July 27, 1999

Today would be our twenty-first wedding anniversary if my late wife Michelle were still alive.

We met in person for the first time on the 26th of July. I'll be honest in telling you that we spent the night together. We woke up early that morning of the 27th and were discussing what we might do that day when Michelle said "Let's get married".

I said "Okay" and she then said she was just kidding. I said that I wasn't. We sat and talked things over for several minutes, and then agreed to do it. She called City Hall in Scranton to see what we had to do. We got all the details and called a local magistrate to arrange things. Then we waited until it was time to go.

We then went to City Hall, filled out all the necessary forms, and paid the fees. I actually did get down on one knee, right there in front of several other people. I  had no ring to use other than my high school class ring, so Michelle put that on a chain to wear around her neck.

We went to the magistrate court, and the magistrate performed the ceremony. His wife served as our witness and played "Here Comes The Bride" on a radio that had a cassette deck. We were pronounced man and wife at 1:58 Eastern Daylight Time. The magistrate shook my hand and his wife hugged Michelle, then they both wished us good luck.

We stopped at a McDonald's for lunch. Michelle barely touched her food while I ate all of mine. From there back to our hotel room was a short drive.

Later that afternoon, Michelle called her mother and informed her of what we'd done. I then called my father and told him the same news. We then each called several other people, including her best friend, her sisters, and my brother.

It was decided that everyone would gather for a family meal. That, to be honest, was a bit overwhelming for me. Everyone from her family was nice to me, but still, I was glad when it was over.

That was all twenty-one years ago, now.