Comic books and different looks.

Before I start with this post let me first allow for a few simple edits. It has been pointed out to me that the spelling of Grosse Pointe is just the way I have just done it and it seems that earlier spelling did not include the e at the end.  It has also been pointed out the the song "Jeremiah is a Bullfrog" is not right. It is instead "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog."  Not that this makes much more sense, but my apologies for any errors in these areas.  No matter what it is called it makes no more sense to me.

Once a proposal of marriage has been offered in the Dutch culture it is needed to talk to the prospective brides father to ask for her hand in marriage.   I remember this event going fairly well.  He had a few questions but as nervous as I was I do remember being let of the hook fairly easy.  He suggested that he had always envisioned a wedding for his daughters at a facility in Grosse Pointe called the War Memorial.  I was not sure this sounded like all that good of a idea but I had driven by the place several times and a knew it was a nice place.  So it did not seem like very long and plans were being made for a wedding.  As most grooms of that day I am not sure there was that much I had to do with whole affair.  I do remember that the fashion of that day was something called "mod" and it seemed like not much time had past when I was standing in the front of the Grosse Pointe CRC in a green bell bottom tux and watching a beautiful girl and her dad walking down the left hand isle of that church.  A trumpet was playing, an organ was blaring, my dad was standing there waiting to do the ceremony.  In a short time I was reciting the vows I had rehearsed for two weeks.  I kind of remember feeling a little like a leprechaun standing there in in that tux but that was the fashion of that day.  I do recall saying these words along with some others. " In sickness and in health, till death do us part."  All humor aside, and even though at that time I did not know the full meaning or the implications of those words I will tell you from my heart that I have lived them and take them seriously to this very day.   And that is the way it will be.

A short blur of reception at the "War Memorial"  a cake smeared kiss, a party at the house and a few gallons of gas soon found us going down the I-94 and headed to Chicago for a quick one night trip to a business convention to be held at McCormick Place.  I had booked a room at the Continental Plaza (now the Westin) and paid cash $60 bucks for the room. Now a pittance, then a fortune.   Deb and I went and looked at a few of the machines at the convention but we soon found ourselves at the Cape Cod Room at the Drake.  We both canned down a couple of "milkshakes" and she held my hand walking out of the place and we walked down Michigan Ave holding hands.   That night we went to kind of neat place.  It was  called, "Ron of Japans." This was one of these places that had a guy cooking right in front of you.  It also had 6 people sitting with us that we did not know.  We had a big shot sitting next to us.  He found out we were just married and bought our meal.  He was so proud of his kid who was sitting next to him.  After a rather large build up he did for his kid, (I thought he must be president of a bank or something) I asked the kid what he liked to do. I will never forget this answer. He said he liked to read comic books.  Now the only lesson I think we took from this is that no matter how important the guy next to you seems he just may be on the level of everyone else.  I asked if he liked Spiderman or Superman.  He said he was really in to the Green Hornet.  I asked him if he knew the song "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog."  Yep, for sure it was one of his favorites.

I will spare you the good stuff.  But for $60 I thought we also might make some good use of the room.  We ordered breakfast in bed the next morning.  They served it under some really nice silver stuff.  We checked out of the joint and were soon on our way to the Magic Kingdom.  Took about a day or two in the car but who cared.  I was with the person I loved and we were on our way to Florida.  It was February 10, 1975.  We had a radio that worked, a wedding we will never forget, a dinner at Ron of Japans and a fun conversation with a guy that really liked comic books.  Could life get any better?  It did.......and the next time I will tell you about it...............

Stan the Man