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Show LIGHTER SIDE I A humorous look at serious topics. Marriage season arrives CYCLOPS r ' Guest Writer .. . . We Utahns are a seasonal people. i : ONE SEASON-the Football Season-is now past, and we' have dutifully embalmed it with the Governor's proclamation i honoring Jim McMahon, a young, rich roustabout who has? represented our state state through such Christian acts as drink- '& ing beer, showing photographers his middle finger, mooning a helicopter and telling reporters that his best experience at BYU was in leaving it-Mother it-Mother Theresa may be a better example of sainthood-but she doesn't look half as nice wearing a hcadban! ? BUT WE NOW approach a new season. the Marriage Season, Sea-son, a time when weddirig photographers scrampte to collect s ' ; their tripods and anxious fathers scramble to collect their wits. . i Once such father, a man named Harold, recently sent me a letter he had written to his daughter on the eve of her wedding. And, ; as a public service, I am paraphrasing his musings for all Davis ? County fathers awaiting a similar Spring ordeal: Dear Daughter. . . "TRADITIONALLY, the role of the father of the bride is scrupulously well-defined, consisting largely of signing the checks, comforting his wife when she emits tears and then retreatin into obscurity for the balance of the event. These are . ; modest chores, and I will do my best to perform them. Only you ? i and I will know, since absolutely nobody looks at the father of the bride anyhow. "There is a lesser paternal tradition of offering a few final : words of unsought advice to the bride, routinely disregarded by ; all those to whom it is extended. Polite daughters accept it i without actively snorting, since Daddy will be paying the price I . , of the reception. "SO INSTEAD of testing your boredom, 1 am sticking to the i f jollier side of weddings-presents and offer to you some thoughts as to the most appropriate gifts, i "First, I wish you the gift of realism about how an economy t works. Earlier generations clearly did not possess this gift; r otherwise your generation would not now be facing the uncn-' 5 ding task of paying outrageously for deficits you had no hand in I i creating. Those less-wise than you have been led to believe that ; everything lies in whom you know-or that the government will always take care of you in the end. They're wrong-as their disappointment and their tax bills will show. "SECOND, 1 WISH you the gift of joy. In work, as in life, s most people wind up being about as happy as they make up their ; minds to be. Some foolish people go around insisting that they are forever unlucky, apparently thinking the the rest of the ; world is winning every turkey raffle it enters. An ancient story contrasts the miserable carpenter who grouchily blames his : tools, his boss and his working conditions with his cheerful; colleague, working on the next beam. While the one carpenter grumbles, the other carpenter declares blissfully. How lucky 2 am to have this chance to build a cathedral. On the job and in s your marriage, I wish you both the enduring joys of life's lucky cathedral-builders. r "Third, 1 wish you the gift of tradition. It was fashionable a i few decades ago to sneer at tradition, to reject it automatically, to denounce whatever had gone on before as irrelevant at best f and immoral at worst. Now smarter people like yourself are : turning back to traditional weddings, traditional families and ? traditional values. The country will benefit from this new stability stabil-ity and so will you. "FINALLY, I wish you the gift of love which you already possess in such warm abundance. This love may even enable ; you to forgive a father's sentimentality of his first daughter's ; wedding day. America's future is looking up, thanks to your 'remarkable new generation which is unafraid of embracing the ' past or challenging the future. "Here's to you both, with admiration and Congratulations. "LOVE ALWAYS. . . Dad' i And thank you, Harold, for describing marriage as more than punch and pcttifores. You've said it more eloquently than; McMahon ever could. |
