Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Wedding Classics

In his comment yesterday, Russell of Iowa Grasslands Blog mentioned a horse and carriage.........well, here's the classic carriage of the wedding day........a Chevy of some sort (I'm not up on classic car info):
This car is very special; it is owned by the bride's parents----a classic couple---- and is indeed the car that THEY courted in years ago! My son and his bride were conveyed from the church to the reception hall in this classic car, driven by another classic.......the bride's father! He even still smokes......that's smoke emanating from his laughing smile! He's smoked all his life.......I probably wouldn't bother to quit at that point, either (if I smoked, which I don't). He's a great guy........a man of few words, big smiles, and lots of gadgets! I found out Saturday that he is a great photo subject......he has fascinating facial expressions.
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Oh, my.........my one big regret of the wedding day: Not taking a spin in this sparkling-clean, classic Chevy Impala convertible when I had the chance.......and I DID have the chance! Some of the wedding party rode in this car, with the best man, my 16-year-old son, at the wheel. After we all arrived at the reception hall, my son tossed the keys at me so I could give them to the owner of the car. I slipped those keys into my purse and just about sneaked outdoors to take the car for a drive around town.......that is the honest truth. I wanted to so badly, but good sense won out. Sheesh. Classic good sense.......why don't you leave me alone once in awhile!
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Good grief, I can't believe I've actually found the gumption to post a photo of myself. I must be out of my mind; but, the circumstances of this scene do make it a bit easier to do. This is the honest truth........for my whole life long, as long as I can remember, people have been telling me that I look EXACTLY like my mother (prompting the premature sprouting of white hair on my head, I'm sure). She and I knew our look-alike-ness might be a problem at the wedding, that people might get us two mixed up. Thus, my mom was very considerate and agreed to straighten her hair, dye it Navajo Bronze, and have her neck pumped up for a more attractive look, plus wear elevator platform shoes for more heighth. She conceded to wearing my pallid green dress from Penneys, too, along with the earrings purchased at Nordstrom's Rack at the Mall of America back in June.
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So here we are-----my mom and I----can you tell us apart? Do I look OK in that salmon orange color? Perhaps I'll need to have a talk with my mom, though......that short, plump neck is just a little bit too attractive, I think. Seriously, the following is the absolute truth.......when I was about eleven years old, one day my mom out of the blue told me that my sister had "natural beauty" and I was "attractive". I'm sure I just gaped in puzzlement at her, not having a clue as to what she was trying to say, and most likely a few of those white hairs started growing on my head right then. I even remember what room we were in in our house when she said it! It was a galvanizing moment in my life, I think.......I was "attractive" and my sister had "natural beauty". What in the world was THAT supposed to mean?? To me, back then (and now), it meant that I DIDN'T have natural beauty, and maybe was a bit on the homely side. Perhaps my mom's mother had said the same thing to my mom at one time, considering that we do look so much alike.......so everyone says, anyway. There have been times in my life when I felt like punching the next person who came along and said to me, "Oh, honey.......you look just like your mother."
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Please, parents........be careful what you say to your kids.......it may affect them for years and years, and much later they might even blog about it!!
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[For your own safety's sake, please DO NOT click this photo to make it larger!]

Anyway, guys.......NO, absolutely not.........I will not send you my mom's phone number!! She is happily married to a baker (who moonlights as a carpenter and jack-of-all-trades........he is another classic guy!). He baked the classic wedding cake, in fact. It was lovely and very delicious!

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Have a classic Wednesday!!
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15 comments:

rhymeswithplague said...

Calling that gorgeous 1957 Chevrolet "a Chevy of some sort (I'm not up on my classic car info)" is like -- I'll use an example you can relate to -- being up close and personal with George Clooney and later saying you had met "a good-looking chap of some sort (I'm not up on my Hollywood actor info)" !!!!

Looks as though a great time was had by all.

Sometimes "natural beauty" repels, being only skin deep and all. It's always better in the long run, I would think, to be "attractive."

Jeannelle said...

Rhymsie,

I had to be honest......I truly didn't know the details about the car. George Clooney.....yes, a chap with much natural....um.....let's see, he's a guy, so it can't be beauty....its "natural good looks", I guess.

Thanks for your attempts at consoling me over the "attractive" vs "natural beauty" issue. The whole deal is ingrained in me for life, I'm afraid. (Shame on you for clicking on that photo!)

Caution/Lisa said...

I do wonder what your mother's motivation was with that comment. Ouch!

Thanks for revealing yourself a bit more. Your picture simply confirms what we already knew: you are lovely.

Pat - Arkansas said...

Classics, indeed! How kewl is it that the in-laws still have their courting car, and in such good condition.

It's not too late to ask for the convertible keys is it? You really should take it for a drive! Let the wind blow through your Navaho Bronze hair, you cutie, you!

Thanks for sharing your photo, J. I think you are lovely and, certainly, loveable! Phhhbbbbhhhhhttt! on your mother's comment. Don't buy into that malarkey!

Eleanor Roosevelt said it very well, "Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art." Not that you're old.. no, no, no! That's not what I mean! But you're going to be a *very* beautiful old person!

rhymeswithplague said...

Let me put it another way:

A 1957 Chevrolet is to all other cars as Marilyn Monroe is to all other sex symbols, as Luciano Pavarottie is to all other tenors, as the Sears Tower is to all other buildings in Chicago, as...well, I hope you get the point!

The cake is a wonder! The convertible is a wonder! You and your mother are both wonders! The groom's father is a wonder! Your blogging intuitions are a wonder! Your photography is a wonder! Let's see, I believe that makes seven...so Grand Canyon and Taj Mahal and MOOunt RushMOOer, and all you other would-be wonders, eat your hearts out!

What a great post!

Jeannelle said...

Caution Flag and Pat,

Thanks for your very sweet comments!!

Truly, I doubt my mother put much thought into what she was saying on that day long ago. I simply was at an impressionable age, and what she said stuck in my mind forever.

It is true, though, that people STILL SAY to me, "Oh-h, you look just like your mother." LOOK at the photo.....DO WE LOOK ALIKE??
Either their eyes are really bad or mine are.

And, yes, maybe I'll be bold and ask for a ride in that convertible someday.....I really blew the perfect chance, though.

Jeannelle said...

rhymsie,

OK....thank you for enlightening me about THE car. I get it, and will never forget that it is a 1957Chevy!

Speaking of Marilyn Monroe, I read a nice article about her a couple weeks ago and considered doing a post about her. When I was young, all my mother ever said about her was, "She's a mess." But, I'm sure there is more to the story. I love the movie "Some Like It Hot".

Judy said...

Great classics...all of them!

Anonymous said...

That Chebbie is sure purty! lol. Nice pics as usual Jeannelle. And I thought the wedding cake was awesome. So talented!

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I had three thoughts when I saw your photo. First, I can see the resemblance to your childhood photo. Second, you remind me of a friend of mine from high school. (I've seen recent photos of her.) Third, I'm so happy to see your lovely face at last.

As for your mom's comment, I think your guess must be right and someone must have said something similar to her.

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Judy, Sherry, Ruth!

Thanks for stopping by! Hey, Ruth, that's a relief to know I resemble someone other than my mother! LOL

And, I'm thankful to have a short, fat neck.....less chance of getting whiplash in a car accident or on a rollercoaster.......seriously, I think maybe that's true.

Emily said...

I really love your site! I am new to blogging.. Lol! I'm just getting the hang of it. I love sites like yours.. From the farm.
I am located just north of you in southern Minnesota!
Keep up the great writing and pictures!
Em

Jeannelle said...

Hi, emmyredneck! Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Quite a cute name you have there!

Country Girl said...

Oh, Jeannelle! There you are! You don't look 50!! Your skin looks so youthful!

Yes, you share the same eyes as your mother. And why do our mothers say things like this to their children? Perhaps her mother told her something similar.

You are so brave. Ever since I read Donna Boucher's Quiet Life blog last week, and she posted a photo of herself, and asked us to do the same, I just can't do it! And now I come here and you have done so. GOOD ON YOU, Jeannelle!

What a happy week you've had. Thanks for sharing.

Jeannelle said...

Oh, countrygirl,

You leave such good comments! Yes, I tan well, and that helps the skin look better, possibly....but doesn't help that fat neck!

You've posted several partial photos of yourself, enought that I have a pretty good idea in my mind of what you look like, so you've well in that respect. It was hard for me to post that photo; I hate it when people take pictures of me, because I hate to see it! I'm not photogenic......my daughters are, but I AM NOT.