Oklahoma City: Family

"Webster's defines a wedding as 'the act of removing weeds from one's garden.'" -- Homer Simpson.

Family. Corrie's parents, living in Oklahoma City, have five tremendous biological kids. They also have at least that many adopted kids, or strays that needed positive parental units for guidance, or kids they looked after, with almost the same amount of privileges that the biological kids have. It is a wild scene when most of them get together. Love and questions and knowledge flow around in a dizzying display. After our wedding, Tony may be one of the newer adoptees, having a wonderful family of his own, but being in south-western Louisiana, a weekend trip to OKC is easier than to Monterey, and the Dolmans love him the same as the other strays they've kept track of.

Congratulations Stephanie for graduating high school, for the $3k scholarship, for being accepted into the Denver Art Institute. Good luck with everything, and your sister and I will be around (on the phone and in cyberspace, anyway) when you need advice or whatever.

Congratulations Ron and Carol...you made it. Empty house...(mostly) adult kids...free time, relaxation time...

I still don't know how to thank you for Corrie.

My family has taken in a stray or two, and my mom has a similar air about her, looking after kids no authorities ever mandated into her ward. My dad's family, large, sprawling, loving, similarly accepting.

I'm not sure why I chose this coda to come first on this scrolling blog-site, maybe I thought it was the most important, that obviously the family link is the strongest connection of all those people living in or coming into Oklahoma City last weekend.

Thanks for the hospitality, the caring, the love...