January 25, 1997

Obviously, the date is the day Jennifer and I were joined as a married couple. We had a trying time since the wedding didn't really go as planned. We originally planned to have the wedding in April so that more of the family would be able to attend. Well, on December 7, I was attending my last Marquette Army ROTC formal dinner. One of the captains pulled me aside and said he had bad and worse news. He gave me the bad first. I wasn't chosen to be the Gold Bar Recruiter. Okay. Then he said I would have to change my wedding plans, because I had to report to Fort Lee, VA on February 22. With this in mind, I called Jennifer from the dinner. She took it sort of well. But, while I was at the dinner, she pulled our friends together, mostly on the rifle team, and started to pick out a new date. Later that night, we had a potential date. Our friends confirmed that this was the weekend there weren't any rifle matches they had to attend. We called all the parents, made the changes, then sent out the invitations. Within a week, all was planned and in the execution phase. We couldn't have done it without my mother, though. She put practically all the reservations and plans together. All we had to do was make a couple of choices, and it was a done deal.

The best part of the wedding was getting to St. Louis from Milwaukee. The weather had turned on us. A snow storm was sweeping across Central and Northern Illinois. Our route was well covered by snow. The plows had not been out, yet. There were a couple of close calls on the way down. I almost wiped out into the concrete barrief on a bridge and slid off the road. With God's blessing, though, we made it.











Jennifer and I had one of those prewedding fights in Springfield, IL. I got mad and left her. She knew most of the way to St. Louis. To cut this short, she made it. We made up, and, now, we laugh about it.

The day of the wedding was cold, but warmer than what it was in Milwaukee. Everyone looked great. So many of the family was there. Jennifer and I are truly thankful that so many were able to make arrangements to come on such short notice. All of you made our wedding that much more special. Thank you!

The actual ceremony went by so fast. It seemed like I was up there for five minutes. And for most of the five, I was in a hypnotic state. All was made official, and by lunch time, we were married.

The reception was a good time. We aren't real big into dancing, so we wanted just a small dinner where everyone could talk and have fun. I think we accomplished that. I enjoyed seeing a lot of the family I hadn't been able to talk to for a long time. For most of you, this was really the last time I was able to have decent conversation with you. Many of you also came to the gift opening. Thanks for the wonderful gifts. Everything we asked for was based on a practical reason, so we use all the gifts.

Going home the next Sunday was almost as treacherous as the trip down. We were in a hurry, because it was Super Bowl Sunday. Our team, the Green Bay Packers, was playing. You don't miss a Packers party in Wisconsin, especially for the Bowl! The Packers did win and there was much rejoicing.

The weekend was successful. We survived the winter's harsh treatment down and back. Jennifer and I were married. The Packers won the Super Bowl. And everyone but I had to back to school Monday morning (I had already graduated). I also took Monday off!