Monday, April 30, 2018

Wedding Recap

Fun getting caught up with people at the rehearsal dinner. Larry and Susan were there early, so Larry and I had a good chat. Nephew Chase came in with Dic and Deb. Chase was anxious to talk about his involvement at a local Methodist church in his hometown, and had several questions. Later he had a long conversation with the minister, and at the reception had a long talk with Will.

Laura’s mother made the rounds at the dinner. This summer they’re planning a big family trip to Jackson Hole, so she talked to Dic Dac, who’d been there several times. I talked to Dic about Will’s Peru trip. Deb wants us to come see them in Mount Pleasant. The preacher made his rounds. He had studied at Emory around the same time Jeff and Mary Margaret went there. The Ingram’s were there from Moultrie. Rusty Ingram makes it up to Braves and Falcons and UGA games, so we talked about that. He said back in the old days when Clemson beat Georgia Ceil’s dad would call to rag the Ingram’s, and vice versa.

Ingram cousins David and Beth were also there. Beth was able to walk up the stairs before getting back in her wheelchair. Rusty Miller told David who Laura’s step-brother Ryan was, so David went over and spent a long time talking to the punter for the Minnesota Vikings. The next day after the wedding I had gone over to take a picture of the tape on the floor. Ryan came out and sat down next to me. He held out his hand and introduced himself, and we talked about Zane and how Ceil and I fit in to Zane’s family. Never broached the subject of football. Turns out last year he was the only NFL punter to not have a touchback.



During the wedding I had noticed a tear in Ryan’s eye. During the reception Ryan stayed off the dance floor and hung with his family. At one point I bumped into his grandfather, and had a nice chat with him as well. Also talked to Laura’s brother-in-law who lives in Smyrna. We had met at last month’s shower. He’s already been to five Braves games, including the previous Saturday walkoff. I told him I had been at the two games before that one.      

Saturday morning I got caught up on some stuff on my laptop. In the morning Anna drove to Pageland to Bojangles (me & Anna), McDonalds (Ceil & Joan), and Bi-Lo (me & Anna). Later Jordan woke up and she and Anna drove back to Pageland to bring back KFC for lunch. Was supposed to be chicken tenders but they got the order wrong and it was regular greasy chicken. I skipped the chicken and had a little slaw and mac & cheese.

So refreshing to attend a God-honoring wedding ceremony, in a church, with groomsmen in black tuxedos and bridesmaids in traditional bridesmaids dresses. Like Will and Mary-Clayton before them, Zane and Laura are to be commended for continuing the high wedding standard that hopefully will be followed by their brothers and sisters and cousins. Zane couldn’t make it through the dance with his mother without tearing up.

Zane’s parents Phil and Teresa had a wonderful time. Phil gave a hilarious speech and caught everything on his camera phone. Teresa looked wonderful, and wore a huge smile all evening. They’ve done such a wonderful job raising all three children to become responsible, independent, respectful adults. Zane was the first to fly the Jefferson coop, living and working in Columbia after attending college in Virginia on a golf scholarship. Beau is friendly, outgoing, and engaging, and already a valuable employee at the Sand Hills Telephone Cooperative. Victoria is also friendly, outgoing, and hard-working. She’s taken several college road trips and spent last summer making big money waiting tables in Columbia.   

Got ready for the wedding and left Jefferson at 3:50 pm. Made good time to the church in Columbia. Anna needed something from the drugstore so W&MC stopped on the way. This made them later than planned. We were waiting on them, plus waiting with Joan since she was to be seated with the grandparents at the beginning of the service, so Ceil and I were two of the last to be seated.

The reception was a few blocks away from the church in downtown Columbia, right next to a parking garage. Lots to eat and drink: pimento cheese or chicken salad sandwiches, melt in your mouth meatballs, delicious chicken tenders, cheeses, chocolates, tea and lemonade, and a fully stocked bar.

Joan was able to attend despite a recent cracked rib. She enjoyed the service and afterwards the picture taking and reception, but by the end of the evening she was exhausted. Ceil and I had to leave the party earlier than most in order to get her home at a decent hour. I stayed up late but was still asleep by the time Anna got home.

We left Jefferson around 10:45 Sunday morning. Stopped in Lugoff for gas and Taco Bell. Anna loves the Bell. She couldn’t believe Ceil approved of the visit, and snapped a picture of us to commemorate the event (and use for blackmail). Anna and I were the second of three straight father/daughter customers, though the other two girls were under five years old. I got a senior citizens soft drink.

Drove straight through to Athens. Got 32 mpg on the CRV. Ate an early supper at Chipotle with Anna, then knocked out the last leg of the trip home. Barney was glad to see us. I unloaded the car. C and M went to Whole Foods, and later Will arrived for his last two days of rotations at Piedmont Hospital. Will and Matthew suffered through Ceil’s episode of “The Good Witch.” Those wiccan shows are so unrealistic.

This weekend Anna was wearing her vintage “BO KNOWS” baseball/football t-shirt. I told her some backstory on the marketing campaign, and showed her the famous commercial on YouTube.

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