Ron
And here I thought it was impressive that, a day after the weekend we'd first became friends, I had left such a good first impression on Julie that she immediately ranked me as #2 on her MySpace Top 8 Friends.
I remember how surprised I was the day Julie told me she was falling in love with Ron. Because I barely even knew his name. I don't know the exact time frame, but it must have literally been a short matter of weeks from when they had their first date till when they started busting out the L word -- which I found amazing because four weeks isn't even enough time for me to decide if I really like that "Umbrella" song or if I find it annoying. Noying. Noying. Noying.
About Ron, I was a skeptic the first time I met him. Dude smiled too much, bought me too many shots, tipped the bartender generously, and made sure to talk about baseball. All an obvious ploy to score approval points from me. He was energetic and very likable and was a complete gentleman to Julie, but there was just something I didn't trust, something that aroused my suspicion radar.
I thought he might have been a little too good to be true.
And when they got engaged in record time, I still wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. Julie's happy glow was, of course, enough to convince me to be the best cheerleader I could be, but to be honest, I think a lot of us were only "cautiously" excited. I know I was.
But you know what? I've never once observed a decline in Ron's passion. He's convinced me that he's not really an ex-con scheming after Julie's teaching pension. The guy loves her. Three months into their relationship, when they became engaged, Ron was giving Julie the world. Nine months later at their wedding, as they're slow dancing to Elvis Presley's "Fools Rush In", he's still giving Julie the world. And I can guarantee that if you wait for Ron to ever stop giving Julie the world, you'll have to wait forever.
I think the initial problem was this: it was impossible for all of us to fall in love with Ron at the rate that Julie fell in love with him. But if we haven't already, we're catching up fast, day by day.
Julie keeps using the same two words over and over again to describe Ron: "honor" and "chivalry", and by the way, I hate when she calls him chivalrous, because it makes me think of knights, which, I don't know, I think is kind of corny. But I came across a better word choice yesterday: genuine.
The excessive smiling, the shot buying, the tipping, the baseball chitchat? It wasn't a ploy for approval points, it was just Ron being real. Genuine.
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18 Comments
cute photo! let me guess, did they smear the cake on their faces too?
I proposed to my wife after 4 dates, had to endure all the questions people gave us but its been 6 years now and we are still strong.
When you know, you know.
Beautiful couple there!
I miss them! They look beautiful together!
By the way......that song......yea, my suggestion! I'm glad they used it, that song fits them perfectly!!!
That so nice. These type of blogs always hit me hard. :)
Awww, Ron sounds like a great guy!
..."it was impossible for all of us to fall in love with Ron at the rate that Julie fell in love with him. But if we haven't already, we're catching up fast, day by day."....
That was really well put. It really struck a chord with me because I can relate.
My family disapproved when I started dating and eventually married my wife, mostly because they were so used to my ex girlfriend of 4 years and weren't ready for a new one. It took time for everyone to get used to her but now everyone loves her and sees the things I saw in her that made me want to marry her. I must tell you the support of family and friends is such a great feeling to have.
That is great. It's so rare when a guy that seems too good to be true is the real deal. Congrats to your friends!
cute...nice wedding present!
I think you hate the word chivalry because if Ron was a knight in medieval times then that would make you.....the court jester?? lol I'm kidding.
I think my boyfriend needs to read this. He could learn a thing or two from your friend Ron!
Great post Pete. I love its candor and affection; clearly you love your friends. But please don't tell me this was your wedding gift! We don't want to start a trend of cop-outs now, do we?
I enjoy watching newlyweds for how simple they make romance look. My feeling, from what I read, is that these two will be lifelong lovers... beautiful.
Hi Mrs. Kaler, I can assure you this blog entry wasn't doubling as a wedding gift. :)
Glad you liked the post. I was actually planning to write a run-of-the-mill summary of their wedding day, but then decided I wanted to confront and think through how it is that I became the proud president of their fan club. :P
Are you still teaching or have you retired? (I'm not implying anything!)
Anne, I kinda thought I'd make a good wizard. That, or a slightly foolish yokel?
Is this the same Julie you couldn't figure out what famous person she looked like?
If so, congratulations to Michelle Trachtenberg and her new husband!
We never got an update about if you wore your unmatching tie!
Congrats and best wishes to the happy couple, im sure you dominated as well with your suit!
Wow, what a difference a year makes. Congrats to them both! You description of Ron is right on Pete. But you should of wrote more about the wedding, the pics look great.
Pete, I am retired now.