Love’s all that matters

We equal m c squared

Einstein drank his wine in pairs

We equal m c squared

Beyond mathematics there is love in the air

~~ “Relativity” by Grafton Primary

We had a really fun weekend! Ken got a new lawnmower (that’s a big deal ‘round these parts!), we had brunch with Shane and Matt at Brew Werks and then saw the stage production of “Dirty Dancing” (fabulous!), but the highlight was the wedding of our friends Tom and Roger on Saturday.

It’s hard to explain why, but there was just so much joy in the air. The wedding was at a historic building in the area and everything was beautiful. We knew quite a few people there, I got to meet Tom’s godson in person (after doing Tom’s podcast with him), and we got to meet new people, including the guy who conducted the ceremony. The dinner was wonderful, we got to take some fun and goofy pictures, and we got to dance a little bit. Everyone was feeling great and everyone was so happy for Tom and Roger! There was just an air of festivity and celebration and it makes me smile just to think back on it!

As I watched the ceremony (which included lyrics from Prince and “The Princess Bride”), as we all congratulated the happy couple, as friends and family toasted them, as we all broke bread, drank champagne, danced, and talked, one thought stayed prominent in my mind:

Who would ever take away this happiness?

Who, because of whatever religious tropes they are clinging to, or because of whatever personal issues they have, would deny this happiness to these two people who were so obviously in love?

Who would do that?

Apparently, there were one or two people who had some issues with this marriage. I won’t name any names. But we all know people like them, don’t we?  They just can’t accept anything outside their own narrow purview.

From my perspective, all I saw was a dear friend and his beau declaring their love for and commitment to each other.

I will fight for their right to do that forever.

I’ve seen the usual arguments about how marriage is about having children. Stupid argument. Millions of people get married and choose not to have children. [raising hand] That doesn’t make a marriage invalid. Besides, ADOPTION. Duh. Or there is “the Bible says” argument. It really doesn’t, but even if it did, who gives a flying fuck? Despite what some might say, we do not base our laws on the Bible. We base our laws on the Constitution of the Goddamn United States of America. In your face!

I suppose there are other arguments, but yeah, they’re all stupid. You know what isn’t stupid? Love. Love isn’t stupid.

And when people love each other, when two consenting adults want to enter into a committed, legal relationship, they have that right under the Constitution.

It was my great pleasure and honor to see the Constitution in action Saturday night and to see love win. Tom and Roger’s program included this paragraph from Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the majority opinion in the Obergefell v Hodges case, which guaranteed the right of marriage to all citizens, and it is worth quoting it here:

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.

It damn well does and if you try to take that away, you are going to have a fight on your hands. I guarantee.

So long, Cira’s

I met Cousin Shane at his house this morning so that we could head out to have a late breakfast or an early lunch at Cira’s Restaurant. We dallied at his house for a bit: he showed me the new paint job in the living room (AKA the Blue Room...love the colors!), we grooved to a Grafton Primary song on the disc I made for him, I checked out the recent plantings they’ve been working on, and I loved on his cats a bit. Matt was working, so he wasn’t able to join us, and we missed him!

We dallied a little too long, because we got to the restaurant 15 minutes after they stopped serving breakfast. Drat! I was all up into thinking about eggs over easy and toast! But it was a light lunch instead, with usual diner food, and our server was a super nice and sweet lady who told me I had a beautiful smile. Aww!

We dug the retro decor, with booths and counter seating, recessed lighting, and a cool angled entryway. There was also this neat partition wall between the cash register and a little alcove with a larger table. The oldies station was playing through the overhead speakers, and it was a really fun place. They were doing great business, so it’s a real shame that they decided to close. Shane and I weren’t sure if the good business was because they’re closing soon, or if they always do that well. I’m thinking the latter, because it was an older crowd that looked to be locals. I’m kind of hoping that someone will buy the place and decide to keep it going. Shane found out that it has been there since 1954, and we both agreed that for such an old place, it was really clean and in great shape. Shane said he’d like to run a little diner like that, if you could limit the hours of operation.

After chatting for a while, we moved on and got some pictures of the sign outside. Shane hopes to get back one more time before they close, and I hope he’s able to do that. It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take a little stroll in the neighborhood. We ended up at Bowman Cemetery, where we saw the Henry Studebaker burial site—several of his family members are buried there, and a fairly tall obelisk marks the grave site.

Then we drove around the area for a bit, past where our grandparents used to live, and through Shane’s neighborhood on the way back to his house. There are some just awesomely super cool ‘60s ranch houses in that neighborhood (did I mention how cool they are?), including a Frank Lloyd Wright house, the Mossberg House. “Mad Men” is not what fueled our love of ‘50s and ‘60s retro...Shane has never even seen the show (although I told him I think he’d like it), and Ken and I only started watching it recently. We’ve loved that style for some time now, so “Mad Men” is catching up with US. haha

I wish I could have walked around with Shane a little more, but I needed to get back home and work on some things before our trip. As it was, we still spent three hours gabbing! It was a lot of fun, as always, and I’m so glad that we got to go there and get a few pictures on the verge of it closing. I’m going to get to see lots of places like this on our trip, but there’s something special about one in your own community. I wish the owners all the best, and I thank them for many years of a wonderful South Bend fixture.

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Déjà vu

Today was pretty much a carbon copy of yesterday, although a little bit warmer. Just beautiful, and after another good workout, I finished switching out my summer and winter clothes, and I was happy to get that done. Now I’m anxious for really hot weather so I can start wearing my tank tops and shorts and junk like that!

I was able to soak up some more vitamin D (but didn’t overdo it) and then enjoyed a visit with Cousin Shane. He stopped by to drop off a key for kitty care, and we spent some time out on the deck just chatting and relaxing. I burned him a Grafton Primary CD, and he messaged me a little bit ago to tell me he loves it! I thought he might. We talked some politics, family, other stuff, watched some birds, and I got a demonstration of Siri. Wow. Pretty amazing stuff. But I’m still waiting for my hover car, dammit! And a jet pack! Where’s my freakin’ jet pack?!

Ken gets back late tonight, and tomorrow morning, we’ll pick up our side o’ beef. I’ll try to remember to take a picture of the freezer when we get it loaded. If it’s anything like previous years, it will be crammed full. In fact, that reminds me...I should move a few things out of there into the garage freezer, so we can defrost the basement one. Thinking out loud...sorry! Tomorrow evening, it’s dinner with Ken’s Mom, and that will be fun.

I’ve got a countdown clock going on up there on the right. It’s amazing how quickly it’s gone down since I first posted it! Just a little over a month to go. I’ll be writing about it after the countdown is done, and after we get back from our trip. I’m looking forward to it, actually! Both the trip and writing about the meaning behind the countdown. Heh.

I’m three-quarters of the way done with my latest book (The House of Mirth), so I’m off to work on that. I hope your weather was as pleasant as it was here at Nutwood!

Beth’s Music Moment: The Joy of Discovery

I’ve been going a little crazy with finding new music (well, new to ME, anyway) lately. I remember how much fun Shane and I always had when we’d “discover” a new group. The mid to late ‘70s and early ‘80s was prime time when it came to new acts, with the explosion of New Wave and punk rock. Shane mentioned just this week that I introduced him to early Journey and the Ramones. I didn’t remember that (I would have thought it was the other way around), but hey, that’s pretty cool! We still talk about the B-52’s appearance on SNL, as well as Devo’s...it started our lifelong love of those bands.

I kind of got out of that mode for a while. I went through a jazz phase, then got back into rock but tended to stick with the known, and just didn’t explore new sounds like I used to. I’m not sure what changed for me several months ago, but my search for the new is back with a vengeance, and I’m having a blast! It might stem back to last year when my CD club (yes, they used to have those) closed down and was clearing out their stock. I got thirty-some CDs for really low prices and had a lot of fun listening to snippets to see if I liked them or not before I ordered them.

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been using the “artists similar to” feature on my phone, and on LastFM. This isn’t the kind of music that’s played on the radio around here, so I’ve had to seek it out. I’ve found some of the coolest music lately! Sometimes it will be so-so, but other times something will hit me over the head like a two-by-four. Here are a few of my recent favorites. Some of these aren’t all that new, but great music doesn’t mind if you’re a little late to the scene!

With my daily workouts, I’ve really been enjoying the energy of beat-heavy electronic music, and Fenech-Soler fits the bill. I like to listen to this when I’m on the elliptical, because it makes me go faster and work harder!



In the same vein, but a bit heavier on the synthesizers, is Grafton Primary. The music reminds me a little of Devo, and Shane and I were racking our brains to try and figure out whose voice the lead singer reminded us of. Shane finally came up with it: Richard Butler of the Psychedelic Furs!


I saved the best for last. I listened to this for the first time a couple of days ago, and I was just about blown away. Babyshambles reminds me a little of the Kinks, and when I posted the video on Facebook, Shane was blown away, too. He said he sensed a little Chocolate Watchband in there. I knew he’d love it as much as I did, and I was right!

 

Other recent favorites have been Jamaica, Pony Pony Run Run, Bag Raiders, Cut Copy, Friendly Fires, Holy Ghost!, and Kids of 88. I’ve still got lots more new stuff to enjoy, too. I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I’ve been having with all of this, and sharing some of them with my music buddy, Shane. It’s a great feeling to find something that you know others will love (if they don’t already), and to share it with them. It’s one of my little pleasures in life to break out of the confines of the ordinary, whether it’s music, books, food, or movies, and encounter something I haven’t encountered before. Like the motto of this blog says, “Boredom is not an option!”