Deb and Karen had already been together 35 years, bought a house, and raised a daughter, Chelsea.  But when Chelsea took off for Thailand, these gals decided it was time to shake things up and re-invent their lives.  And that meant, among other big changes, getting married!

Their 4th of July ceremony was in their gorgeous backyard amidst a riot of midsummer flowers (and some rather riotous friends and family, I can tell you!).

The sweetest part for me (other than discovering the wonders of sparkling blood orange juice) was when Deb and Karen made their entrance.  Etta James’ “At Last,” a perennial wedding favorite, had been playing as we all waited in the yard for the Brides (with Chelsea on the laptop Skyping in from Parts Unknown).

And then, suddenly, we heard the sweet, sweet tones of Miz Streisand Herself singing “Evergreen.”  About the time Barbra got to “fresh as the morning air,” Deb and Karen came out of the house from separate entrances, met in the middle, and, gazing into each others’ eyes, sang the whole song together before joining us to exchange their vows.

Honestly, I kind of felt at that point, the ceremony was pretty much over, and anything I could possibly say would be totally redundant.

And really, they’ve set the Love and Romance Bar pretty high!  Ask yourself, could and your partner of 35 years look each other in the eye and sing your favorite song to each other without once cracking up?  Or without giving each other an ironic look?

Go ahead.  Try it.  I dare you…

Karen and Deb

Donna (on the left) and Lisa weren’t sure they were going to make it to Vermont for their wedding because Donna’s home town got wiped out by one of those legendary Southern tornados. But Donna was determined to overcome any obstacles placed in her path and get herself hitched up to this gorgeous gal.

Turns out, they’d been facing obstacles since they first got together, since Donna is a cop and Lisa is a lawyer.  Apparently, these are two groups who, in their community, tend not to mix socially.  It’s very Montagues and Capulets.  So much so that Lisa says if she ever gets stopped for speeding, the LAST thing she should do is tell the cop she’s a lawyer.

Also, when they first met, Lisa says Donna had no idea she was hitting on her, and it took a while for the message to get through.  Through won out though.

Lisa’s also cracked me up when she said, after having spent several days in Burlington, “It’s casual Friday here every day!”

Too true.  You can wear heels and a dress here, but people will look at you funny.

"The battle is over. The victory has been won."

Bishop John Shelby Spong recently published a manifesto stating his unwillingness to further debate the issue of homosexuality in the church.

His feeling is that, like slavery or round-versus-flat earth, there aren’t two equal-but-opposing sides to the situation.  There’s only  justice, or the lack thereof.  And he’s not willing to waste his time debating with or listening to the point of view of someone fueled by hate or intolerance.  Or as Bishop Spong so eloquently put it:

Inequality for gay and lesbian people is no longer a debatable issue in either church or state. Therefore, I will from this moment on refuse to dignify the continued public expression of ignorant prejudice by engaging it. I do not tolerate racism or sexism any longer. From this moment on, I will no longer tolerate our culture’s various forms of homophobia. I do not care who it is who articulates these attitudes or who tries to make them sound holy with religious jargon.

You can read the full text of his beautiful statement here.