Dry Your Eyes

And it taught us more about living
Than we ever cared to know
But we came to find the secret
And we never let it go

And it was more than being holy
Oh it was less than being free
And if you can't recall the reason
Can you hear the people sing

Right through the lightning and the thunder
To the dark side of the moon
To that distant falling angel
That descended much too soon
And come dry your eyes

Come dry your eyes.

- Neil Diamond

The groom strode purposefully down the beach, head held high with pride and exhilaration. Behind him were best friends from around the globe, and waiting at the hand made alter (see above) were a small and curious group of family and friends. The feet were bare, the eyes became moist, and the sand soft. A light breeze blew along the seashore as he waited patiently for his destiny to appear.










Dad escorted the lovely young bride at the end of a procession which included a pied piper, and bridesmaids, all looking gloriously bedazzled by the occasion, as were many of the witnesses.

This was not an ordinary wedding, but the "union of free spirits", I was told.

And so it was.

The party went on well into the night at the local Boat Club in Russell, fancifully decked out by friends to cover the salt and stodge of the many yachties that pass through this famous portal of the Pacific. When I too,got married in a boathouse in Puget Sound in Washington State, this bride was not even born, and the groom was 9yrs old.

Like so many of these celebrations, it is a time of remembrance, of story, of appreciation, and of family. This story has the immigrant son wandering the globe and landing on an island in New Zealand where his life is changed completely by the people he meets, one of whom he soon marries. Everyone is happy in this moment. And with the tribal drumbeat of our complex relationships to each other, to the earth, and to larger humanity, so continues all of our stories.

Come Dry Your Eyes.