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Gender: Female
Status: Taken
Age: 100
Sign: Capricorn
City: BOSTON
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2008

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I Love You in Socks, I Love You in a...
Hair
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A Weird Coincidence
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The Lacrosse-Playing White Boy's Fis...
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Blog deleted due to immature content...
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The Late Great George Carlin

June

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008 (4:24 PM)

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I Love You in Socks, I Love You in a Box

(I'm feeling happy)

As we walked along the beach we stopped to listen to them recite vows to one another. The sun was setting as they professed their undying love. Jessica said to me "We should do that." I said, "I give it two years tops." She shook her head at my lack of romanticism.

Gay marriage wasn't legal anywhere in the US then, so it wasn't really something to consider in my mind. Some gay couples had "commitment ceremonies," which I actually found embarrassing, like someone trying to join a society that had rejected them.   But Jessica wanted to have a ceremony. She said, "we could do it on the beach and we could write our own vows and we could invite our friends and family." I said, "If we ever do a thing like that, it would have to be completely private. Or, maybe we could go to a Vegas chapel and get 'married' by Elvis and recite a cat-in-the-hat type vow. 'I will love you in a box, I will love you in socks...' How about that, that'd be fun, right?" "No, forget it," she said.

A few years ago gay marriage was legalized in the state of Massachusetts where we live. The first day it was legal, the city of Cambridge performed marriages around the clock for 24 hours. The city clerks dressed black tie and people celebrated in the streets.   It was wonderful. Jessica and I decided to get married in Provincetown on Memorial Day.

We applied for a marriage license in Boston and were told to come pick it up the next day. When we went back to get our license we were told that we could not have it, because our wedding date was less than three business days away and there is a mandatoriy three day waiting period. The clerk then told us that we could request a waiver of the waiting period from a judge and she directed us to a courthouse a few blocks away.

We completed the request form and paid the $15 fee and were told to have a seat, someone would come get us.   A uniformed court clerk came in and said "Follow me." As we followed him down the hallway, he explained that a divorce hearing was ongoing, but the judge had agreed to take a break in that case to hear our request. He told us to stand in the back of the courtroom and wait for the judge to call us to the bench.    When we entered the courtroom, I looked at the judge and saw he was an older gentleman and thought "I hope he's not a conservative."   Another uniformed clerk was standing at the back of the courtroom. There was an attorney and a woman seated at a table on the left and another attorney and a man seated at a table on the right.

The judge said "We'll take a brief break while I hear another request very quickly." Both attorneys and the man and the woman turned to look at us. The judge waived us forward and I whispered to Jessica "You do the talking."   We approached the bench and the judge said, "You are requesting a waiver of the three day waiting period to get married. Explain why you need this waiver."   Jessica said, "Your honor, my partner and I have been together 20 years, so this is not a rash decision for either of us. We planned our wedding for memorial day, it's all set, people are coming in for the wedding. We thought the waiting period was three calendar days, not three business days so we mistakenly counted the weekend." The judge looked at Jessica and he smiled, then he looked at me. He paused and then he said the words that I will not forget for the rest of my life. "It will be my honor to grant this waiver and issue a license for you to get married. Congratulations ladies." We both said "thank you, your honor" and we turned to leave the courtroom.

As we were walking toward the door, the uniformed clerk in the back of the courtroom said "congratulations" and we said "thank you." The attorney seated next to the woman said "congratulations" and we said "thank you." Then the attorney seated next to the man said "congratulations" and we said "thank you," again. When I looked over at that attorney, the man next to him who was getting a divorce smiled and gave me a nod.

Outside the courthouse I said to Jessica "Can you believe that?" She said, "That's why we love New England."

Postcript: Same sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in May 2004. Contrary to dire predictions about the negative effect it would have on "traditional" families, four years later the divorce rate among heterosexual couples in this state remains the lowest in the nation.

Category: Love & Relationships

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Posted Aug 1, 08 by mango8260 (

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So sweet..who could say no to Jessica. xoxo mango xoxo

Posted Jul 24, 08 by flophousepoodle (

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I have two tears welling up
One's named Jessicapeanut and the other is Sillyleslie.

Posted Jul 24, 08 by NatureJunkie (

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I'm having a hard time swallowing after reading this.

I add my congratulations to all the others' here, and my thanks as well, you freedom fighter, you.

Posted Jul 22, 08 by Suja (

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Congratulations ((much respect))

Posted Jul 22, 08 by B4Salk (

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Wonderful! I'm so happy for you both!

Posted Jul 22, 08 by str8jackit72 (

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Awwies, that is a beautiful story, thank you for sharing :) *wipes a tear* That's simply beautiful!

Posted Jul 22, 08 by investigate2 (

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You have to love Provincetown....and I love this blog. xoxoxoxo

Posted Jul 22, 08 by itswarbird111 (

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What a lovely story Hun. I had such a happy feeling when I read the part where the judge said ""It will be my honor to grant this waiver and issue a license for you to get married. Congratulations ladies." After 20 years of waiting for this, I can only imagine how it made you feel

(((hugs)))

Posted Jul 21, 08 by jessicapeanut (

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:)

Posted Jul 21, 08 by DaringDaver (

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Ah, now that's a nice story and a testament to the good that lies in all of us. The last "great prejudice" will one day go the way of slavery, suffragettes, and many other former "sins" of "society"......one day.