On Saturday, June 2, 1979, at 2:30 in the afternoon, Lillian Hemmer and I were married. The ceremony was beautiful and very meaningful. Many friends and relatives witnessed our sharing, and I got "high" from all the good vibes.

Prior to the day of the big event, David had mentioned something about my wedding day being the "longest day". I didn't quite understand his cryptic message at the time, but looking back, the longest day probably began a few days before the wedding.

On Tuesday before the wedding, I realized that we had not applied for the marriage license. We rushed down to the Courthouse at 4:25 PM (they closed at 4:30), only to learn that they would not accept a personal check. So... the next morning I was back with cash in my hand, and they were kind enough to backdate the license because 3 days were needed to receive the blood test results and process the paperwork. If they hadn't backdated the license, I wouldn't have received it until two days after the ceremony.

Wednesday brought more problems. The well at my home went out, and I found it wasn't easy to get a repairman immediately. I had to stay home to wait for him, and I was supposed to be picking up my mother who was arriving in Orlando from New York. Lucky for me, my sister and her family had arrived in Florida a few days earlier and were staying in Tampa. I called and made arrangements for her to pick up my mother in Orlando while I waited for the repairman to show.

Much later, the well repairman arrived, followed by my mother, sister, and her family, an hour later. My house was a mess. We had moved 99% of the things from my fiance's trailer into my home, including a piano, washing machine, and beds. She owned 1500 square feet of furniture which had to be combined with the 1500 square feet I already owned. Things were a bit crowded, to say the least, as we had not found room for most of our things and cartons of unpacked items were stacked everywhere. At 10:00 PM, my family and I were beginning to melt from the heat and lack of water to shower with. I checked the air-conditioner and discovered the relay was tripped so we quickly alleviated the problem. And finally at 1:00 AM, we got water too. Through it all, my family were tremendous good sports. They helped me put the house in order, and we laughed a lot.

Meanwhile, my prospective bride was having a problem too. My best man and his wife had to leave town suddenly because their son needed emergency medical treatment and there was no way to know when they would return. This left me without a best man and my bride with an uncompleted gown since the best man's wife was making the gown. Fortunately, Peggy rescued my fiancé by finishing the gown, and I decided to ask my brother-in-law to stand in for the best man.

Finally, the longest day arrived... it was Saturday morning. I decided to go wash my car, but I was so nervous that I lost control of the spray gun and it zoomed all over the place, getting me all wet in the process. When I finished with the car, I hurried home to get dressed for the wedding.

The time came for the wedding and I was right on time. So was everyone else, including my original best man, except for Richard who was officiating. I didn't realize that my watch was running ten minutes fast, so I was relieved when he walked in. After the exchange of vows and greeting and hugging everyone, I was seen walking around with a dazed expression and a smile on my face, not talking much, just floating around.

Sal Cacciola

Part IX

© 1979