wedding planing for the elderly, the final chapter(?)

yes, the knot has been tied and the vows all said.  i’m a married man again.  fine by me as the brown eyed girl is one very special woman.  i mean what else can you say about a woman that would actually marry me?  not much i’m sure.

as you may or may not know we were married in liberace’s old mansion or villa or late 1950’s re-modeled tract house in vegas not far from the famed ’strip’.  an old friend of the brown eyed girl, and now a friend of mine, is a business partner with the person who owns the place now.  they usually charge a nice sum of coin to have a wedding ceremony there.  we, on the other hand, slid in for free.  pretty sweet.

our home base for the vegas deal was a suite in the venetian hotel.  a place neither of us was very happy with for a number of reasons.  let’s just say that, if and when we go back to vegas, we won’t be staying at the venetian hotel.  we’ll be going a few doors down to the wynn hotel.  count on it.

well, at any rate, the drive out to the heart of mojave desert and it’s environs was uneventful.  um, sorta, but that’s not for here at least not now.  our first stop in sin city was the county clerks office.  it took a few times around the block to find it, as the address was covered by a tree.

it was late sunday morning and we expected the place to be jumping with a bunch of drunken fools there to get paperwork so they could marry some of the local cocktail waitresses they met the night before.  that, sadly wasn’t the case.  i mean that action might have been fun to watch.  right?  but on the other hand, an almost empty office made things very easy and quick for us to get our papers in order and get out of there.  the wedding was scheduled for the next day at 10am at liberace’s place.

we arrived a bit early for the ceremony so i was able to wander around a bit and take some photos of the place.  liberace’s ‘mansion’ is showing it’s age but then again aren’t we all?  the place was probably built in the late 50’s or early 60’s in what is nothing more than your standard tract house neighborhood.  an upscale tract house neighborhood that’s getting a bit seedy but still nice. 

here’s a few photos i took of liberace’s place.  but before that a few of the view from our hotel window.

front view of liberace’s home

liberace’s living room.

the grand hallway.  we were married at the end of it.

the spot where we were married.

a portion of liberace’s bathroom.

liberace’s bedroom.

the piano johnny carson gave to liberace.

 
the ceremony was very nice and rather quick, which was fine by us.  we found a minister on the web who came out to the villa and married us.  reverend phil, a nice gent from southern texas, performed the wedding.  visit rev phil at: http://www.lvrev.com  the brown eyed girl and i found a few things we wanted him to incorporate in the ceremony and he did.  one of the pieces was from the american writer and poet, james dillet freeman.

Blessing for a Marriage


May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding. 
May you always need one another – not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you. 

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.
May you want one another, but not out of lack.
May you entice one another, but not compel one another.
May you embrace one another, but not out encircle one another.
May you succeed in all important ways with one another, and not fail in the little graces.
May you look for things to praise, often say, “I love you!” and take no notice of small faults. 

If you have quarrels that push you apart, may both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back. 

May you enter into the mystery which is the awareness of one another’s presence – no more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side, and warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities. 
May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. 
May you have love, and may you find it loving one another.

the other piece was the navajo wedding blessing:

From A Navajo Wedding Ceremony:
Now you have lit a fire and that fire should not go out.
The two of you now have a fire that represents love,
understanding and a philosophy of life.
It will give you heat, food, warmth and happiness.
The new fire represents a new beginning – a new life and a new family.
The fire should keep burning; you should stay together.
You have lit the fire for life, until old age separates you.

if you recall one of the brown eyed girl’s great grandmothers was a full blooded navajo.

after the ceremony, the owner of the place popped a bottle of champagne for us and we all had a drink.  very nice indeed.  i must say, all in all, the wedding site was actually very nice in a weird sorta way.  as a matter of fact, the brown eyed girl laughed through a good portion of the ceremony due to the weirdness of it all.  the surroundings.  not me.  well, maybe not.  lol.  visit: http://lasvegasvilla.com for more info and some more photos.  anyways, thanks to robert and dez for their kindness and hospitality.

that evening, some very old friends of the brown eyed girl treated us to a lovely wedding night dinner at, b and b ristorante, inside the venetian.  b and b is owned by chef mario batali and winemaker joseph bastianich.  it was a truly memorable experience in fine italian dinning.  however, the next night topped it.

the following night we went over to the wynn hotel for dinner at, bartolatta di mare, owned by chef paul bartolatta.  i have to say, that on numerous levels, it was one of the most amazing dinners i’ve ever eaten.  an array of italian and mediterranean family style dishes that was belly busting fine dinning at it’s best.  it would be hard to find another eatery with better italian fare.  it was simply amazing.

we didn’t go to any shows.  we spent our time wandering around eating and drinking.  with a bit of gambling thrown in as well.  i don’t gamble much anymore and don’t really care for it either but the brown eyed girl more than made up for my lack of desire to gamble and won a few hundred bucks playing the slots and blackjack.  very nice.

so, like what else can i say?  other than i’m happy we went to vegas to get married at liberace’s place.  a few members of the family were there as well as a couple of the brown eyed girls oldest friends.  what could be better?  not much.  i want to thank you all for your good wishes and more importantly i want to thank the brown eyed girl for being there for me.  she’s is truly the love of my life.

jmh

ramblings and catching up, sorta. plus a doc h and the rio laudanum cowboys update

the brown eyed girl and i are back from vegas and our wedding.  it was a smashing time and i’m trying to get photos together for a blog about the deal.  easier said than done.  plus, i’m getting sidetracked with other stuff like cleaning out photos in some files.  and other things that creep in and take over my time for a spell.  yes, i know.  just remember, patience is a virtue.

on an other note, for those that remember i did a review of my friend, john harrelson’s latest cd a few weeks ago, Doc H and the Rio Laudanum Cowboys.  good news is the cd is now available at cd baby.  click the link to go there and buy it.  at least visit and check stuff out.  though you should buy the cd.   doc h and the boys, is country western at it’s best.  just do it because it’s not the crap you hear on country radio these days.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/harrelson4  or you can see it at http://cdbaby.com/style/369
or http://cdbaby.com/style/360

jmh

the usc trojans, a 2009 football season preview

yeah, i’m at it again.  this time it’s my other favorite college football team, the trojans.  of course, i’m a pac 10 homer and a pac 10 honk as well.  plus, i’m damn proud of it.  it’s what us native california college football fans like to call our, west coast bias.  just a little something to take the edge off that east coast media bias everyone is so fond of here in california.  but that’s a major veer.

the trojans lost one of their best coaches during the off season.  steve sarkisian, who is now the head coach of the huskies up in washington.  will his leaving have any effect in the trojans?  perhaps a bit but for the most part, pete carroll, has things under control.  so things should cruise right along like they have been the past few years.  plenty of wins and either a rose bowl or national title game in the offing.  

time to break it down, kids.  rock ‘n’ roll.

9/05  san jose st.  game on fox sports net.  hopefully, the men of troy don’t take this game to easily.  sure, it’s san jose st but none the less, focus will be needed.  this is one of those games where pete is repaying a favor, debt, or some damn thing or another.  i can’t figure it out otherwise.  be that as it may, trojans win.

9/12  @ ohio st.  game on espn 5pm.  this time last year the yammering had already started on this game.  the game lived up to the hype but things didn’t work out that well, in the end, for the trojans.  this year?  the trojans go about their business and win again.

9/19  @ washington.  game on abc.  pete and steve meet in what might be a good game.  it just depends on what or who are left over from the huskies last season.  the team was pretty demoralized last year, especially towards the end.  ty willingham, was handling things well, all things considered, but the team gave up on him, the school and their own pride.  thinking, i’m not going pro so what do i care?  tragic on a few levels for sure.  i have that tidbit on good authority.  count on it.  ok, so, good game perhaps.  the trojans win.

9/26  washington st.  no tv as yet.  the cougars aren’t a pushover and another good game here.  i hope i get to watch it.  trojans win.

10/03  @ calif.  game on abc 5pm.  not an easy road trip this time in the season.  tedford still has the bears generally sorta playing well until  october/november.  crank up the barbie, pull the cork on some vino or three and hunker down.  north vs south.  good game.  trojans win a tight one.

10/17  @ notre dame.  day game on nbc.  two road trips in a row and no time off since before labor day.  a problem for the trojans?  probably not but only time will tell.  notre dame doesn’t have much of a schedule this year.  so sue me, golden domer fans.  i really don’t care.  they will probably be sporting a pretty good record when the trojans travel there.  charlie is going to need a win if he wants to get anyone other than the faithful to believe in him.  he won’t get it.  trojans win.

10/24  oregon st.  game on abc or espn 5pm.  the trojans get the beavers at home this year.  still no time off.  doesn’t matter, no tragic mistake, this time.  trojans win.

10/31  @ oregon.  game on abc or espn 5pm.  no time off.  again.  usc runs about as close as you can get to a pro offense and defense.  the defense saved them a few times last year.  the ducks offense is no match for the trojan’s defense.  trojans win.

11/07  @ arizona st.  game on abc or espn 5pm.  another road trip and still no time off.  doesn’t matter the trojans don’t lose in november.  trojans win.

11/14  stanford.  homecoming and no tv as yet.  stanford is good and getting better every year.  jim harbaugh, is recruiting some brainiacs who can play.  he’s also a good coach.  good game.  i hope i get to watch it.  you should hope you get to watch as well.  trojans win.

11/28  ucla.  game on fox sports net.  after a week off, finally, the trojans meet the bruins for lala land bragging rights.  plus it’s thanksgiving weekend.  sweet.  the southland’s version of the civil war.  doesn’t matter how bad or good either team is at the time.  the kids will play their hearts out.  count on it.  generally, one of the best games of the year.  as are all the big time college rivalry games.  trojans win.

12/05  arizona.  day game on abc.  keep it simple and on track.  trojans win.

yep, what can i say?  another year i predict the trojans will go 12-0.  they almost made it last year, only to be sidetracked by a good oregon st team, that got no respect from anyone media wise.  losing to them or anyone else won’t happen this year.  despite my crabbing about their schedule and lack of an off week till late in the season; i think it’s a good schedule and it gives them barely a month off before the big dance games come down the pike.  a good thing.  this is a national championship year for sure.  GO TROJANS!!!

jmh

the oregon ducks, a 2009 football season preview

time once again for my early season preview of one of my favorite pac 10 teams, the oregon ducks.  yes, i know, basketball plods on and on in that seemingly forever never-land of it just won’t ever go away.  ever.  deal.  yes, it’s only the first glimmer of june, so why is this clown yammering about college football and the ducks?  precisely.  i love college football and the ducks in particular.  both of which, since i was 10 years old.  but that’s a digression.

regular readers know all that stuff.  they also know i did my take on the ducks last year at this time, where i predicted they would go 11-1.  sadly, that wasn’t meant to be but they did manage a very nice and close to my prediction, 9-3, for the regular season.

this year the ducks have a new coach in, chip kelly, who was their offensive co-coordinator.  mike bellotti, has stepped down or up as the case may be to the schools athletic director job.  at any rate, chip was a pretty good man to have running an offense particularly with the injury problems the ducks have had the past few years.  let’s hope his first year at the helm will be as injury free for his starters as you can get or hope for.

alright, let’s break the schedule down.  it’s a wing and a prayer time,  kids.  however, just remember i have the right to change any opinions stated here when the chips really start to fall in september.

rock ‘n’ roll.

9/03  @ boise st.  game on espn.  boise st, one of the media darling teams.  i’ve had some of that kool-aid myself at times, but i’ll tell you what, smurf blue field or not, the ducks put out the notice they are for real, once again.  ducks win.

9/12  purdue.  game on fox sports net.  the second year in a row the boilermakers get thumped by the ducks.  ducks win.

9/19  utah.  game on espn.  ok, so here’s a team from of all places, utah, who i will still sip on some of the a fore mentioned kool-aid, if given half a chance.  so, ok, who wins?  yeah, i’m doin’ that little dance here, folks.  home game home team and the six points the ducks need to pull it off.  ducks win.

9/26  california.  game on abc.  it’s probably a shame the ducks run up against a tedford cal team in september.  point being, the bears are still more than likely playing ball and will not have hit their late october early november swoon that seems to smack them every year since tedford took over.  a good team here, kids.  ducks lose.

10/3  washington st.  the cougars will not make this one easy.  another home team home win and thanks, we’ll take that home field extra 6.  ducks win.

10/10  @ ucla.  astute readers will note that the ducks have not had a week off since the beginning of the season.  well, sorta after the boise st game but that break may not really count.  plus, it’s been all home games since that game and that one was just a little jaunt across the border, so to speak.  they travel to so cal and the rose bowl for this one.  no game time set so far, though i’m thinking it will probably be a day game.  early october in these parts can be a nasty affair, not cooling off till well after sunset.  yes, the bruins have no qb.  they probably will have other problems as well.  the trouble is what i’ve already mentioned.  sorry, ducks lose.

10/24  @ washington.  finally a couple of weeks off but they hit the road again.  the two premiere new coaches in the pac 10 face off for the first time.  depending on how the huskies are playing will tell the tale and just how bad of a team was left by the guy who probably shouldn’t have been fired, ty willingham.  ok.  ducks win.

10/31  usc.  game on abc or espn.  halloweenie time.  this will be one of those rare home game losses for the ducks.  pete isn’t going to make the same traveling to oregon mistake two years in a row.  count on it.  ducks lose.         

11/7  @ stanford.  stanford, the not so under the radar not so much of an underdog anymore.  shades of jim plunkett or john elway days?  time tells.  depending on how bad the ducks get tossed around by the trojans might tell the tale.  or perhaps up for the trojans and down for the cardinal.  ducks lose.

11/14  arizona st.  cold rainy november pacific northwest.  not the place for an amped up sun devil team.  ducks win.

11/21  @ arizona.  vaguely fall summer like weather for the ducks.  day game?  forget about it.  night game?  maybe.  ducks win a squeeker.

12/3  oregon st.  thursday night.  6pm.  game on espn.  civil war on a weeknight?  go figure.  kinda hard to figure but when it’s civil war i guess the day and time really don’t matter.  once again, time will stand still for this one, my friends.  this is what college football is all about.  frazier/ali.  ali/foreman.  time to get some.  ducks get some and win.

8 and 4.  not shabby but no rose bowl bid on new years day for sure.  but then again, who knows?  we shall see.  for sure, good enough for one of those moneymaker/more practice time bowl games at the end of the year.  after all, it’s just my take on the upcoming season.  best of luck to chip kelly and his ducks.  may his reign be long and may the football gods give him better than i’ve predicted.  get some, ducks!!!

jmh

a government by and for the people(?)

one would think, things ought to be getting better as one gets older, but generally speaking, that’s far from the case.  the government we’ve come to know and for sure not love, just plods on like some sort of a brain dead basket case.  a government hanging on because no one bothered to fill out the, ‘do not resuscitate’, paperwork.  government by flat line.  yeah, sad but true.

the local yokels, i actually grew up with, are running shit around these parts now and they step into a pile of stinky dogie poop daily.  seems like they ought to know better.  also seems like they haven’t a clue someone is actually watching.  how odd is that?  more like stupid.  sad.  so sad.

they step on a nice steaming turd and think nothing of it until that said turd hits the damn fan.  hits the fan because someone is actually looking at what you lame ass numb-nutted humps are doing. 

you can’t get into stuff like, tony soprano, doing whatever the hell works, graft wise, and not think anyone isn’t watching or paying attention.  who’s dumber?  you?  or us?

names?  if you live here you know them.  they’re in the local fish wrap on a several times a week basis.  no point sticking them up here.  no, not yet. 

things will probably only be going from bad to worse now that arnold’s scams didn’t pass a few weeks ago.  the idiots here and up in the state capital are scrambling to find ways to figure shit out.  i doubt they will. 

i’ve said this before and, george will, god bless him, said it last week as well.  this sad stupid game is coming to your state sooner or later.  count on it.

so respectable.  get out of my life.  don’t take my wife.  no no no.

light a candle for america.

so, all that being said, and in the spirit of a government by and for the people, cheorkee parks, and myself, with a bit of inspiration from, dfr, have come up with a nice patriotic tee-shirt just in time for the coming july 4th holiday.

go to this link.  check it out.  then buy, buy, buy amarican!!!  please.

 http://www.cherokeeparks.net/tee_shirt.htm

 

 

 

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jmh