Weddings 'n Things

I went up to a wedding this weekend. I learned some things.

1. Ten hours is just a long drive. I mean, really, almost too long. I would like to do something about that.

2. Ten hours does give you time to think, though if you're like me you'll listen to NPR and sing to old CDs most of that time to avoid thinking. One thing I thought about was how often the first question people ask me is what I know about my future. Here is what I know about my future, for the record: Nothing. I have heard nothing from the Air Force and have no idea what or when they might decide. If at some point that changes I will not keep it a secret. (Why I'm saying this here I don't know, since most of the people who ask these things don't read this blog. But it feels good to say.)
Among other things, I decided that it's okay to be scared of the future, and resolved to be so immediately and forthwith. I decided that there were a lot of positives to moving out of Tampa, and a lot of negatives, and I need to allow myself a running conversation (it's okay to converse with oneself, right?) before I make any decisions about that. I didn't really settle on what to do about Stetson and UVA and William & Mary, but I did come to two startling, and contradictory, revelations. I have not squared these two things, nor am I sure how to do so, but perhaps I can think about during a three-hour trip this weekend:
a) If I had $50 million, I would tell Virginia to expect me in the fall, no questions asked. If money was no object, that's what I would do.
b) Stripped clean of all the romantic/fantastic ideas, being an attorney ranks near the bottom of all the things I think I would enjoy doing.

3. One of my good friends of long standing is now married, more or less successfully, to a woman he cherishes and who makes him happy. What more can one ask in life? The actual event in question hardly went off without a hitch, and that was the talk of the ride home for many in the audience, I imagine. Yet it's important to remember, not just on the ride but forever, that regardless of what happened or didn't happen, a wedding is just a wedding. It's one day, in fact just an hour of that day. A marriage, however, will long outlast the clear memories of its beginning. What must bear fruit are not all the preparations for that one day, but the preparations for the lifetime that begins that day. I know Scanime and his fair bride can look forward to a wonderful lifetime, and that is all that really matters. Congratulations, J and T.