Fam Wedding Bells

I love weddings! Our nephew Chris was married to Dana this weekend. Chris is Paul's sister Dorie's oldest son. They are Milwaukee area peeps. The wedding was in Appleton, WI, so we decided to make a weekend of it and stay in Dubuque at the lovely Hotel Julien Dubuque on Friday night.

When Paul and I were first married, Dubuque (near Paul's hometown of Earlville) was a dump of a town. Now it's fabulous! We pulled in about 5:30 p.m. and walked down the main drag to a brewery I'd scoped out online called Jubeck New World Brewing. It isn't a large place, but it's decorated in a cute "flight" theme. It's a small batch brewery - no big tanks, but the beer I tried, a nutty ale, was quite delicious. Then we hit a burger joint to split a burger. Last we found a hidden bar - the Busted Lift. It is listed online, but we had to ask out hotel guy how to find it - like a speakeasy! Very cool underground place. Our hotel room was lovely, and a wedding reception was going on at the hotel, so it was filled with beautiful people.

The Lift, Irish Bar - stone walls

View from Hotel Julien, so pretty! 

In the morning we headed out to Appleton - some three hours northeast. The leaves are just starting to turn, so it was lovely. Once we arrived, there were Goldsmiths galore! All of Paul's brothers and sisters with spouses were there. Sister Carol brought her friend Roger. It was nice to meet him - a former classmate of hers from high school. We love hanging out with these peeps!

Chris and Dana's wedding was simple, elegant and beautiful. They bbeamed with love and happiness during the ceremony and reception, which was right at the church hall. We sat and chatted with the siblings until the delicious meal was served. A bit later I must admit, Paul and I snuck across the street to a sports bar (it's Wisconsin - they're everywhere) with Paul's brother Ken and wife Mary for a beer. We stopped back for a piece of cake before heading back to the hotel.

Goldsmiths!

This morning the groom's parents hosted a breakfast for all (brothers/sisters) of us before we headed home. It's always fun catching up with the family. I enjoyed reminiscing about Paul's mom and dad, Laura and George - two of my favorite people. They would be very proud of their family - children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren!

In two weeks we get to do this again with my family when my niece Jordan ties the knot with Jill! Can't wait. I love weddings.

Hating on Hate

There was love and there was hate.

Our former hometown, Creston is a wonderful place filled with some awesome people. And some that aren't that great. Yes, just like in any town, there are some jerks living there - and I don't just mean people who disagree with my views.

I appreciate that everyone can't be as fair-minded and intelligent about the world and politics as I am. Wink, wink.

Creston has had some hiccups lately. For the past few years a wanna-be artist, perhaps with repressed homosexual tenancies (yes, Dr. Leslie has made a diagnosis), has sent anonymous hate mail (the snail kind) to anyone in town that they deem gay or gay-friendly.

I first I  heard of this was when this person picked on my friend Barb on the occasion of her daughter's engagement announcement hit the local newspaper. I can understand someone not agreeing with the concept of gay marriage and not getting married to a same-sex person and attending churches that don't perform those ceremonies. Others feel they must speak out publicly against it, lest we all think silence means agreement. While I'm no biblical scholar, I kinda wonder about the hypocritical religious types. Why are some things not allowed, yet other things such as divorce and affairs are now given a pass...yet another reason why organized religion is now on my "do not participate" list. Too many self-serving, judgmental rules.

Paul and I no longer live in Creston but are still proud to call it home after raising our family there. We have several family members who we love dearly that have married and will marry same-sex partners. What is so scary about love and partnership? In my opinion, coming generations will dwell on this concept much less than we do. The letter writer seems to be older...(My Nancy Drew skills have seen the clues in the letters).

clever rainbow sign - Love > Hate

I've not received one of the letters. Getting one would be upsetting. As an observer who hasn't received one, I feel sadder for the writer than mad. They spend a great deal of time on this hobby.

As a result of the letters, Barb decided to arrange a small event in Creston on 9/5 - a gathering of those who are against hate. Though not announced publicly, the turnout was good. I was glad we went, sneaking down early to hang out with our friends Deb and Larry Peterson who also attended. Larry, as a newsman who has covered "taboo" topics, has been the recipient of a couple of the dreaded letters. The police and U.S. Postal Service are trying to find out just who is sending the letters. I'm not sure what will happen when/if they are exposed. In the meantime - the hater will keep hating.

Small but dedicated group - some more clever signs than mine

Later this week all hell broke loose when a photo of five young Creston men was revealed - complete with a burning cross, white hoods and a rifle. When I saw it I was disturbed, angry and sad. The photo made its way onto the media scene around the country, with sad, mean comments about our hometown. Extreme racism, dumb kids or a combination of the two? I can't say.

I've read that the Creston High School student body has just over 10% non-white students. I venture to guess those numbers have increased in recent years. Is there resentment from that, just like overall in our country? Have they heard their relatives talk about this topic? Do they not like outside cultures coming into "their town"? These are all things Creston must painfully delve into. I sincerely hope that those five young men have a chance to meet Jewish people and people of color - in a personal way and understand that what they did truly hurts others. Only then can the healing begin. May they come out of this as better people.

And now it's "Hate Week" in Iowa - the big Iowa/Iowa State football game is Saturday. I'm having a hard time getting too worked up about it. Sure, come game time I'll be cheering on my Cyclones against the dreaded in-state rivals. For now, I'm trying to remember that there is more that unites us.

Celebrating 35 Years,

This guy

Who could have known? I was such a young thing when I got married. Now here I am, nearly 60 - comfortable, spending time with this fella that worked his way into my life all those years ago. I'm the lucky one. We've woven our lives together so tightly. I can't imagine what life would be like without him.

I've always been one to bristle when people would suggest someones' husband was "their better half". How sexist, I'd think. Each woman should be her own person. Now here I am, not half a person, but interdependent with this dude I've been spending time with for the past 35 years.

These people....heart. 

We spent our anniversary weekend at LOTO (Lake of the Ozarks) with good friends McKims, Higgins, and McFees. It was Shootout Weekend - so the "Go Fast Boats" were going fast all weekend. Capn' Don motored the pontoon into prime race viewing position and we watched the races while floating on noodles. Our friends' lake homes have evolved from works-in-progress to places worthy of Chip and Joanna. Besides hanging out with our friends, my favorite part of the weekend was sitting on the deck in the morning, drinking coffee. That view!

This view

My friend Sandy (a friend from my hometown Atlantic) arranged for us to participate in the annual Meals From the Heartland event at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday. Our Team Name is ForTH - For The Hungry. Perfect. We worked together with another group (Waukee cheerleaders in the next pod) to package 40 boxes of meals. Woohoo. That day over 1 million meals were packaged to be shipped anywhere in the world.

This team

After two hours standing on concrete, a stop at Malo for Mexican Food and a beer was in order. It was nice to get to know our teammates a bit better. Sandy and Steve's daughter Lauren and her husband Adam are super nice. And the others are too. Fun night!

This group of Paul's co-workers - toasting a friend battling cancer

Next up - we were ready for some football! Our beloved Cyclones vs. the UNI Panthers - always a worthy first game opponent. Game time, 7 p.m. It was a perfect day - we enjoyed it immensely, especially the big W this year. Our friends Kevin and Kari are again providing a trailer/tent rig in D2 for tailgating. Perfect for our little group. We grilled brats and hoisted a couple beers. It was fun to see our tailgating "neighbors" and to walk the parking lot, visiting other groups.

This VARSITY marching band

At game time, we walked in with the band. That's living vicariously! The pregame was super. Oh, how I love the pageantry. Soon the moon was shining over the stadium and after a slow start, our team was heading to a victory.

This game day experience

Post game, we allowed the parking lot traffic jam to clear out and took town the tents. Kari and Keven have the real work today - reorganizing that jumble of a trailer. OCD Kevin will need to put it all in order! Then we had a beer by the fire pit telling, telling stories and talking football. Not much overconfidence about next week's game against in-state rivals, the Hawkeyes. But today, we're 1-0!

This hero - Jack Trice