gordon leads us down Back when we were planning the wedding, we though it would be really neat to imitate Mary & Q and get James' 15-year-old girlcousin Spike to play bagpipes for us. Can you imagine how cool it would've been: a young girl in tartan dress, whonking out marches as she led us down the aisle?! She's really good too, which ups the coolness factor 100%. But in the spring, Spike's sister decided to compete in a Highland Dance competition that was being held on the same weekend as our wedding - in Scotland - so that put paid to that idea. But Spike was kind, and arranged for a substitute. They say that Gordon was ranked 3rd in the world, and that he's gotten better since. I must confess that I was a trifle pre-occupied at the time, but it sounded good to me. Scott says that arriving at the church to the sight of a large man in a kilt pacing around in the parkinglot was splendid. He also liked the ability to say with complete certainty, "you must be the piper."

newly married After several fake outs, James & I finally walk down the aisle behind Gordon. We weren't sure when to go, something that was complicated by the fact that I had momentarily forgotten about the piper and thought that we were supposed to start walking as soon as the clergy stopped talking. By the way, we were introduced as "James and Aleta, husband and wife" and although I will open mail addressed to "Mrs. James B," I refuse to legally change my name to his. This gets my highschool students up in knots - they can't imagine a marriage so unorthodox. It seems hard to believe, but it's true: 16-year-olds are some of the most conservative people around.

escape velocity This is us, getting gone. I like to think of it as a climactic escape - James tosses a witty bon mot over his shoulder as we defeat a series of evil villans. Of course, it's not like that at all. Back when we booked the church, our house minister Marjorie made a point of instructing me to walk completely out of the church after the ceremony. "They're going to mob you, and at that time of year it'll probably be pretty hot in the church to begin with," she said. "Go outside. They'll follow you like sheep." And they did.