Words of Wisdom from Family and Friends

From the Armstorffs (Roland, Cherie, Genevieve, and Griffin)

"It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." - Henry David Thoreau

May you both carve and paint the atmosphere of our world with your humor, love and caring, creating a joyous life with each other, your family and friends. May you end up creating a beautiful work of art with your joined lives.

From Sharon, Corey and Jonathan Fraser:

Two hearts that beat as one.
Each having his own rhythm
Makes for a beautiful melody.

When you have seen the best and the worst that each of you can be
And still you love with all your heart,
Time means nothing because you are already constant.

We wish you love. Continue to take care of each other.

From Don and Dwain Colyer:

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee;
The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee.
The Lord life up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
- Numbers 6:24-26

An added note: Never go to bed mad at each other. And read I Corinthians 13 for further instructions regarding love.

From Doris Goehring:

• Be sweet smelling, be sweet talking, and be able to make delicious sweets.

• Try to see the comical side of a serious problem.

• Always accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, watch out for Mr/Mrs In-Between.

• Share more than one hobby together.

• Resolve all tiffs with a kiss and a hug.

From John Western:

"We must not hope to be mowers,
And to gather the ripe old ears,
Unless we have first been sowers
And watered the furrows with tears.
It is not just as we take it,
This mystical world of ours,
Life's field will yield as we make it
A harvest of thorns or of flowers."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

From Roger Freitas:

Ok, well, I've been trying to think of little nuggets of wisdom. The very first thing I thought of I've known for a long time:

"Life is a banquet. . . and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death." (from *Mame*)

Then I thought, well, that's probably not the right spirit. How about this favorite of George Willey's:

"If you drop your wallet on Castro, kick it to Market before you pick it up."

Certainly good advice. But again, maybe not quite the thing you were looking for. To be serious, actually, the one phrase that I think carries enormous wisdom is "This too shall pass": everything passes and changes, from the greatest happiness to the worst tragedy. But again, that's probably not the right sentiment for a wedding function. So I've settled (for the moment) on the following:

"Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel."

It's Shakespeare of course, from *Hamlet* (I, 3, 62-63, Polonius to Laertes). I had wanted to say something about friendship, and so I hunted around and came up with this, which seems very nice to me. I think the "friendship" in question can be interpreted both as the special friendship between you and Carmen as well as the friendships that you both have with others.

I know this quote may seem a little, well, highfalutin' (it's certainly not something grandma used to say), but it did really appeal to me, both in its sentiment and expression. . .

From Kathy Jones (and Jim):

As I'm writing this and strolling down memory lane,
I'm surprised that as a wife and mother, I'm still sane.
For twenty years Jim and I have been together in wedded bliss,
And remember to always begin and end each day with a kiss!
Jim has been my rock, my love,
And I truly see him as my gift from up above!
Our marriage vows have been put to the test,
And the "in sickness" part, confirms Jim is the best!
I adore my man each and every day,
And if we're lucky, we get an occasional "romp in the hay"!
So remember that in 20 years you, too, can be as happy as you are today,
And that is the best words of wisdom that I have to say!

We love you guys and wish you the best.

From Paul Puppo:

"Fill what is empty, empty what is filled, and scratch where it itches."
-Alice Roosevelt

From Elaine Lugo:

Siempre recuerdas Y no se olvida A divertirse; corre y grita! Siempre recuerdas Y no se olvida Que dolorosa es la vida. Siempre recuerdas Y no se olvida No duda el corazon Y mantenerse la fila! Siempre recuerdas Y no se olvida Pongasé atencion Eschucha y mira! Siempre recuerdas Y no se olvida Que reímos juntos pero lloramos en soledad. Siempre recuerdas Y no se olvida Que esta es la única vida!

Always remember And never forget Enjoy yourselves; run and shout! Always remember And never forget How tragic is this life. Always remember And never forget Don't doubt your heart, Hold the thread! Always remember And never forget Pay attention, L isten and observe! Always remember And never forget That we laugh together, But we cry alone. Always remember And never forget That this is our only life!

From Gigi Landino and Phil Moseby:

"Love is a blessed mystery. It is like gravity: vast, invisible, the unstoppable force that connects all things."

"In the end, when we look at our life, the questions will be simple: Did I love fully? Did I live well?"

"A bug crawls over the paper. Leave him be. We need all the readers we can get. Especially for this book to remind us to love, cherish, and forgive."
-Lloyd Reynolds

From Rebecca Powers:

"Some days, doing "the best we can" may still fall short of what we would like to be able to do, but life isn't perfect—on any front—and doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else."
-Fred Rogers