THIRTY SIX YEARS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REST OF THE STORY

THIRTY SIX YEARS AND LOOKING FORWARD TO THE REST OF THE STORY

 On February 27, 1981 Lita Theresa Barnett and I were married at our house at 2727 LaVenture Road in Mount Vernon, Washington. It was a day to remember not just because of the romantic significance, but the Keystone Kops circumstances surrounding it as well. What? you don't know who the Keystone Kops were?
P1010038 croppedThey were famous in Max Sennett's silent comedy movies of 1912's involving a bunch of incompetent police clumsily racing to the rescue, but always making things worse. 

The similarity to our wedding day was that family members were gathered waiting for the arrival of my friend, Everett judge John Wilson, now deceased, to arrive and perform the ceremony. He was driving from Everett. As more and more time went by without his arrival, friends and the children became more restless and increasingly apprehensive, especially Lita's parents. Finally our friends Karen Forsman and Debbie Roozen decided they get in a car and go looking for him. When they didn't return after a time, I decided I had an emergency and called my old boss at the prosecutor's office and my friend Judge Walter (Jack) Deierlein, also deceased, in Mount Vernon and pleaded with him immediately come over and perform the ceremony. God bless him, he agreed and showed up promptly with is wife Mickey. We were setting up for the vows when Karen and Debbie showed up with Judge Wilson who they found driving around looking for our house.  We now had two judges. By this time most of the guests had freely indulged in the booze,while waiting and out of anxiety. It was a scene right out of the movies. We resolved it by going ahead. We asked both judges to jointly perform the ceremony. Lita and I were finally married on Friday, February 27, 1981 thirty six years ago. After our wedding we flew to Florida where I was giving a talk at a legal seminar and  then on for a Caribbean Keystone-Cops-1912honeymoon.

For the next three decades we were not only married, but we worked together as law partners in our law firm. That meant spending all of our time together, so we are entitled to claim this as our seventy second anniversary having spend twenty four hours together over 36 years of married life. But, for me it has been just a short time that has gone by so quickly with joy and love. As someone else has said about a relationship: "I'm dying to breathe and she is oxygen." Together we have made a great team and have continually molded ourselves into one, but without loss of our individual uniqueness. What a great gift and miracle to have someone who loves  you in spite of all the flaws and gives you purpose. What greater thing is there for two human souls to be joined in a way that makes them one person and one soul. So, here's to my long suffering, beautiful and wonderful partner in all that we have achieved or accomplished. It was truly a joint effort with the best possible friend a man could find. Happy Anniversary Lita.   

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