Someone Else's Wedding

A coyote wandering in my backyard. Can you say - NO GEESE! ( and yes, Pat, it's real) Mindy's friend Shelly ties the knot. Pictured - Mindy,Shelly, Bill, Jeremy (best man), and then Shelly and Bill's blended family. Mindy at CBC. We slept in until just after 9am Saturday morning. I was surprised it was so late but obviously needed the sleep. We needed to get up and get moving, though because Mindy had to be at the church by 10:15am for Shelly’s wedding. I made quick work of my exercises and Ykraps walk. I returned for coffee with Mindy. Before running I drove Mindy to St. John’s Lutheran church, where the wedding would take place a couple hours later. I returned home to run. I was back home by 10:30am. I copied all of November’s pictures to CD before leaving for a run. It was 11am when I headed out the door. I had to hurry since I had to be back at the church by 12:15pm for the actual wedding. I was back by 11:35am. I showered and dressed in my tan, Evan Picone suit. Just before laving I cleared all the pics from my camera memory and exchanged the batteries for those freshly charged. I took a quick pic of myself before heading out the door. When I glanced out back I saw what at first I thought was a stray dog lingering in my back yard. However, on closer observation, It was a Coyote! Camera already in hand, I quickly snapped off four pictures, the first through the glass for not wanting to scare it away. After that, the remaining three were with the door open and him recognizing my presence. He didn’t bolt like I though he might. Eventually, he moseyed away towards the woods. It spooked me just a little, but I liked the potential trade-off - coyotes for no geese! I rushed out of the house at 12:05pn in a hurry to get to the wedding. Mindy asked that I be there by 12:15pm. I didn’t want to disappoint. I was stopped at every light, but still made it there by 12:19pm – close enough! I was seated right away. This was a relatively ‘small’ wedding only about 30-40 people including small children. The ceremony lasted only about 20 minutes, but then there was the picture taking afterwards with various wedding party attendees. As they departed the church we blew bubbles limousine side. We loaded up our stuff and drove off to the reception all the way out at Oakhurst Country Club. I was starving having only eaten a couple chunks of cheese prior to leaving the house. At the reception Mindy and I scarfed some meatballs and lil’ baby sandwiches. They had a cash bar and it was still early (2:00pm), so I didn’t partake in any drinking if alcohol. Mindy lead an impromptu toast to the bride and did quite well. Through the reception Mindy and I danced a few times, although Mindy danced much more than I. One of the brides neighbors/friend is a Latino woman, an man could she dance. You might say she had ‘mojo’! We stayed at the reception until almost 5:45pm. I was beyond ready to go. On our way home we stopped by Cross Roads united Methodist Church so that Mindy could decorate the altar. She volunteers for this function frequently. The church was other wise empty. While she decorated the altar, I goofed around. I played the piano, acted as if I were giving the sermon, and then took a number of pictures. I wanted to drink some holy water but the caldron was empty. Were out of there after 30 minutes or so. It was unique to live behind the scenes so to speak. Finally home, I walked Ykraps and then tuned into the final ten minutes of the USC/UCLA game. The game was significant in that if USC won, they were all but assured of playing us in the National Championship game. If they lost, then Michigan would likely get a rematch. I wanted USC to lose to force the rematch with Michigan. USC lost just as I had hoped. Mindy and I left for dinner. We landed at CBC – Columbus Brewing Company – a Cameron Mitchell restaurant. We chose to sit at the bar in lieu of a table. That way I could keep an eye on the Florida Arkansas game. We ordered drinks and appetizers. I ordered a key lime martini and Mindy ordered a Shiraz. My martini did not taste so good. When the server asked how it was I was kind but honest. She comp’d me a CBC Pale Ale. Later, I ordered a 90 Schilling, their Scottish Ale. It was extremely good and very strong. We hung out at CBC for about two hours. We made friends with a couple of girls who sat next to us. Both had anthropology degrees. We got to talking bout our visit to Seattle and the Bodies Exhibit. We talked for some time. They were an interesting couple. We left close to 10pm. Before heading back home our curiosity took us to the new Brewery District Kroger. We’d heard so much about how nice it is and wanted to see it. Besides, we needed a few things. It was right around the corner. While inside, and yes, it was very nice, we bought some veggies, champagne, orange juice, pop-tarts, and a few other miscellaneous items. Finally, after 30 minutes in Kroger, we were destined for home. At home we didn’t waste much time getting ready for bed. We were both exhausted.