Celebrating 25 years
If you ever get the chance not to be married in a blizzard, take it.

Twenty-five years ago this afternoon I gave myself in marriage to the former Catherine Elizabeth Stephens of Durham, NC. Saturday, March 1, 1980 was a day to remember for more than one reason - the temperatures the whole last week of February had been in the 60s, but during the night of Feb. 29 the mercury nosedived. At 10 a.m. the first I was having breakfast with my best man, my younger brother, Will. It began snowing as we ate.

Our wedding was scheduled for 3 p.m. We delayed it 15-20 minutes to give people more time to make the trip through the four or five inches that had fallen. A lot of folks wisely opted to stay home, but we still had a pretty good crowd. Fortunately, the reception was held in the church, too. We had the world's fastest reception as guests jammed a piece of cake down their throats, gulped some punch, kissed the bride, shook my hand and zipped out the door, where the storm had never abated.

My car was untouched because, it was later reported to me, when my "friends" went outside to "decorate" it, their shaving cream froze. So did they, making them abandon this time-hallowed wedding day tradition.

I had intended to drive to Savannah after the wedding, but had quickly discarded that idea when the snow started falling. I spent a little while on the phone getting reservations at a local hotel right after breakfast. So I drove my new bride there after leaving the church.

We checked in and dropped out luggage in our suite. Since it was about 5:30 we decided to go on and have dinner. So we went back downstairs and crossed the lobby to the restaurant. We had a modest dinner and watched the blizzard wail outside. When we stepped back into the lobby we discovered it was absolutely packed with people. The RDU airport had been shut down by the storm and all the people were seeking rooms because their flights had been canceled.

Directly ahead of us were my older brother, Andy, and his wife and some other out-of-towners from the wedding. They didn't know we were there, it was fate. Mustering all my military training, I determined that we would have to infiltrate back to the elevators across the lobby. We almost made it. Andy espied us and called to us. Rather stupidly, we went over, where he informed me that if there were no more rooms by the time he and Suzanne got to the desk, they were going to crash with us.

He was joking, of course (well, I think so) but even so, I related to my dear brother in extremely unambiguous terms exactly what I thought of that idea. But no worries anyway, for they did get a room. Cathy and I wound up going to their room and playing cards for awhile before retiring for the evening.

The snow continued to fall and fall. We didn't even try to venture out on Sunday. The snow finally abated midday Sunday after dropping 11-12 inches and the skies cleared. The airport reopened and all those people got out of my hotel. Monday I dug my car from the blown snow and we decided to bag Savannah and head for New Orleans, where we had a great time.

Now why, you may ask, am I sitting here writing about this on the very night of my 25th anniversary? Because life goes on and sometimes life intrudes into other plans. Cathy unfortunately came down extremely ill the night before last with a virus that's making its miserable way around these parts. She has been bedridden for two days, sick as a dog.

So for our 25th anniversary I took her some soup and gave her some medicine and prayed for her health. We're long past the time when we're disappointed we cannot "celebrate" the night by going to a nice restaurant and exchanging gifts and having private times. After 25 years, to minister to her in sickness, not just health, is a form of celebration. She is sleeping now. Simply to be there and give her care is, somehow, a fitting commemoration of this Silver Anniversary. For really, all we can give one another is our love and charity, and what better time than this day?

In the name of God,
I, Donald, take you, Catherine, to be my wife,
to have and to hold
from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
until we are parted by death.
This is my solemn vow.