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April 01, 2004Gone and Done ItWhere, oh where has your favorite SSG been? Well, I've been off destroying the very impetus for this blog. No, I have not been studying up on how to be a Northerner (tried that in New Hampshire and NYC; it didn't take). No, I have been out completing the quest to find and win "the One." And complete it, I have. If you haven't followed the meaning yet, I have an announcement to make: I got married. Go ahead, get any gasps, coos, oohhhs, and ahhs out so I can tell you all about it. Done? Good. First, the lucky lady is AF (for those that know may code for initials, yes, her. Yes, I know, despite all that, it's her.) She and I were college sweethearts, dating for a couple of years before I got into campaign politics and moved off to Atlanta the first time. At the time, we (or at least I) were too immature to be able to nurture and keep a long distance relationship alive. Still, I had never stopped thinking of her and despite all else, she held a corner of my heart that never would yield itself to another person's attempts to claim the thing for herself. How did it happen you ask? A couple of weeks ago, I attended the grand opening of the new student center at Arkansas State. This opening held particular allure to me because in my last meeting with the university's Board of Trustee's as president of the student body, I supported, and we won approval of a student fee to finance the new building. Now six years later, it was complete and more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. In any event, I went to the ceremony for all of the supporters of the project and was having a great time of 'old home week' visiting when I turned around and there she stood. She smiled and was more beautiful than ever. To tell the truth, I thought she might snarl instead of smiling. I suppose the old saying about 'time healing all wounds' is true. The quick version is we exchanged email addresses and phone numbers and agreed to get together soon. The rest of the story is a bit of a whirlwind, but I'll try to capture the highpoints. I called her that nigt and we agreed on coffee the next day (the ever-safe coffee date...). Friday night we went for dinner and drinks and discovered that one of the old nightclubs of the college days has been reconfigured into a restaurant with an adjoining a piano bar ( I couldn't help but recollect that at or about where our table sat was the very spot where the school paper learned and then reported in an editorial column that "outgoing SGA president Harris" could 'get jiggy wit' the best of them). In any event, we retired to the piano bar after our steaks. After a few drinks and much catching up, I waited till she had to use the restroom to go to the piano player and request a song for her. When she returned, the piano player played and sang "Unforgettable." Before we knew it a week had gone by and we'd seen each other every day. It was that night when she launched the improbable (but not impossible) topic. What if we ran off and got married over the weekend? To tell the truth, it scared me more than a little to even contemplate the notion. But that fear was dwarfed by the exhiliration I felt (and feel) by being with her. We discussed the idea for a couple of hours when we were simultaneously hit by the same realization. Our epiphany was that all of our discussion was about the perhaps, maybes, and possibilities of what might be in error of hatching such a marrying plot. That is to say, the idea of being married to one another was already pre-supposed. In that instant, we knew that the conversation was an attempt at trying to dispute a truth. It was as if we were both arging that the sky is not blue on a cloudless day, the wind never blows in the Delta, spring comes without flowers, and the tide never changes. It was at that moment that we discovered there was an irresistable and irrefutable truth about the two of us together. And in the next moment we yield to it. The whirlwind continued and we made plans for a 'weekend getaway.' The quick version is that we headed to Eureka Springs after hastily making arrangements with a chapel and wedding planner there. We wed near dawn on Sunday. We chose that time and day for it's symbolism; Sunday because it is a holy day and dawn because it represents a whole new day before both of us. (And to tell the truth, I think we both wanted to build in plenty of time to back out of the scenario...). My brother in law served as my witness/groomsman/bestman, a girl friend of hers from Bentonville stood with her, and my sister served as flower girl/book girl/driver, etc. We're heading out this evening for a symbolic honeymoon in Louisiana at Oak Alley. I plan on strolling the grounds with a mint julep in hand, her by my side with a parasol in hers. So, the Quest has reached it's successful conclusion and I have chased my last windmill. This blog comes to an end, and another one begins. (Please excuse the plainess of the new blog. When I get back next week, I'll spruce it up and get it more presentable. In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy the first post there which describes a little bit more of my rationale.) suburban blight linked with WTF? Southern Musings linked with April Fools Joke or Not Comments
If this is an April Fool's joke, you are SO DEAD :P Posted by: Ryan Waddell at April 1, 2004 04:58 PMHeya! Check out my new name and location. I wonder if this is an April Fools Day joke?? Let us know how you're doing! Posted by: teahouseblossom at April 2, 2004 07:54 AMOK...are you messing with us or what? If not, congrats from both of us. Let me know how everything is going. Posted by: Michelle at April 2, 2004 08:15 PMDefinitely and April Fools' joke.... gotta be. Posted by: Mala at April 2, 2004 10:38 PMAF?... April Fools, baby.... Posted by: Eric at April 4, 2004 08:44 PMApril Fools or not. You were here on campus and didn't let me know so I could at least meet you "in real life"? Posted by: Wendy at April 5, 2004 01:19 PMFORTHALUVAGAWD, haven't you let this string on long enough?! Now, talk...or else. Posted by: Key at April 5, 2004 09:21 PMROFL! Now seeing as I've just found your Blog here, I'm not up-to-speed on your whole quest for "the one." However, I gotta say this is one of the funniest things I've read in a long time. I LOVE the attention to detail, esp. the mock "Marriedsoutherner" blog.... Kudos for an excellent April Fools' Joke. Looking forward to next year's stunt. Posted by: Nee at April 13, 2004 12:36 PMPost a comment
 
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