I DO, I DO, PROMISE SPECIAL FRIENDS.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
James Lewis James Lewis can refer to:
Valentine's Day Lovers' holiday celebrated on February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine, one of two 3rd-century Roman martyrs of the same name. St. , fighting the dark thoughts creeping creeping 1. gradual progression of a lesion or tissue growth. 2. prostrate growth pattern of a plant, e.g. c. buttercup (Ranunculus repens), c. caustic (Euphorbia drummondii), c. charlie (Glechoma hederacea), c. into his mind. This was supposed to be one of the happiest days of his life. Instead, it was turning into one of the darkest for the 88-year-old resident. He had planned to exchange vows with the woman he loved during a special ``friendship service'' conducted by an ordained or·dain tr.v. or·dained, or·dain·ing, or·dains 1. a. To invest with ministerial or priestly authority; confer holy orders on. b. To authorize as a rabbi. 2. minister in front of family and friends. Instead, she had just been taken away in an ambulance to the hospital. All the excitement and apprehension of planning this special Valentine's Day event had proved too much for Marie Bryant, who is 76 and diabetic. ``She hadn't been eating right, and was feeling very weak and sick, so we rushed her to the hospital,'' said Gloria Miranda, director of nurses at Panorama Gardens. ``James just sat there after she was gone, looking so sad and alone. You knew he was so worried about her.'' Yes, he was, Lewis would say later. But, at that moment, it was other thoughts he was trying to erase from his mind - the faces of old friends who had gone into the hospital in diabetic shock and never made it out. ``I didn't want to dwell on to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note s>. - Shak. See also: Dwell that, possibly losing her on Valentine's Day,'' he said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what I would have done without her companionship companionship the faculty possessed by most truly domesticated animals. They are social creatures and have a great need for the companionship of other animals. Animals in groups are quieter and more productive as a rule. anymore.'' So he sat there in his wheelchair alone in the day room as an ambulance took his Marie away, forcing himself to think of only good thoughts about her. It was easy, he said - when you had so many. It was the third week of July last year, and the new arrival at Panorama Gardens was sitting alone in the garden, enjoying the sun on his face. ``I felt a tap on my shoulder, and one of the aides was standing there with a note,'' James said. ``I opened it up and it said, 'What is your name?' ``I looked around but I didn't see anyone, so I wrote my name down, and tried to figure out why someone would want it.'' A few minutes later, he got an answer. A woman walked up to him and introduced herself. ``Hello, James Lewis,'' she said. ``I'm Marie Bryant.'' And that's how they met. ``The minute I laid eyes on him, I knew that's my man,'' Marie said later, laughing. ``He never stood a chance.'' No, he didn't, James agreed. ``I was a goner gon·er n. Slang One that is ruined or doomed. [From gone.] goner Noun Slang a person who is about to die or who is beyond help ,'' he said. For the next six months, they were inseparable in·sep·a·ra·ble adj. 1. Impossible to separate or part: inseparable pieces of rock. 2. Very closely associated; constant: inseparable companions. . Where you saw James, you saw Marie. ``We talked and we talked, and we talked some more,'' James said. ``About our pasts, our families and late spouses, about what kind of future we could have together. ``With all due respect to doctors and medicine, it's companionship that keeps more people my age alive than anything,'' he said. ``It was not a question of if, but rather when we'd finally get married.'' Medicare, Medi-Cal and Social Security benefit considerations have put a legal marriage on hold for a while, Marie and James said, but there was no reason they couldn't say their ``I do's'' on Valentine's Day in a special friendship ceremony to show their love. So Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. minister Dwayne Feltman agreed to perform the special ceremony, complete with a ``Friendship Certificate'' to hang on the wall. ``If two people are in love and they both understand this isn't a legal marriage I'm performing, why not join them together in special friendship?'' Feltman said. No reason. Especially on Valentine's Day. Nathan Ure, director of Panorama Gardens, got the call about noon Thursday from Marie's doctor. She was still weak, but doing fine, he said. As a precaution, he was keeping her in the hospital a few more days. ``He said he could see how disappointed Marie was about not having the Valentine's Day ceremony, so if we wanted to have it in her hospital room instead, it was OK with him.'' When the staff went to the day room to tell James that Marie was doing fine, and that their special friendship ceremony was back on, he just lit up. He was so excited, he made his friends stop and pick up balloons and flowers on the way. So shortly after 2 p.m. on Valentine's Day, Marie Bryant and James Lewis formally tied the friendship knot in her room at Providence Holy Cross Hospital Holy Cross Hospital may refer to: In the United Kingdom:
Who needs a marriage license when you have this kind of special companionship to keep you going? CAPTION(S): photo Photo: James Lewis, 88, kisses his honey, Marie Bryant, 76, on Valentine's Day. Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer |
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