anniversary

Yesterday marked the 28th year of marriage between Karen Mummsen and Ronald Tomanio. The ceremony took place at the Quaker Chapel at Oakwood School in Poughkeepsie N.Y. Our wonderful friend Frank Post, who was the cook at the school, cooked all the food which included a make-your-own -sundae. For those friends out their of other Faiths, a Baha'i marriage ceremony is not official unless there is a make-your-own sundae. KAren had disies in her long blond hair while I had color in mine. The daisies, the blondness and the color in my hair are long gone, but love has filled in every material void. We had a short couple of days at Lake Mohonk-significant to Baha'is because Abdu'l-Baha was invited to speak there in April of 1912. They still have a huge portrait of Him in the hallway. Whatever event would have my mother and father seated side-by-side at the main table. My mother's least favorite sister walked by and could not resist a passing broadside volley. "Look at the two lovebirds."-my parents, who struggled to be in the same room together, shot back invisible poison darts. Weddings are a gathering of individuals that occur like comets with an extremely long orbit-once in a few million years. Which means I will one day struggle to fit into my wedding suit and Karen will test the fortitude of her white wedding dress. Lovebirds will gather for real having been reprimaned by St. Gordo, the patron saint of obese divorced couples to forgive and forget-but I will never forget the bright wake of the comet as I look back in time.