The Tale of the Maiden and her Sailor

 There once was a maid and her sailor.
They were soon to be wed, yessiree.
The sailor was tall, dark, and handsome;
The maid was as fair as could be.

The sailor, he left bright and early
For the church that beautiful morn,
But he soon was a-sittin’, not movin’,
With a tire that was tattered and torn.

Well….
He tried and he tried to keep movin’ along,
’Cause to persevere seemed like the norm.
But two, three, and four flat tires later,
He still hadn’t weathered the storm.

I s’pose you all may be wond’rin’
What our fair maid was thinkin’ that day,
When the clock, it struck one—two—and then THREEEEE!!!
And the wedding-time comin’ their way.

“Oh dear, will he make it here safely?”
Our fair young maiden did sigh.
But she knew what to do with her problem,
And she prayed to her Father On High:

“Lord….
“I’m gettin’ married here this evening—
Oh, how the candles, they will shine!
I'm gettin’ married, and
There’s no denyin’
My nerves are fryin’!
So get him to the church—
Oh, please, just get him to the church on time!”

His sailor-friends left to go hitch-hike,
But his best man, he stayed with him fast;
And six, maybe SEVEN FLAT TIRES later…
He got to the church at last!

~“The Sailor’s Story” Copyright ©2004 Kerry Goodwill (condensed)

~*~

The above is an excerpt from the song my mother wrote (which she, Peter, and I performed) for my grandparents’ 60^th wedding anniversary back in ’04. While it takes a few creative liberties, it tells the humorous tale, in a nutshell, of the trials my grandfather went through to get to his wedding.

 The year was 1944. World War Two was still raging, but that didn’t stop Frank Goodwill and Lois Ream (my grandparents) from falling in love and deciding to spend the rest of their lives together. The wedding was set for the evening of September 9^th, at the church in Monterrey Park, California, Grandma’s hometown at the time.

The wedding party. Love Grandpa's smile!
Pretty sure the bridesmaids in matching dresses (far right) are Grandma's sisters
Betty and Margie. No clue who the other people are, LOL.

Although Grandpa only lived a relatively short distance away (by car), it took him all day to arrive, as the tires on his car kept blowing out. This being wartime, and tires being rationed, he had to borrow ration cards from his sailor buddies traveling with him seven times during the course of his journey. As the song indicated, all but his best man eventually decided it would be faster to hitch-hike to the wedding venue.

Grandpa arrived at the church only a few minutes late—which Grandma actually didn’t notice, being so caught up in wedding what-nots.

She wore a handmade gown of satin brocade, and non-rationed canvass sandals. Grandpa of course wore his Navy uniform.

That look of anticipation isn't just Grandpa's love of sweets--
he hadn't eaten all day, so he was genuinely hungry!

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know we visited the old family home back in August of this year, during which time we found Grandma’s vintage wedding gown and Grandpa’s uniform in an old trunk in the attic. Sadly, neither Peter nor I can fit into them, otherwise I’d have talked him into doing a photoshoot, LOL.

I did model Grandma’s dress back in 2000, as part of a fashion show for a mother-daughter banquet at her church at the time. It fit my fifteen-year-old self just about perfectly, apart from being a bit loose in the bodice and too long in the skirt.

All the "brides"! The ladies wore their own wedding gowns,
and most of the girls (barring the flower-girl at center) wore their grandmothers'.
Yours truly second to right (still not sure how I ended up with the biggest bouquet, LOL).
My Mom at far right, moddling her 1981 homemade wedding gown.

Grandpa took one look at me, then turned to Grandma and asked, “Was you really that skinny when I married you?”
Thanks, Grandpa. :-P

My grandparents were married over seventy years, until the Lord took Grandpa to his Long Home in November of 2016, at the ripe old age of ninety-seven. Grandma joined him three years later, shortly after her ninety-third birthday. They raised three sons, endured several hardships, and enjoyed many fun times camping and celebrating special events together. While their marriage was far from perfect or ideal, they were committed to God and to one another, and that is a strong testimony in this day and age.

I thank God for their commitment, and for the fact that we now have tangible reminders of it in the form of Grandma’s gown and Grandpa’s uniform. I thank Him, too, that they are now reunited, and praising their Savior together, for all eternity.

~*~

Until next time, Gentle Readers,
God bless,

~ℛ~