One Very Special Ceremony

Holidays is a time for friends, and we met with friends with whom we had been too long out of touch.  Much ground had to be traversed.

We learned that our dear Karen had become a minister -- for one day -- purchasing her Universalist's minister's kit ($30) so that she could officiate her niece's wedding.  She read us the words to her service.  We share them here, with Karen's permission:


When she was a tadpole and he was a fish, in the Paleozoic time, side by side thru the ooze and the brine, they swam together under moonlit tides.

Here tonight, in this evening’s twilight Cody and Sasha are united once more.

And we rejoice with them for their ancient souls’ reunion on this ancient glacial shore.

To all the skeptics who question the nature of love, the act of marrying may seem like a ritual as insignificant as a speck of stardust.  In the mortal moment’s sense, marriage is a profound opportunity for two lovers to affirm a secret, sacred chemistry that goes beyond understanding.

We have to turn to philosophers, poets and artists to help us speak of that which cannot be seen but is as sure as eternity.  The Lebanese philosopher Kahil Gibran has written “You were born together, and together you shall be forever more. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of the universe,” He goes on to say that marriage in not an act of bondage but one that liberates each partner’s soul in the spiritual knowledge that they are now whole, that they walk in the holiness of togetherness. He writes: “Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone…For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.”

The second element in the definition of mirth is laughter. Anyone who has ever heard Sasha’s throaty laugh knows that her voice suggests depth of joy and beckons one to join in the happiness.  Words from a poetic lyricist of the musical South Pacific act as a possible reason Cody chose Sasha when he heard her unusual and wonderful expression of mirth. 

This also happens to be a  chosen song for a Minnesota artist from Hibbing in his latest album….

Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger,
you may see a stranger
Across a crowded room
And somehow you know,
You know even then
That somewhere you'll see her
Again and again.

Some enchanted evening
Someone may be laughing,
You may hear her laughing
Across a crowded room
And night after night,
As strange as it seems
The sound of her laughter
Will sing in your dreams.

Some enchanted evening
When you find your true love,
When you feel her call you
Across a crowded room,
Then fly to her side,
And make her your own
Or all through your life you
May dream all alone.
Cody, Once you have found her, never let her go

Sasha Once you have found him, never..let..him..go.

Cody and Sasha

We wish you happiness
Love
Kindness 
Courage
Now and Forever......

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Even in this time of trouble across the whole wide world, there is still this thing, love......and sensitive souls like our dear friend, Karen, to remind us so...................