Come spring, there is going to be a wedding in the family. My nephew, Trent, is taking a bride. Trent and Jessica will be married on Good Friday. They have chosen to be married on the beach against a back drop of ocean blue. On their wedding day, the world begins anew and all dreams are possible. I will be there to witness the birth of their family. When I heard the good news, the first thought that came to my mind was, “I need a new dress.†That’s a common thought for women when they are told there is going to be a wedding.
Long gone is the day when the cake cutting was held in the church basement. Now, a wedding can cost as much as a house, but come spring, brides will begin turning up everywhere. By June, weddings will be booked all over town. Think of all the bridesmaid dresses that will be sold; and an army of young exuberant bridegrooms and ushers sporting tuxedos dancing with the bridesmaids and mothers. Weddings propel a society into the future.
When we were a nation of neighborhoods and families, we came together to celebrate weddings. The women in the community became a workforce that could create bridal dresses, make the cakes and refreshments, clean the church, and tame the groomsmen. As we have grown into large cities with anonymous neighbors, we have lost the sense of community. As we attend the spring and summer weddings, it is a good time to remember and to recall our lost innocence.
Weddings are good for the spirit and weddings are good for the economy. It costs a whole lot of money to union with another. I propose that the government bail-out should be rewritten to provide a certain amount of money to all couples married in the spring and summer of 2009. I do not mean a twenty-five dollar gift certificate for dinner at the local fast food franchise. I mean real money, folding money. Bail-out money for weddings would be a way to encourage the continuum of life.
The bail-out package as it is now constructed rewards the foolish, the irresponsible, greedy bankers, and Wall Street tycoons. The wedding bail-out plan would encourage the members of society who shoulder the burden of moving past challenging times…regular folks, like you, my sister and me. Regular folks, people who get up each morning, report to work, pay their bills, and fall in love.
If the government gave $20,000 each to the bride and to the groom, it would jumpstart our country in a most delightful way. Women will go shopping. Men would buy cigars and bourbon while slapping each other on the back and swapping yarns. Yes, it would be wedding pork, but it would be instantly approved by the Senate and House of Representatives because so many of them have already paid for a wedding, or two or three.
While the greedy count their money and curry favors from elected officials, while the world is distracted, regular folk carry on…we carry on about the business of life and living. It was regular folks who came home from World War II and spurred an economic boom. With $40,000 in their pockets, lovers could reach for their dreams. Homes and housing would be in demand and the economy would revive.
When the soldiers returned home from World War II, they were ready to marry and start a family. With their wedding vows, they promised safe haven for their families and their country. We find comfort in the rituals and cycles of life; births, baptism, anniversaries, graduation, and weddings. In the 1940s and 1950s, our parents spurred a solid economy as their families grew. During this era, a handshake was a contract and there was pride in America. Weddings celebrate our tomorrows. How many weddings would it take to bailout America? Now, that our elected officials have let us down, now, it is time to take a turn away from the ugly and reinstitute the celebration of family.
Regular folks are rarely mentioned in the newspaper, but these are the people who move the world forward. We are the constant in a world of change. A wedding captures the innocence of life. In the presence of a bride and groom, we all feel young and innocent and sometimes wise. Rituals such as weddings remind us all that once we were young. Regular and working folks, make the world turn while watching our children grow. One of the industries still experiencing growth and a rosy outlook is children’s clothing. Children do not stop growing and lovers will always marry. The world happens around us as we go about planning weddings and caring for our families. Within us all is a desire for the wholeness that comes when life is shared with another. Love is the divine in everyday life. As long as there are weddings, the world will survive.
In the television mini-series based on Alex Haley’s novel, “Roots,”when a young couple were married, they jumped over a broom. A wonderful community celebration began when they jumped. Life is about community and sharing.
A wedding has always been a time of celebration.
Thank you, Trent and Jessica, for falling in love and deciding to marry just when we need a celebration. Love makes the world go round.
