Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Details of the crime

When: May 17, 1997, approx. 4pm.

Where: Mahoney State Park, located alongside I-80, halfway between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska.

Outdoors near the trail alongside the waterway and bridge.

Witnesses: About 75 family members and close friends, 2 officiants, and various campers and park dwellers unaccounted for and the shirtless guy.

The crime: Taking a chance on love.

The accused: Dan & Georgette

Their plea: Guilty as charged.

I got a text from Georgette asking what I would like to do to this weekend to celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary. I suggested that we return to the scene of the crime which is our couple-talk for the place we were married, Mahoney State Park, just outside of Omaha. "Let's take Grace and maybe have a picnic if the weather is good" I suggested.

Yep, we got married at a State Park and nope, it wasn't a hippy wedding.  It was actually a pretty cool event. The setting was lovely-in front of a waterway adorned with perennials and alongside a meadow. 

Some of of our younger guests picking flowers before the service.

Music was played pre-service from a cool, battery powered speaker system. A male/female ministry team led the ceremony. And 75 of our closest family and friends (minus my mother who wrote back that it wasn't a good time for her to travel so she wouldn't be attending) attended along with the shirtless guy.

Here's the deal on the shirtless guy. When we decided to have an outdoor wedding, we approached the park about using it as our location. At first they thought we wanted to use the lodge, like most people do. No, we wanted our ceremony outdoors. (we really like the outdoors,can you tell?)

The spot we had selected was in front of a bridge along a waterway, right in the middle of the park where two paved walking trails converged. It was picturesque, close to parking and would make a lovely setting for an outdoor wedding.

The wedding party, Pastors Frank and Elizabeth just before the ceremony began.

We were told we could have the ceremony outdoors but that it was a public park and we couldn't keep regular park visitors from the area. In other words, people could use the park anyway they wanted, whether there was a wedding going on or not. And because the location we choose had the paved trail running through it, we couldn't prevent anyone from just wandering throughout the middle of the ceremony.

Like the shirt-less guy.

We decided to take our chances and hope that people who might be out walking on the trail and came upon our wedding would discreetly take a different route or walk around the ceremony on the grass, again discretely. Politely. With some class. And it was mid-May, how busy would the park be that day anyway?

So as our guests arrived at the park and gathered on the grass in front of the bridge where the ceremony was to take place, music began to play from the portable speakers. Mary Chapin Carpenter singing  John Lennon's "Grow Old With Me" and Marc Portmann's "Come as You Are" were the last two songs to be played before the ceremony began.

The two ministers were standing on the trail in front of the bridge. The wedding party was there visiting with the guests who had gathered to witness this wonderful occasion. It would be more than obvious to anyone who came across this location that an event of some kind was occurring. A classy event, albeit outdoors. In a state park.

To anyone but the shirtless guy.

The Shirtless guy

Just minutes before the ceremony was to begin, a guy wearing shorts and no shirt (and if my memory serves me correctly, he had kind of a Vanilla Ice type hair-cut) came wandering across the bridge and proceeded to saunter right through the middle of the area where the ministers were standing. He was followed by a woman (maybe she was Mrs. Shirtless) who was wearing a shirt, thank goodness. I'm not sure what they were thinking but maybe it was something along these lines. " I'm out for walk, I pay my taxes, I'm going to get my money's worth." 

Can you say clueless? Can you say rude? Can you say "show some class!"

The good news was they didn't stop to observe and but proceeded on their "I pay my taxes" walk and the moment passed. The wedding went on with out any more uninvited guests. The reception in the lodge was a blast. And we've been happily married ever since.

Which is what this story was supposed to be about all along. 

Then why the "scene of the crime"  reference, you might be asking. Just a corny thing we say as we drive by the park on our many trips to and from Omaha and Lincoln over the years. "There's the scene of the crime...yuk,yuk,yuk" one of us will say as we drive by the park.  Yeah, it's corny, I know, but isn't most couple-talk?

I guess if there was a crime committed that day is that we dared to believe that we could both have a happy, committed and long-lasting marriage....again.

At that stage of our lives, it would have been easier in many ways, less risky in some other ways and much safer to just leave well enough alone.

But we didn't. And so far, I don't have a single regret. And we are both breaking records every day.

Love isn't always enough. But in this case, it prevailed.

And the shirt-less guy? Probably still clueless. But he gave us  the best memory of the day or at least the one we laugh about the most.

I'll leave you with a sampling of the 2 songs that began the ceremony. Just imagine a shirt-less guy, in cut-off shorts and a Vanilla Ice hairdo walking the background.

"Grow Old Along with Me"

Words and music by John Lennon, sung by Mary Chapin-Carpenter

"Grow old along with me

The best is yet to be

When our time has come

We will be as one

God bless our love

God bless our love"

"Come as You Are"

Words and music by Marc Portmann, sung by Bill Champlin

"Come as you are 

Don't change a thing

Here is my heart

Just walk right in

Come as you are 

Don't tell me lies

And I'll be yours 

'Till do us part"