Hooverville

Intel closed declared they were closing a plant just down the street from where I work in Hillsboro, Oregon later this year.  Over one thousand people are expected to lose their jobs.

Portland's new mayor has already found himself in the midst of a major scandal.  Portland made some news for itself last year when it became the largest city in the United States to ever elect an openly gay mayor.  The city had suffered from bad leadership for years.  Adams was looked upon as a way out of the cycle.  He was a master politician who had worked his way up through the ranks and dominated the city council.  

During the campaign one of Adams' competitors repeatedly brought up allegations that he was sleeping with an underage boy.  Sam Adam's repeatedly denied these claims.  

Earlier this weekly the local publication, The Willamette Week, broke the story.  It was true.  Sort of.

Sam Adams meet the intern when he was just 17.  According to Adams they talked about having sex but did not act.  They waited until the boy was 18.  Having sex with a 17 year old is illegal in Oregon.

Adams hired coaches to teach the boy to lie about the affair.  There are allegations that he gave the editor of a local newspaper a cushy job in exchange for her silence.  Many in the city are calling for his resignation

Whether the boy was 17 or 18 at the time, it is clear that Sam Adams used his considerable power and prestige over a very impressionable and vulnerable young man.  It is a terrible abuse of power.  Forcing the boy to go through "coaching" to convince and teach him to lie is sad.  Potentially buying the presses silence is disturbing.

I am trying to imagine how the response would be if it were a young female he were having an affair with.  I am trying to imagine if my response would be any different.  I am not even sure what my response is or should be.  Can this, in some part, be excused because of the incredibly anti-gay climate and movements in the country?  Did this make Adams more nervous and cautious in the cover up?  Even if it did, is it excusable?  It does not get rid of the fact that he abused his power to gain sexual favor with a young intern.

It is sad that politicians are expected to be perfect.  People everywhere are broken.  People everywhere sin.  People everywhere are in need of grace.  But we expect different from our politicians.  They are not allowed to have dirty laundry.  They can not make mistakes.  One wrong step can completely ruin a political career.  It stifles and debate and handcuffs the men and women that become involved.

The economy is not doing well out here.  Unemmployment in the state is over 9%.  A majority of that is coming from the timber industry.   Oregon is the country's largest supplier of timber and the house bust has hurt.  But the tough times are certainly making their way into the city.  Over 1,000 more are being added to the unemployment rolls from Intel later this year.

Adams does have what it takes to lead Portland in these times.  He has the experience and the track record.  Up until this week he was widely respected by his supporters and opponents alike.

His biggest competitor was a grumpy little businessman that run on nothing morre than "Portland liberals".  His big campaign promise was to bring Wal-Mart to downtown.

I am not sure if Adams should step down.  I am not sure if I want him to.  I do not know who would lead the city.  People make mistakes.  But taking advantage of a young man and using your position of power for sex is clearly not acceptable.

I am thankful that I have a job.

Sometimes...

I have grand visions of writing grand entries in this blog.
Other times I use it as a tool to update friends and family as to how I am doing.
Sometimes I read something that I think is worth reposting.
Sometimes I put things down for myself.
Sometimes I do it for others.

I like to write at night best.
After Lauren has gone to bed and I am not quite tired.
I like for there to be music on.
Sometimes I write at work.
I do get bored.
I am at work right now

The phone just rang.
I talked to a man who wanted a refund.
He was in Hong Kong.
He was very nice.

I watched the inauguration at work today.
I was blown away by the music composed by John Williams.
I thought both of the prayers were excellent.
I know some non-Christians were angered by the first.
I know some white folks were angered by the second.
A lovely speech.

My allergies are acting up.
I would love a Benadryl
Cat slept on me last night.
But I do not want to become addicted.
To Benadryl?

My favorite part of the day comes in the morning.
I walk down the stairs and see Lauren for the first time.
She gets up an hour earlier than me.
She is awake.
I am groggy.
We smile.

Things I like right now:

Football
Reading
My bike
Working out
Running
Church
The Bible
NPR
Air America Radio
Wait, Wait, Don't Tell ME
A Prairie Home Companion
House
My alone time in the morning
The cat
The cake Lauren made
Lauren's cooking
Our current financial situation
The Dark Tower Series
Sunshine
The president
HDTV



Things I do not like right now:

The lack of farmer's markets in the winter
The lack of fresh local fruit
The lack of fresh local berries
The wind
The "cold" (as I now understand the term)
Allergies
Getting home from work at 7:00pm
The weekend between league championships and the super bowl
That weird time between the end of football and spring training
Our current financial situation
My current lack of Benadryl
Conservative talk radio
Catholic radio when they harp on contraceptives and abortion


I am at work.
I am on break.
I have very little else to say.
Good day.

Roe

Prayers & Sermons

A Sermon for Christian Congregations
Scripture - Mark 5:21-43

Some time ago, a woman called the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, looking for pastoral counseling. She was 12 weeks pregnant, had a heart condition, was diabetic, and was now on bed rest. The doctor told her that the fetus probably would not make it to term, and there was a strong possibility that she might not, either. She had to make a decision about having an abortion within the week. An abortion any later would be dangerous for her, possibly life-threatening. She came to the Religious Coalition, asking for advice and counseling, and also wanting to know if God would ever forgive her if she "killed the baby."

Many, many women who consider abortion go through the same religious questioning and trauma that this woman experienced, sometimes supported by the love of their partners and family members but often without that support. Stories such as these are doubly tragic not only because of the terrible situations women find themselves in but also because women so often are unable to find comfort in their faith, instead seeing their faith as a source of fear, guilt, and rejection. They are too often unaware that their faith can be a source of comfort, love, compassion, and strength.

The gospel narratives show Jesus as compassionate, forgiving and healing-especially to those in great distress. In the stories from the 5th chapter of Mark we see Jesus even willing to heal under duress, such as when a very ill woman startles him by touching his clothing. According to the laws and practices of the time, Jesus had every reason to ignore her, indeed to stay far away from her. Not only was she a woman, but she had been bleeding for 12 years, making her perpetually unclean. Unable to get control of her own health, she undoubtedly lived at the extreme margins of the society because everyone would be squeamish about having contact with her. Jesus had every right to reject her and rebuke her for what she did, but instead he called her "Daughter" and brought healing to both her body and her spirit. As people who follow Jesus, that's what we should be doing as well-bringing healing and wholeness to those in distress.

The Religious Right would like the American public to believe that to be religious is to be anti-choice. In reality, religious leaders worked toward legalizing abortion for years before Roe v. Wade. In the 60s, horrified by the injuries and death suffered by women around the country due to illegal, unsafe abortions, religious leaders responded as people of faith and conscience must. Reverend Howard Moody and Arlene Carmen organized the first Clergy Consultation Service in New York City, a network of clergy who agreed to help women gain access to safe abortion providers. Similar services soon developed throughout the country, and provided thousands of referrals for abortions that were necessary-but illegal-prior to the Roe decision.

Many Christians avoid thinking or talking about abortion because it makes them squeamish. But abortion is a topic that we must talk about from time to time, even in the church. And it is a topic that is directly related to freedom, especially religious freedom.

All of us, regardless of our denomination, have an interest in protecting the integrity of the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion, which says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Without this guarantee, we would be in danger of losing a most fundamental human right, living out our faith only with the permission of whoever could gain official sanction for their religious views. And at the center of religious freedom is keeping the government out of personal moral decisions such as terminating a pregnancy.

I want to acknowledge that some Christians believe that life begins at conception and therefore abortion is wrong. They are entitled to that perspective, even though both the biblical basis and the historical basis for it are flimsy. However, having said that they are entitled to that view, we must also acknowledge that millions of Christians-indeed a majority of Protestants in this country-have a different view, believing instead that a fertilized egg is potential life but not actual life. These Christians hold that the life, health, freedom, and moral agency of the pregnant woman are more important than the potential life in her womb. The religious liberty that lies at the bedrock of our free society provides a basis for people with these competing beliefs to live together in one society, assured-we hope-that government will not choose sides.

On January 22, 2004, we observe the 31st anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal in this country. And as we observe, we celebrate-not because abortion is terrific or wonderful, but because women have the ability to make health care decisions for themselves, and as a result, women's lives are saved.

According to fact sheets from Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, in the pre-Roe year 1965, abortion was so unsafe that 17 percent of all deaths due to pregnancy and childbirth were the result of illegal abortion. It is estimated that illegal abortion led to between 5,000 and 10,000 deaths per year. Today, abortion is 11 times safer than childbirth. Legal abortion has been associated with decreases in both maternal and infant mortality. According to one estimate, 1,500 pregnancy-related deaths were prevented in 1985 alone, because women were able to obtain abortions for difficult pregnancies.

We also celebrate this anniversary because we embrace the value of full equality for women, and we recognize that true equality can only be fully realized if women have control over their own reproductive lives. Justice Harry Blackmun, who wrote the majority decision in Roe, recognized this. He called the decision "a step that had to be taken as we go down the road toward the full emancipation of women."

Unfortunately Roe v. Wade came under attack almost from the moment it was decided. Today, 31 years later, Roe v. Wade is still under attack and is in real danger of being overturned, or so seriously undermined as to be de facto non-existent. Largely due to the efforts of the Religious Right, Roe v. Wade has been compromised and diluted and currently hangs by a judicial thread.

The First Amendment guarantee of religious freedom was eroded by the Religious Right's efforts to have its narrow view of when life begins become the law of the land, as in the 1989 Supreme Court case, Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services. This restrictive abortion law passed in Missouri contained in its preamble the statement that life begins at conception. The Supreme Court allowed that statement to stand in the preamble. Many religious, God-fearing people have a different view. Thus, the Webster decision struck at the very heart of the Constitutional guarantee regarding the separation of church and state, as it enshrined into law a religious belief held by some, but by no means all, Americans. Similar attempts by the Religious Right to enshrine in law their idea about the morality of abortion threaten to strip away once and for all our right to believe and practice our own faith.

Roe has been undermined in a host of different ways. In 1992, the Supreme Court decided, in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, that states could impose restrictions on access to abortion, as long as these restrictions did not pose an 'undue burden' on women's rights to reproductive freedom. This has opened the floodgates to all kinds of restrictive and even punitive laws, including waiting periods, so-called informed consent laws by which women are made to listen to false and misleading information on abortion that is designed to discourage them from making this choice, and parental consent and parental notification laws, designed to make it extremely difficult for a minor to obtain an abortion.

These are just some of the legal barriers placed on a woman's right to choose. The facts on the ground are in some ways even more disturbing. Today, 87 percent of counties in the United States have no abortion provider at all. And the population of doctors who are willing and trained to perform abortions is aging, with few young doctors being trained to take their places. Religious institutions are taking over public hospitals and HMOs and imposing their religious views on abortion, contraception, and sterilization on the general population whom the hospitals serve, often resulting in an end to these reproductive health services.

The latest, and in some ways most egregious, of the legal challenges to Roe is the so-called Partial Birth Abortion Ban, which President Bush has signed into law and which is being challenged in the courts. The rhetoric surrounding the debate on this law would have us believe that thousands of women, up to the final moments of pregnancy, are deciding on a whim to terminate their pregnancies and are obtaining abortions. This caricature is nonsense. In fact, 88 percent of abortions occur in the first 12-13 weeks of pregnancy. According to the National Abortion Federation, "Women have access to abortion in the third trimester only in extreme circumstances. Fewer than 2 percent of abortions are performed 21 weeks or after, and they are extremely rare after 26 weeks of pregnancy. generally limited to cases of severe fetal abnormalities or situations when the life or health of the pregnant woman is seriously threatened."

In reality, this legislation arose from a deceptive and corrupt misinformation campaign to inflame the public, confuse the media, criminalize doctors, and strip women of their ability to make medical decisions. Thirty-one years after Roe v. Wade, it should be unthinkable that a doctor could be prosecuted as a criminal for performing an abortion procedure, yet that is what would happen under this bill. The absence of a health exception makes it clear that the purpose of this legislation is to undermine the legality of all abortions throughout pregnancy, not to outlaw some procedures.

In 2000, the Supreme Court struck down a similar bill in Nebraska, in the case known as Stenberg v. Carhart. The vote was 5-4. This 5-4 vote in Stenberg is an ominous sign for Roe's future. The Supreme Court is only one vote away from overturning Roe, which would be one of the most radical actions taken in the history of the Court. Without Roe, life for American women would be thrown more than 30 years in reverse, returning them to the days when women could not fully control the number and spacing of their children. Without Roe, women will be forced to carry fetuses to full term - even when those fetuses have no brain, no limbs, no heart.

It is our responsibility as Christians who believe that God has given freedom to all of us -including women-to do all in our power to keep Roe as the law of the land. You may not choose to have an abortion yourself, but the right of women to obtain an abortion when needed is a right you should care about strongly. We must speak out, we must vote, we must march, picket and protest. We must let our lawmakers know that we will not allow them to take us back to the days of back-alley abortions that threaten women's health and even their very lives.

Abortion is a difficult subject, but it does not arise in a vacuum, and we should never try to think about it in a vacuum. How we think about abortion is inextricably linked to the core values of our faith. Jesus' life among us demonstrated God's compassion and love for every person, as well as God's deep desire for justice and health to prevail. Jesus' teachings emphasized the religious freedom and moral agency of each person, male or female. Thus I believe that we are called by God to be active in the struggle to preserve and enhance reproductive choice for all people. As Christians who strive to follow Jesus, we can and must be both compassionate and pro-choice.

all the live long day...

I am sitting here at work. It is slow. Nobody has any advertising questions. Nobody wants my marketing advice. Nobody wants to yell at me because they did not read our terms and conditions. Nobody has questions about website design that I do not understand.

I have been working out pretty consistently over the last few months. I do push ups and sit ups around the house. I do some light weight lifting. I go for runs. I try to be active 4 times a week. I can get comped through my employer if I join a gym. I have been thinking about it. But there are set up fees. And you have to pay the last month in advance. I am thinking about it. My current schedule does not really work with going to the gym on the weekdays. I greatly miss mid day sunshine. We are changing shifts soon. I am hoping to get an earlier shift. It should really open things up.

I went running last night. Depending on traffic, I often do not get home until just before 7pm. So I run in the dark. I have always liked running because of its effects on the mind. I can use it calm myself down. I can cease to think and just experience. Or I can concentrate on something of great import in ways that I otherwise could not have. Last night I tried praying. I ran a mile and half. And prayed the whole time. It was very effective.

Imago Dei, our church, has quarterly 'school of theology classes'. The next round of classes starts at the end of the month. Classes cover a variety of topics from basic theology to women's sexuality. We are considering taking a "church and gospel" class that is required for church membership. We are also considering taking a class on marriage. For newly weds only. The idea of sitting in small groups and talking about these things is nerve racking. So we shall see. But I think it will be a great experience and opportunity.

Lauren has applied to be an assistant market manager at one of the neighborhood farmer's markets here in portland. It is a part time position that lasts for about 8 months out of the year. There is some workng from home. But most of the hours come on Sunday. So she would not be able to come to church. Imago Dei does have a resolution for this situation. They have "home communities" all over city on different nights of the week. Sounds great. But also sounds nerve racking. So we shall see on that too. At any rate, I hope she gets the position. It is a great opportunity.

I need to get a fishing license. I put it off because I was not ready to fully commit to Portland. We just never knew about jobs. But we are over that now. We are actively working towards buying a house out here. And I need to get outside. I need to get a fishing license.

Our Vacation

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Originally uploaded by jjdrury81

I am sitting on the couch watching Fantasia 2000. It is 20 after 10:00pm on Friday night. Lauren is asleep next to me on the couch. She has been that way for about an hour. She has not been feeling well. Both of us have had spats with a stomach flu since our vacation. It could have been the airport food. Or it could have been the food on the plane. Our stomachs our so sensitive now. If we go more than a day with out fresh home cooked food we get wonky. It could have been any number of things.

I want to write down my experiences from the trip while they are still fresh in my mind. I have been trying to think about the best way to do this. I always think about my longer blogs before I write them. I spend that time when you are lying in bed but not quite asleep imagining what I should write and how I should write it. It always sounds so much better at night. Sometimes I have half a mind to get out of bed and start writing. But I never do.

At any rate I have decided to do a day by day analysis. It is the cheap and easy way out.

Sunday December 21st: We slept in this morning. We had found out the night before that church was to be canceled this day. Portland was in the midst of the worst snowstorm the city has seen in almost a century. In all we woould get approximately 8 inches. The city has only 50 plows to deal with its population of over 500,000. They keep no salt or sand on hand. Side roads were definitively not plowed. Shortly after we woke up Lauren learned that her grandmother did not intend on planning the wedding. We were not getting married in the catholic church. The day was turning sour and quick.

We spent the next few hours worrying about our flight being canceled. The snow kept coming. There was a statewide law in effect stating that no cars were allowed on the road without either chains or 4X wheel drive. The snow kept coming. We ended up leaving our house around 5:00pm. Our flight was scheduled for 10:30pm. Roads all over the city were being closed to all traffic. We did not want to be stuck here.

We spend our time at the airport hoping our flight would not be canceled. Approximately 80% of the flight into and out of PDX were canceled. We waited and waited. Our flight was delayed and then delay some more. Eventually, at about 3:00am our flight left for Newark.

Monday December 22nd: We arrived in Newark approximately 11:00am Eastern Standard Time. We were originally supposed to catch a flight to Rhode Island at 8:30am. Since we had obviously missed that the airline had booked us on a 4:00pm to Boston. The flight was delayed until 6:00pm. We decided that it would be easier to have Bonnie come pick us up in Newark. We talked to baggage claim and order our bags pulled. We called Bonnie and sent her on her way.

About 2 hours later we still did not have our bags. I went back to baggage claim and discovered that our baggage had already been sent to Boston. Bonnie was about halfway to Newark. Lauren's wedding dress was in the luggage. She had not really slept and was on the verge of hysteria. It was all I could do to remain calm and discuss what our options were at this point. We decided the best course of action would be to drive to Boston with Bonnie.

Bonnie picked us up, I got in the drivers seat, and we headed for Boston. We hit New York City traffic and a 20 mile portion of the trip took 2hrs. We were nervous that we would not make it before the Boston baggage claim close. We reached Logan International Airport around 11:00pm. I was told to find my bags amidst literally hundreds of others from people in similar situations. I got the bags and waited outside for Lauren and Bonnie to circle back and get me. I thought I was going to freeze to death on that Boston not. I have gotten weak. I thought Portland had been cold as of late. Nothing I have experienced since I got to the Northwest could compare to the cold of this New England night.

We headed back for Pittsfield and got back to Bonnie's around 2:00am. We were in transit for over 30hrs. We had plenty of scares. We were tired and worn down. We had lost a full day of an already very busy vacation. But we came through it fairly well. I calmed Lauren down when she was hysterical. She calmed me down when I had lost my nerves. We had heard so many horror stories in airports. We were actually quite lucky. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people were stuck in an airport on standby until Christmas. Families had children with them in Newark yet their luggage, Christmas presents and all, were in Houston or New Orleans or Colorado. The airport was not a happy place. We were overjoyed to be back at Bonnie's that night preparing for sleep.


Tuesday December 23rd: We slept in. I honestly have no idea what time we woke up. We had things to do this day. We had coffee and some quiche and were out the door. Bonnie let us borrow her vehicle. I dropped Lauren off at the Norman Rockwell Museum. She was meeting old friends, having lunch, meeting her brother at the Cheese Monger to finish the cheese purchasing, buying wine and then going to my grandmother's house to drop it off. I drove to my parents house. I briefly saw my mother. I saw my father for the first time in a year and a half. I went in the house and spent about an hour and a half with him. We shot the shit, he made fun of me for my glasses and we generally caught up.

After that I headed over to my grandparents house. They were, after all, letting us have our wedding and 30 people into their house. We had only given them 30 days notice, if that. I stopped by saw the both of them and took a look at the house. Everything looked great. We discussed the wedding, life and so on. I spent about an hour over there.

At some point in all of this, and I do not exactly remember when, we learned that Lauren's grandmother would be attending our wedding. Lauren had sent out a plea to several of her aunts to beg their mother to attend. It worked. I can not describe how eternally grateful we were for this.

I then went to the Dakota to see some old friends. It was still early and a Tuesday. Accordingly, only a few people were there. I visited for several minutes and went across the street to Guido's to see Laura. We stood in the store talking for about a half an hour before hunger pushed me onward. I stopped at Hot Harry's and brought it back to my parents to eat. The burrito was good but definitely showed me the extent to which I have been spoiled in Portland. For $2.00 less I get a burrito that has fresher ingredients and is more authentic. But this is a side note. We do not dine out nearly enough for me to care. I do love those chips.

I headed back to Bonnie's and took a nap. I was still very tired for the previous days of travel. I called Lauren and she informed me that she would be going to the Larkin's for a wedding party for Janet. I was to go to Dave's. Dave picked me up and we headed to his place. We had a lot of catching up to do. We ordered a pizza from Tyler street. I would like to stop here to note how absolutely delicious the pizza was. We watched some sports. We went to BigY to buy ingredients for his office potluck holiday the following day. Dave's brother Paul stopped over. We did more catching up.

I was home around 11:30pm. Lauren was not. I woke up around 2:15 to pee and Lauren was still not home. I assumed she was dead. Ever since I was a very young boy I have done this. It is a coping mechanism. I prepare for the worst. Turns out she had went out to a bar with some friends and then went back to one of their houses. A mini “bachelorette” party. She was home shortly.

Wednesday December 24th: It is Christmas Eve. I am also getting married. We woke up, had coffee and some quiche. Lauren went to her mother's and then to my grandmother's to get everything set with the wine and cheese. Her and her brother put a lot of time and effort into having delicious wine and cheese pairings. We had the best cheeses that Whole Foods and the Cheese Monger had to offer. We had crackers, bread, fruit and red and white wines. Some of the best I ever had.

I was instructed that I had to be there two hours early. Our ceremony was to be at 2:00pm so I arrived before noon. It was immediately evident that there was not a single thing for me to do. Lauren and her brother were arranging the cheeses and wine. My grandmother was arranging glasses for the champagne toast. I paced. And then I paced some more. I received a brief respite from the pacing when Meghan arrived and we did a rehearsal. We had arranged the ceremony and readings several weeks before. True to our fashion, we had not looked at it sense. I stared at Meghan too much during the ceremony. I am a goofball.

Around 1:00pm Lauren went upstairs to dress. I was not to see her again until the ceremony. I paced. People started arriving. I paced. I could not eat the cheese until after the ceremony. No wine until after the ceremony. I paced. I greeted people at the door. Lauren's family and mine started arriving. In all approximately 30 people were in attendance. Right at 2:00 pm we were ready.

Meghan came down to inform the crowd we were ready. Lauren's father went to the top of the stairs to walk her down. I hear it tell that she began to cry. He walked her down the stairs and through the crowd of family and friends. He dropped her off at me, shook my hand and stood next to his wife. The ceremony had begun. I had arranged for Meghan to read a beautiful quote about love from C.S. Lewis. I thought it would bore people. It actually went over quite well. I have been told that I looked around too much during the ceremony. Lauren kept squeezing my hands. She was beaming with nervousness an joy. I thought she was going to burst. I am a goof. The fact that I said my lines is a miracle. My head was swirling. I thought Lauren was going to burst.

Meghan pronounced us “man and wife” and announced us to the crowd as “Mr. and Mrs. Joseph John Drury, Jr.” I can hear scores of thousands of jealous women out there as I type this. Finally, I thought, wine and cheese. I was married. Now I wanted to enjoy myself. Oh but how wrong I was. At first we had a touching champagne toast. Ciana walked amongst the crowd with a basket of red and white flowers. She was our flower girl. She handed out a flower to every guest in attendance. Meghan gave a short speech to “the newlyweds”. My grandfather attempted to give a speech. He was all choked up. Eventually he got out his advice. “Never go to bed angry” and “Always say 'I love you'.” Wise words indeed. He then chokingly welcomed Lauren “to the Drury family”.

But wine and cheese were not in my immediate future. First there were pictures. Then there were more pictures. There were pictures of me and Lauren. There were pictures of me and Lauren and her parents. There were pictures of me and Lauren with my parents. There were pictures with our grandparents. There were pictures with aunts and uncles. There were pictures with siblings. There were pictures with Ciana.

At some point I was able to enjoy wine and cheese and relax. Pictures went on throughout the day. But they lessened after the first hour. Elvis Christmas blasted through the house. I enjoyed some great cheeses and wine. I smoked a cigar with Murph and Dave. I visited with family members I had not seen in a long time. I conversed with members of Lauren's family that I had only briefly meet.

Lauren's aunt from Seattle, a dear friend of ours, had ordered us a wedding cake.  She had also ordered an apple pie for me.  I will write at some point about my "you are either a pie man or a cake man" theory.  Barack Obama agrees and is a cake man himself.  At any rate the top of the cake was the piece from my grandparents 25th wedding anniversary.  We cut the cake and lovingly fed eachother bites.  I did not 'mash' it into her face.  I much preffered to give it to her gently as she lived in constant fear that I would smash it in.

Eventually things winded down and people started to filter out. Our goal was to have everyone on their way by 4:00 pm. We left around 5:00pm. We headed off to our hotel room. My family had chipped in and gotten us a nice room at the Crowne Plaza for our wedding. At first we thought it was silly. We ending up being extremely appreciative for it.

After a brief respite we headed off to Lauren's aunts house for an annual Christmas Eve Christmas party. We mingled, at food and had some drinks. At one point there was a champagne toast in our honor. Around 8:30 we had Dave come pick us up to go back to my parents. We stayed at my folks house for about an hour and were pretty much done with the day. We were ready to go back to the hotel. It had been an extremely long day.

Thursday December 25th: Merry Christmas. We are married. I have a wife. Merry Christmas. We woke up and went down for our free breakfast. We packed and my mother picked us up. It is hard getting used to this ring. We spent about 2 hours at my parents. We opened presents. We watched Ciana open presents. We ate some great food. Of particular note was a homemade coffee cake that Bonnie made.

After this we headed over to Lauren's aunt's house (other side of her family) for Christmas festivities. We exchanged gifts and had a drink and some appetizers. We conversed and were generally merry. We proceeded to a sit down dinner. We had beef tenderloin with hollandaise sauce, falafel, mashed potato, squash, green beans and more. I took part in some of the beef tenderloin. I do eat meat. I am not a vegetarian. I just do not eat meat as a practical matter. It is never in our house. Meat that would be acceptable to me is expensive. At any rate, it was delicious. I could only have a very small piece. These things fill you up when you are not used to them.

After Lauren's aunts we went back to my parents. We put on some Elvis Christmas and relaxed. Lauren's folks had given me a new Elvis Christmas duets cd. We made sure to work that into the mix. We had a second meal and watched the Lakers-Celtics game. We ate and drank and were merry. Murph and Ada stopped over to visit. Around 8:00pm Lauren went to go meet back up with her family at here cousins house. I stayed to spend time with my folks and Murph and Ada.

Later on in the evening Murph brought me back to his old man's house to see his cat that he had brought home for the holidays. Murph's dad offered me a beer and I did not refuse. The four of us ended up spending the waning hours of Christmas day sitting around the kitchen table drinking a beer and discussing life. We discussed god and religion, Christmas, politics, weddings, buying a house, the 'stuff white people like' book and a whole lot more.

I was to Bonnie's around midnight. Lauren was already fast asleep.

Friday December 26th: Lauren woke up early to go out with a friend. I slept in and slumbered around in the morning eating quiche and drinking coffee. I meet the two of them at Patrick's for lunch. We split their nachos which are of immeasurable fame in our house. I had a bowl of clam chowder and a diet coke.

After this I head off to the Dakota. Everyone that I was unable to see on Tuesday was there. It is still the same old place. It is amazing to me that for the better part of 7 years I worked there. I feel intimately connected to the place. It can pain me if I meditate on the fact that I will never work there again. I did plenty of catching up. I might have even found a pig for our wedding party this summer. We want the party to be accessible to as many friends and family members as possible. We are considering the a pig roast at the Controy Pavillion.

I spent over an hour at the Dakota. After the visit I headed back to Bonnie's and was just in time for her annual Christmas party. She had an array of appetizers, soup and salad and beverages for everyone. We partook in the traditional brown bag secret Santa We exchanged gifts. We all watched Ciana participate in the Christmas activities. Of course, I had Elvis Christmas going. There are many food items worth noting here. While Bonnie's was visiting she discovered “Rose City Pepperheads” pepper jelly at our Farmer's Market. The stuff is good enough to have shipped to New England. She had a jar set up with cheese and crackers. She also gave my father a few jars as a gift. There were also some vegetarian back jalapeno poppers that I do so love. I had a few white russian's myself. The night was capped off with Ciana giving everyone 'tattoos' from the tattoo book she had received for Christmas.

Next up was seeing Dave Brown. He was sitting in with a band at a bar in Lenox. We got there and the both of us experienced some mild culture shock. We had forgotten what “going out” is like in Pittsfield. We are used to people going out in their pajamas. We are used to people going out in clothes that have holes and tears from use and not from purchase. We are used to people having outfits that are clearly cheap and clearly artistic. We are used to going out to dark and dingy places. We do not go often. But we do on the rare occasion. And this is the only experience to be had in Portland. We were shocked to find that people had “dressed up” to go to a bar on a Friday night. We were surprised at how well lit the place was. We were surprised at how many people were there.

Between the two of us we saw more people than we care to remember. We knew, at least second hand, almost everyone there. This is also not a familiar experience with us. I did see some old friends from my hockey days. It was nice to see people for the first time in 15 years and discuss life. But the night was about Dave Brown and he did not disappoint. It was great to see him play and to converse. Murph and Ada stopped by as well. It was great to see them one more time as well.

Saturday December 27th: We woke up and had our parents over Bonnie's for breakfast. We had Dunkin Donuts, scrambled eggs, leftovers of the homemade coffee cake and plenty of coffee. Lauren and I scrambled to ensure that everything was packed. Eventually we loaded the car and my in-law's (first time I ever used that term) brought us to the airport. The ride was relatively quiet. There was not much talking. When we did arrive at the airport Lauren's father said something to me that I do not think I will ever forget. As we were saying our goodbye's he said “you're a good guy Joe. I'm glad you married Lauren”. I was going to make a joke out of it at first. But I could not do it. I just shook his hand and gave him a hug.

The flight home went without incident. We arrived back at our place and showered Alice with love.