Amber & Public Speaking

As CRD pointed out yesterday over at Internals Plural, I had two speaking engagements at James and Alisa's beautiful wedding.

For the first I gave a personalized version of the first of the the Nissuin blessings on the topic of holiness. Those readers who remember the story of my epiphany while doing yoga in Madisonwisconsin will be able to guess right where I went: The Grapes of Wrath.


I encouraged the couple to learn the lesson of Preacher Casey and come to recognize the holy in the everyday, in the world around them and in each other. I quoted the part where Casey says...

"I'm gonna work in the fiel's, in the green fiel's, an' I'm gonna be near to folks. I ain't gonna try to teach 'em nothin'. I'm gonna try to learn. Gonna learn why the folks walks in the grass, gonna hear 'em talk, gonna hear 'em sing. Gonna listen to kids eatin' mush.... Gonna eat with 'em an' learn. ... All that's holy, all that's what I didn' understan'. All them things is the good things."

Astute Wrath fans will notice that the part about Casey lying with ladies in the fields and husband and wife thumping mattress were edited out to be respectful of elder attendees of the wedding.

Then, I gave a toast. In that, I was humorous, made references to doing my interpretive dance later and told the story of how James and I almost met twice before we stuck on our third encounter when I was in my flannel nightgown. My point was that when something is meant to be, when two people are right for each other either as friends or as husband and wife, it happens. I said that James, after their first date had very cautiously told me that "there might be something there," and that we all could see exactly what that something was in Alisa and what the something between them was as well. And I thanked them both for being wonderful.

I'm not sure what that face is in this photodocument by CRD. I think maybe it's the part where I am mentioning that James is very good at helping move furntiture in a dorm room?

I think both went pretty well, although there was a bit of weepy at some points. And special thanks to Town Shop for helping me hold it all together.