Congratulations, to Thom and Louise.
Southerners have some interesting traditions for marriage. One of them is a detailed plot line associated with giving the woman an engagement ring. I once attended a gathering where the entertainment was a group discussion of engagement stories. My attitude about an overpriced diamond has always been that it's a debt that starts a marriage in a financial bind, especially when it is compounded with the expenses of a lavish wedding and honeymoon trip.
Of course, if there's a sugar daddy in the background, a lavish sweet-16 party has preceded the wedding expenses, and before that, lavish birthday parties all through the years.
What's the point?
Give me a justice of the peace and a nice keg party, and I figure the event has been marked well enough. The real test of marriage commitment takes place over time, and challenges, and acceptance of each other's human evolution.
35 years is a good watermark year. Enjoy it well.
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"if you always do what you always did, you always get what you always got."
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