - Candy and Larry
0533 -
053301 - They looked terrific. We didn't get a chance to visit a great deal
053302 - because they had to mingle. Candy said they come to SF occasionally
053303 - and stay at an RV park near 6th and Townsend. I said we live fairly
053304 - close to that location and asked that they let us know the next time
053305 - they plan to visit, so we can try to arrange getting together.
053306 -
053307 -
053308 -
053309 -
053310 -
053311 -
0534 -