The Brussels Post, 1977-07-20, Page 7Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smney
Weddings
Weddings are for women. During the
entire ritual, as practised in our society,
men are inarticulate, inept, and in the'way.
This was my conclusion after attending
the recent wedding of a niece. Not that it
wasn't a lovely wedding. It was. She's a
grand and beautiful girl, Lynn Buel of
Brockville, and with the aid of her young
sister Pam, her remarkably calm mother,
and her fairly distraught father, she came
through the ceremony with flying colors.
She even "did fairly well for herself," as
we used to say. She hooked a doct or.
Well, at any rate, a medical student. All
she has to do is support him for three or
four years, and they'll be rolling in
medicare.
He seems like a decent, inoffensive
chap, like all the other males at the
wedding. At least he had on a shirt, and tie,
and didn't want to get married in jeans and
beads and a caftan, like so many young
punks these days. He doesn't even have a
beard, so he may be OK.
But he was practically unnoticed, there
was such a craning of necks among the
women, to see what and why each other
was wearing.
1 Please don't get the -idea that I'm down
on weddings, I think they are fine, and I'll
go down to the church on a nice summer
day with the best of them, and get a
• prickling at the nape of my neck, and reach
over and hold the old lady's hand when the
parson intones, "for better and for worse,
in sickness and in health, for richer and for
poorer," and all, that stuff that makes your
hair stand on end with hindsight.
And I don't mind the two or three
hundred dollars it cost me to attend. Not at
all. The last wedding .1 was at - my
daug .hter's - cost five times that, and all
I've got out of it is two grandbabies and the
establishment of the Bill Smiley Benevo-
lent Fund which caters to indigent
daughters, their husbands, and any
offspring they may have.
Nor did it bother me in the slightest that
I had to drive 600 miles, round trip, to see
my niece given away. There was a
torrential rain all the way there, and heat
and a hangover from a magnificent
reception all the way home, but that goes
with the territory.
What ,I did mind, just slightly, now, was
the frenzy of preparation during the three
weeks before the wedding.
Right from the beginning, I was aware
that I was going to be stuck for a wedding
dress, one of those creations that women
can wear once and never again, unless they
have some sense , which, most women
don't have, when it comes to a wedding.
However, I just shrugged this off. You
can't take it with you, no matter what
However,-I just shrugged this off. You
can't take it with you, no matter what route
you choose to go.
But little did I realize that my wife was
going to do three things simultaneously;
create her own costume for the wedding,
lose 10 pounds; and get a tan. Just try it,
ladies.
She is one of those people who don't
know their own limitations, demand
perfection, and drive everyone round them
straight out of his skull.
Since she started sewing a year or so
ago, she thinks she can tackel anything in
the ahute couture line: I granted that she
could -whip out a golf skirt or pair of
smashing slacks in a day, and knock off
T-shirts for the midgets in the family while
the dishes were soaking: but I was leery
about her t angling with, a wedding dress.
First week was sheer hell. I told her to
knock out a "little, white dress" for the
wedding, and she came up with some old
wives' tale that you can't wear white to a
wedding - that's reserved for the bride.
In addition, the sun didn't shine for
tanning, and the diet seemed a dead loss.
Second week was a repeat. But she did
make a- panic trip to the city to buy
material, the sun shone for one day, and
she lost a pound and a half.
Third week. The material she chose was
raw Indian silk. Great stuff to work with.
Look at it sideways and it resembles a
newspaper that's been left out in the rain.
But the sun shone. She stole a half-hour
a. day from her 10-hour sewing stint for
sun-bathing. And suddenly the scales
began to work, in stead of sticking, as they
had been for two weeks. -
In the midst of it all, so wound up about
weddings are women, she found time to
dash out and buy me a pair of pants and a
fine new shite shirt. I was going to wear my
old gray flannels that I bought three years
ago for $18 and a clean golf shirt. The
pants are a bit lumpy around the pockets
from carrying keys, $6 in change, and golf
balls, and the shirt has a cigarette burn in
the collar, but otherwise they're fine.
There was no way she was going to gel
me to buy a pair of black shoes, so she said
I could wear my hush-puppies and she'd
say I forgot my dress shoes.
Not only did she finish a real zappo of a
skirt with a matching vest, but a polka-dot
blouse to go under it. New shoes, of
course, a tan, and - believe it or not a
brand new figure with almost 15 pounds
vanished into thin air She was a knock-out.
- Why don't women put all this creativity
and will! power into something besides a
wedding?
IT 1)1,0 It .'"!, Iti4t4141 .IA .
THE BRUSSELS POST!, JULY 20 1977
rea Weddings.
ELLIOTT — BLAKE •
Kathryn Denise Blake, daughter of Gordon and. Helen Blake,
111.#2, Brussels and Paul Walter Elliott, R.R.#1, Lucknow, were
united in marriage at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, Brussels on
Saturday, June 25th. The bride was attended by her sister,
Mrs. Rosemary Mathers and bridesmaids, Mrs. Debbie Blake,
sister-in-law of the bride, Mrs. Ruth Laidlaw, sister of the groom
and Mrs. Faye Peel, cousin, of the bride. Her flowergirls were
Karen Elliott, sister of the groom and Bonnie Henderson, niece
of the groom. The best man was Jack Martin, friend of the
groom. Ushers were Paul Blake, brother of the bride, Barry
Elliott, brother of the groom and Bob McMichael, friend of the
groom. Steven Blake ..and Wayne. Forster were ring bearers.
Following a trip to Southern Ontario the couple will reside at
Brussels. The groom is employed by the Sun Oil Company and
the bride is a Reg. N. presently employed at Seaforth
Community Hospital.
Calf club members
judge heifers
lindaMayie Morrow, daughter of • Stratford," .,wece united in, * Stanley Gulutzen. Joanne Rock •
M.r. and Mrs. Cliff McirroW and mannage' , at :the, Atwood Presby- opened the meeting. The minutes
tijan Edward Farrell, son of Mr. terian. ChttiCh;they now reside in, were read by Darlene Raynard.
Bowman's grandson married i
Iliarry Edgar and Mary Jo Tait,
both of Petrolia, exchanged Rit106ar01::.'' was Leslie .• The meeting was closed by
marriage vows in a double-ring Creeden: niece of the bride, of , Joani e Rock.
*enmity July 9 at 4 p.m. at St 'PeterbOrettgl-f.," ' ..". ,, :x.'.-.,
, Petrolia.
' . Refreshments were served and Pliillipis Church
Groomsman was Brian Edgar, Bonnie Mckay thanked the
he children of Mr. and Mrs. •brother ofge gloom of Petrolia: Gulutzen family for having the Maitland Edgar and • Mt, and; .,' "Ushek , N',',ere.- JIAMOPinan t , , meeting ..at their Place.
s. Francis Tait, all of Petrolia, ' Uncle of the groom, ,Brussels;
were united in marriage by -.3,-: Paul Creeden, 'nephew' of the
Rv
ev,Whsley Gutowski . bride, Peterborough ; Dern
Organist Mts. Eleanor. „Parr Edgar ; brother of the groom, and ame
Vaadetsteen
,soloist LouiS. Jeff Tho mpson, nephew of the
1,,,,._r, and Brenda„ and, bride, Bridgen,
Bear d
leY Edgar, sisters of'. the A dinner and reception was grOOM I ill a duet.
ivi
Matron of honor
was Mrs '
•
"Ill . hPeeAlftdritleiraata wtehd6dinLgegttioiPti to tiNaialigAtilla
„,
Charlton of Pettolia
Jennifer briclesm'aids were Falls the couple will reside in
brid e, rer„e6 fitn, niece of the Pettelia,
Ed A
of Poterbbrotigh, Diane The groom's grandparents ,
.._,
letgraorilia sistet of the groom, of ., ,,...."r, aria Mrs, John Bowman of
and HeatherThottptoh, • iittaSelS,- were preSelit,
Fe E• MADILL
SECONDARY
School Office
Will Be closed From:
July 25-August 12
1ndysiye
Appointments. for Tirnetob
maybe made
during the week of -
August' 29 to/September 2..
. The second meeting of the,
FARRELL -- MORROW Brussels Beef Calf Club was ' - • . held at the hotne of Steven & • .,1,34
,rs„.Harold Farrell... all' of ,Stratford •
niece .°of the :bride.
• , • , A swimming party at Woodland
Lake on July 23rd is planned.
Members judged a class of beef
and;somp of the members
gave reasons for their judgments.
J.E. LONGSTAFF
, OPTOMETRIST
SEAFORTH 5274240
Tuesday; Thursday., Friday ,
9!00., 5:80-
Wednesday, Saturday
9.00 -12:00
titlYttoN 481,1010'
Monday -0!00'
By Appointment •