PART I

I have recently learnt how to scan on my printer, and this is one of the old photographs that I have in my 'scan' folder.  It's one of the very few (3, I think!) photographs that I have of our wedding on June 8th 1974, in the beautiful garden of Greenrange, the home of Sandy and Ian Bennett, and their two children, Christie and Jeff.  Greenrange is in Manchester Village, Vermont.

The entire wedding cost Larry and me the grand sum of $153, which included the Mexican wedding dress, which was $50! The nickel ring that Larry found at Fleming's Hardware Store in the Depot could well have jacked the total amount up to $153.05, but who knows?

My parents flew over for the grand event with much trepidation! I'm astonished and love them both all the more for coming.  They weren't at all sure about the outcome of this marriage to a Puerto Rican Catholic house-painter! The unwritten law for perspective future husbands was i) No foreigners; and ii) No Catholics!

The first glitch was that they flew into Montreal. Luckily for all, Pop and Tink Neilson let us borrow their red car, as we only had Ruby, Larry's red pick-up truck, and I don't think they would have appreciated being picked up at the airport in that!! We would drive up to meet them, and bring them back to Vermont, where they would stay in the gorgeous guest house belonging to Pat and O White, where we would live following our marriage. Well, that was the plan. But, unfortunately for everyone, I failed to carefully think things through, and arrived at the international border with nothing on me for identification except my fishing license!! So..I had to stay at the US-Canadian border while Larry drove up to meet for the very first time his as yet unknown in-laws-to-be. He had no idea what they looked like, and they had no idea that their daughter wouldn't be there to meet them!  On top of all that, the weather was not co-operating at all. The ferocious thunderstorms and high winds had made many of the roads unpassable, so not only was Larry late in picking them up, but he had to find a different way home since many of the Canadian roads had been closed to traffic!

My time at the border was terribly exciting, and I watched in wonder as a woman decked out in a long fur coat was arrested for smuggling watches, which had been carefully sewn inside the lining of her extravagant coat. I'd never seen anything like this before. And she was not alone on the arresting front! A 'gentleman' was promptly handcuffed and led away for trying to cross over with rather a large amount of heroin.

Hours and hours later, Larry, Daddy and Mummy arrived, bedraggled, to say the very least, at the Canadian-Vermont border. We were allowed to leave without further delay, and quickly found a very nasty motel in which to spend the rest of the stormy night. I remember the relief of it all, even though it was quite filthy, but good old resourceful Dad had had the foresight to buy a few duty-free bottles of the very best Johnny Walker's Black Label, which we inhaled by means of questionable paper cups found in the bathroom!!

Things seemed so much better the next morning, and we made our way home.