A New Age

When I was a freshman at UM in 1979, I became good friends with my English prof and her family. I was pre med at the time, and Judy took me under her wing and introduced me to her husband Bob, who was a professor at the med school. He gave me a research position in his lab, and I spend a summer butchering frogs for the cause of spinal cord research. He even included me on an article! I'm probably one of the few layers to be published in the "Journal of Brain Research!"

I used to babysit their kids, who were then 10 and 5. My how times have changed! I can't imagine, these days, letting an 18 or 19 year old stay with kids alone. Ah, those were more innocent times.

Well, the little boy, Ari, is all grown up, and last evening Wifey and I went to his wedding. He was married before, but it didn't work out, and this time he was sure he'd found his true life partner.

Her name is Carla, and she's 1/2 Haitian, 1/2 Mexican, and a pretty observant Catholic. Ari's family's rabbi, at the Liberal temple, agreed to do essentially a commitment ceremony, which the couple wrote, along with the rabbi, a cantor, and one of the bride's friends.

It was truly beautiful. Ari, who has a tremendous voice, and actually thought, at one time, about becoming a cantor, sang a love song to his new wife. She began to bawl, and the rest of the assembled followed along.

At the following party, which Ari's sister Sarah catered, we sat with some cousins, including an obviously gay young lady and her fiancee. They were in from Baltimore --one was a lawyer, and the other a scientist, and they were very much in love. Their wedding, to take place outside of Maryland, where same sex weddings aren't acknowledged, is to be this Fall.

I thought about these two "untraditional" couples the entire evening. They were so happy, as if they had all found happiness with each other.

The rabbi had said we're in a new age, and that he was starting to see the wisdom of performing other than typical religious unions.

The love was there, last night, and it was palpable.

May Ari and Carla have many, many years of good health and laughter. They seem off to a fine start.