Dates related to our marriage

February 11, 1998
I had dinner with Dan and Hilda Davis (Dan is Chey’s father) to ask for Chey’s hand in marriage. They responded, “No.” Nervous silence ensued. Then Hilda finally added, “Take all of her, not just her hand!” Very funny. After dinner I decided that it was the day to propose. After realizing that all the flower shops were closed, I called my friend Adam Richardson. He drove me to Meijer to look for flowers. I know little about flowers and knew even less then, so I picked something colorful and petally from the meager selection (It turned out to be a carnation. How embarrassing.) Flower in hand, I walked in on Chey. She was in a bathrobe, soaking her feet. So, I did it. Knelt, presented the ring, and proposed. She was aghast that I picked that time, what with her feet in a tub. I wasn’t sure if she’d say “Yes,” and my heart jumped when she did.

May 8, 1998
Friday of final exam week, we were married. A few hours before the wedding, a house mate of mine ran my last final exam, a final essay for a class, into the English department in Morrill Hall. We were yoked with a pearled wreath.

December 9, 2005
I was kicked out of our house for the last time. I hoped it was temporary and that we would work towards reconciliation.

January 6, 2006
Chey called me at work and demanded to be divorced.

Last week of January, 2006
Chey filed for divorce.

Today, February 14, 2007
We appeared in court months ago, and I’ve seen some drafts of the divorce terms. It has been over a year since the filing, and we’re still in process.

Fryeburg Academy in Maine denies yearbook photos of junior shooter

Well, at the risk of coming off as a gun-nut, I want you to be aware of this bigotry: Gun Bias Check (from Xavier’s blog).

The short of it is, young Joshua Enos is a trap shooter and submitted a senior photo of himself with his shotgun (unloaded, open, safe) to the Fryeburg Academy yearbook committee. Upon denial, he tried a photo of himself with his trophies, but was again denied. The reason for both denials is that there were guns in the pictures (the trophies depicted guns too).

I can understand denying a photo of a kid brandishing a gun unsafely. I’m all for discouraging that sort of behavior. However, guns are not going away, shouldn’t we promote the safe use of them instead of denying their existence?

Pull your head out of the sand, Fryeburg Academy. Addressing social issues means sometimes facing them head-on, not censoring out anything gun-related as evil.

This kid is proud of his sport. Just as a basketball or football senior might pose with a ball, he has posed with his trap gun.