The sun came out this evening, after five or six days of gloom and/or rain. DF suggested we ride over to Kincaid Park and enjoy a view of the water, or at least a view of anything other than our own yard and our own four walls.
The parking lot at the Kincaid Chalet (actually a former bunker for nuclear-armed Nike missiles) was fairly crowded. Not unusual, since a lot of special events take place there.
“I think it’s a wedding,” DF reported when I returned from getting my sunglasses from the car.
The chalet is probably the number-one place for wedding receptions in Anchorage. You get a great view Mt. Susitna (aka “Sleeping Lady”), Fire Island and Cook Inlet, plus tons of trees and, sometimes, moose and bears.
We heard music and laughter and a DJ’s booming voice, and saw nicely dressed people milling around outside the chalet, whose doors were open. We intended to walk on by. But then Louis Armstrong’s voice arose, singing “What A Wonderful World.”
I pulled up short. “Let’s dance.”
Dressed in shabby gardening clothes and hair blowing every which way, we couldn’t have looked more out of place. Not that we were crashing the wedding, exactly, but we were borderline stalking it.
DF and I held each other close and swayed to Satchmo’s gravel-voiced love song, occasionally kissing and always smiling. You couldn’t call it dancing, exactly. But it worked for us.
A wedding wish
Not far away were a few dozen young men and women dressed in swanky and sometimes downright formal attire. That doesn’t happen very often here, since Anchorage is a city where you can wear corduroys to the opera and where spring breakup lasts a long time. Usually people dress for comfort, not for speed. But these youngsters were glamming it up.
Soon a woman in a long white dress and veil and a guy in a tux (a real one – not an Alaska tuxedo*) walked up a slight rise toward the chalet, causing a sensation among the waiting guests. A stout wind blew the bride’s veil almost off her head, but nothing could remove the smile from her face. Or from ours.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
To the just-married couple: I don’t know if you could see the no-longer-young duo hijacking your DJ for some slow-motion spooning. I doubt it, because if things went as planned then you had eyes only for each other.
Maybe you did see us, and thought it was cute how those graying elders were hugging each other and then walking away hand in hand. Maybe you thought “eeewww.” Or maybe you thought, “We’ll never be that old.”
I wish you happiness and a life together that doesn’t include times that are unduly hard. I wish you hearts that grow both tougher and more tender when those hard times inevitably happen. I hope you’ll have the vision to see beauty in the everyday, and the wisdom never to take your partner for granted (even when they’re really asking for it).
I also hope one day that you are this old, and that you’ll still be looking at each other the way DF looks at me. And the way I look at him. What a wonderful world, indeed.
*Definitions vary, but I’ve heard “a matching set of Carhartt jacket and pants” and also an engineer’s jacket (rip-stop material with lots of pockets) and pants made of a similar material. This is not to be confused with an Alaska three-piece suit, which is an outfit composed of wool, fleece and fur.
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I started smiling at the end of the first paragraph and smiled during the whole post. What a sweet post!
Thank you for a very sweet post! “Just yesterday” DW and I were that young couple heading into a “wonderful world”… it’s been quite the ride!
You probably made that young couples’ day…Many thanks to you and Mr. Armstrong…
Lovely post. Thanks for a great start to my day.
You two are the cutest and possess a relationship just about any couple would yearn to have. I’m glad you seized the opportunity for a sweet slow dance.
Awww, thanks. My secret hope is that they looked at us and could tell, even from a distance away, that it is possible to be old and in love.
“What a Wonderful World ” was our first dance when we married 21 years ago. It was my third choice, actually. “Once Upon a Dream” from Sleeping Beauty was too fast and the DJ could only find Tony Bennet swinging Irving Berlin’s “Always,” when I wanted a waltz. Dad and I jitterbugged to Glenn Miller’s “String of Pearls” for the father/daughter dance. Ah, memories. Of course, my hubby would ask how I remember all this.
Fun fact: “Once Upon A Dream” comes from the Tchaikovsky ballet “Sleeping Beauty.” In his version it’s called “Grande valse villageoise.” A lot of the music from the film is from the ballet.
Not only were/are they beautiful tunes, there was no need to pay royalties!
Donna, this post really made me smile as it reminds me of me and my husband who have been known to slow dance in a grocery store when a good song is on. I’m glad you guys took the chance to enjoy the opportunity and love your well wishes to the new couple. I hope you guys have a great weekend. Take care.
Keep dancing! I love that idea.
I love this post, Donna, I really do. I can see you and DF dancing to “What a Wonderful World”, even though I don’t know what he looks like. I’m certain you two are a cute couple.
Well, we’re a couple… 😉
But FrugalStrong says we’re the cutest, and I trust her opinion. We visited her and her family last year before FinCon, and I saw her again when she attended the open-to-the-public day at the conference.
Thanks for being such a consistent reader and commenter.
AND we first met you (but not DF) when w visited Alaska 2 summers ago! But yes, you two really ARE the cutest! You two finish each other’s sentences, laugh at each other’s corny jokes…and the way he took care of you when you got sick! True love!
I remember my in-laws (now deceased) dancing in their vacation cottage in the woods. They were in their seventies then, and loved to put on radio music and dance to whatever. They were both refugees after WW2 and suffered greatly. Their motto was enjoy every minute on this earth. When I think of them, I remember the way they looked at each other. Priceless!
That’s a lovely story, and some great advice. Thanks for sharing both.
What a charming post! I love it when you get away from financial stuff once in a while and talk about everyday life. Thanks!
Glad you liked it.
That was beautiful….not only a new couple sharing love but also you and DF sharing a moment. Thanks for sharing with us!
Thanks for reading it!
One of my most treasured memories comes from when I drove by a Fred Astaire Dance Studio to see a lovely older couple dancing on the sidewalk in the rain.
What a beautiful moment!
Donna
I really enjoyed this post. Beautiful. My husband and I are happy too. We always dance to the song “Dream” by the Pied Pipers. it was our first dance at our wedding. of course, we play it every once in awhile. Surprising each other with it. i also love the song “When God made You.” Being in love with someone that loves you back is great!
I concur.
Lovely. It makes me feel happy to hear about couples who are happy after many years. I love that. You and your wonderful commenters make me remember it can be a wonderful world.I normally lurk, but by now I feel as if I know jestjack,and Ro,and all your regulars. Thank you.
Thanks for de-lurking, Becky. And yes: I have actually met Ro, and one day I swear I’ll meet Jestjack, who has been commenting since my MSN Money days.
I, too, appreciate the community and how its members offer advice, encouragement and great stories. That’s another reason to keep writing: to nurture the conversation.