Page 20 - Demo

Fools%u2019 Journey14When Lynn phoned her parents in Michigan to tell them about our upcoming wedding, her father blurted out, %u201cI hope he%u2019s not another goddamn Catholic school teacher.%u201d It seems her sister had married a papist, fish-eating educator a few months earlier %u2014 not the most desirable background in his eyes. Lynn%u2019s mom politely said she was anxious to meet me. Her parents had recently moved to suburban Troy, so we planned to get married in the First United Methodist Church they attended in nearby Birmingham. Because some arrangements needed to be handled ahead of time, Lynn and I drove up to the Detroit area on the first Saturday in November. When we arrived at Lynn%u2019s parents%u2019 house, I felt like I was on an interview for a job I didn%u2019t want. I definitely wanted Lynn, but I could do without the stress permeating her family. Her dad was gruff and imposing, and there was an underlying tension you could cut with a knife. Her mom was haughty with a better-than-thou demeanor beneath a facade of false modesty. But, to be fair, they were both trying to be friendly. Perhaps, I thought, the lot of a sonin-law is to feel uncomfortable. But Lynn said I shouldn%u2019t take offense, anyone would perceive them in the same way. Within minutes of our arrival, her personality started to shrink, and she was less sure of herself.After a long half-hour of uncomfortable visiting, Lynn and I headed for the Courthouse to apply for a marriage license, only to find the appropriate office closed. We were planning to get married in just over two weeks, and knew we had to obtain the license two weeks ahead of time, so this wasn%u2019t good. Fortunately, at another office, we were told that, for an extra $5.00 fee, we%u2019d be able to get our license on the day of the ceremony, as long as we each passed a blood test %u2014 our next stop. A phone call verified that the Physician%u2019s Laboratory in downtown Pontiac was open. It seemed like a stroke of good luck %u2014 until we arrived. The building was in the middle of an urban redevelopment area, much of which had been bulldozed. Newspapers were blowing down the middle of the street like tumbleweed. Amid empty lots, trash, and rubble, a miniature deteriorating version of the Empire State Building looked like it might be next on the list to be razed. It was the Physician%u2019s Laboratory, and the inside was