50th Anniversary 9/5/2015 Casey’s Thoughts

I recently went through the photos of our 50th anniversary and created a video of the celebration and party. (September 5, 2015. Most photos by Heather Taylor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeuEBcKPNXg 

I also found the audio recording of the ceremony. I have now transcribed each of our speeches. This last one is from my brother-in-love, Casey Collins.

I’m Casey, Larry Collins’s brother. To you, it’s an introduction, but to me it’s a title, and it’s a title I’ve always been really proud of. Larry mentioned we grew up in an awesome family. Our parents were terrific. There is quite a span in age between Larry and me. Because of the war, WWII, and a few other issues, I was seven years younger.

Casey 2 & Larry 9

Larry 12 & Casey 5

Larry was always there to take care of me. I was the tag-along. He would let me go with him and was incredibly kind and amazingly nice to me because I wasn’t always someone to be nice to. We had a really, really close relationship. He introduced me at an early age to surfing and skateboarding and motorcycle riding, all kinds of great activities.

Surfers circa 1969

Larry didn’t have a lot of girlfriends. Most of them weren’t interested in having his little brother hang out with them. So, I kind of got pushed to the side.

Lorna was different, and that’s why she’s my favorite. She was the one who let me tag along with them when Larry went surfing and when they went to the movies and activities. She was awesome. She didn’t separate me from my brother.

Larry saved my life in the ocean one time. I think he probably saved a lot of lives.

I wanted to mention how Lorna gained my respect. Larry was a surfer, and surfing isn’t the glamorous, beach party thing. When they were married, Lorna would go with us early in the morning to the beach. We lived in Alhambra, so we were always going to Santa Barbara or San Diego to surf. She earned my respect by the way she handled it.

For example, we would leave the house at oh-dark-thirty in the morning because we had a one-hour or two-hour drive to get to the specific surfing spot where we wanted to go before it got light. We surfed both in the winter and the summer, so the conditions could be a bit rough. The beaches we went to were either covered in rocks or the sand was full of seaweed and flies. Lorna would record us surfing on 8mm film. Then she would sit in the car and read.

About ten o’clock, the sun would start to break through to make a pretty day at the beach. This was about the time we’d load up the car and head back home because we were done for the day. It seemed so difficult for her to do, but she never complained.

When I was fifteen-and-a-half, I got my learner’s permit. I was allowed to drive with my brother because he had a license. So, I was allowed to drive on our surf trips. Lorna had a Ford T-bird, and she would let me drive it to the beach.

[Here is a video--from old home movies―of all of us going to the beach together with Casey driving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPyrJaJ4zF8 ~Lorna]

Somewhere in there, I gained a sister, because she was really great.

As a couple, they faced some challenges. Our family was so close, but no matter where it was—Chicago or Denver or later on Japan—they had to leave their friends and family, pack up Kimberly, and off they would go. I think it was actually great for them. They had no one else to rely on but each other. They really built a strong relationship at that point.

Then, they were apart a lot. Larry was in Turkey and Alaska and other places where he spent weeks on business. It kept him away from Lorna, but it made them stronger.

They were always kind to each other. They were always encouraging. They enjoyed each other’s company wherever they went. It’s still obvious they like each other a lot.

Fifty years ago, at Marengo Avenue Methodist Church, they made a vow that they would love, honor, and cherish each other. I know God smiled at that time. Not because of that moment, but because of this moment.

September 4, 1965 - Family

It’s fifty years later, they kept that vow. And they are ready to renew it again. It’s something to be proud of. Congratulations on fifty years, and we love you both.

September 5, 2015

50th Anniversary - Kathleen’s Thoughts 9/5/2015

I recently went through the photos of our 50th anniversary and created a video of the celebration and party. (September 5, 2015. Most photos by Heather Taylor) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeuEBcKPNXg 

I also found the audio recording of the ceremony. I have now transcribed each of our speeches. I'll share the last one with you next week.

My dearest friend, Kathleen Murphy Stewart, was my maid-of-honor when we were married in September of 1965. She loathed speaking in public, but she made an exception for the occasion of the celebration of our 50^th anniversary. Her husband said she practiced for two days ahead of the ceremony. She did a good job. It was wonderful hearing her voice again when we listened to the recording. We lost her a few weeks ago, and I miss her.

Chapter 1

There is a thief among us. This thief has stolen from each of us, all of us, has stolen the same thing, the same exact amount from each of us. But this thief is known to all of us, and all too frequently, never missing a visit and never missing an opportunity to steal.

No, this is not one of Lorna and Larry’s novels. As true yesterday, today, and tomorrow, the name of that thief is time. Time steals from all of us. Time steals many things, but it can never steal the most important things. Time cannot steal our friendships. Time cannot steal our memories, locked in our hearts.

Try as it might, time leaves friendship and memories untouched because these alone rest in our hearts and stay with us, despite the ravages of time.

Lorna and I have been friends for three-score-and-seven years. We share our friendship and many memories, and the thief cannot break in and steal them from us. Our shared memories stand as the foundation of our relationship.

Chapter 2

There was blood. The blood will flow. The blood was shed. The blood will incriminate. The blood will not be washed away. Perry Mason can’t make blood disappear. Columbo will find it. Sherlock Holmes will deduce it. Sam Spade will slip on it. But the blood will not be stolen from the thief of time.

This is not another novel in progress, believe me. But Lorna and I were the best of the best of friends, living two houses apart growing up from before kindergarten and into college.

One time, we really did draw blood. We obtained a sewing needle and stuck ourselves. We mixed our blood. At once we were thrilled because we became blood sisters. True sisters at last. We’d always been sisters in our hearts, but now, we were truly sisters.

Back: Eileen, Karen, Dennis, Kathy, Lorna, Suzanne, David, Diane, Kathleen

Front: Ron, Jan, John

Chapter 3

Lorna and I were together through all seasons. We did what best friends do: we rode bikes, roller-skated, played Monopoly, and had a good time all year ‘round. Especially here in California where the weather is so nice.

Chapter 4

The eternal triangle was based on many stories, was written about in many books, and was the basis of many movies. Lorna, Larry, and I were sort of a triangle. But not the one you think.

Larry and I went from kindergarten through high school together. At our high school graduation, Larry comforted me by holding my hand as I tearfully wished those days would not end.

More recently, he kept my chair from sliding down the slope at my mother’s graveside service.

Chapter 5

You’ve already heard how I got them got together at the football game.

A half century ago, I was their maid of honor. After the wedding, I used all my athletic skills and jumped as high as I could for the bridal bouquet. I was pretty athletic, but I still missed it. But perhaps I caught Lorna and Larry’s wishes for me because just two weeks later, I was engaged. And the next year, I was married with Lorna serving as my matron-of honor.

Sherry Ellen Van Clief (Cowell), Patty Hair, Claudia Sue McGee (Gates), Kathleen, Lorna

My husband is here, and we just celebrated our forty-ninth. Our fiftieth is coming up. Thank the Lord.

To bring these remarks to a close and bring you up to date, I must relate that during most of my life, I have been only an occasional reader. I read their first effort, 31 Months in Japan. But then I read The Memory Keeper, and now I have read all of their published books. This activity has made me a voracious reader. I have read more in this last year than I did in previous years. My Kindle, which is packed with books, is never far from me.

So, now I give thanks, not only for the friendship and memories of my true sis, Lorna, and longtime and all-around buddy, Larry, but their gift of adding the value of dimension to my life.

September 5, 2015 Bill, Larry, Kathleen, Lorna

Fifty-four Years And Still Counting

I have repeated some of what I wrote four years ago on our 50^th anniversary.

On September 4, Larry and I celebrated our 54^th wedding anniversary. It sounds like a long time, even though it seems like yesterday.

Through the years, we’ve been asked how we’ve managed to stay together all these years and still like each other. We usually quote Lorenzo Music. You may remember him as the voice of ‘Carleton, your doorman’ on the Rhoda show or the voice of Garfield, the cat. Years ago, he and his wife were interviewed on a talk show, When they were asked the same question, their answer was, “Low expectations.”

Of course, everyone laughed. But the more we thought about it, the more truth we heard in it. Our expectations often get us in trouble. We set them too high, and then we’re disappointed when they aren’t met. By keeping them lower, we are pleasantly surprised when things work out better than we expected.

Another quote we loved on long marriages came from Robert Mitchum. When asked about his long marriage, he attributed it to “lack of imagination.” We always thought this statement contained an element of truth.

Our low expectations or lack of imagination or the great modeling we had in our families, with many members demonstrating the value of long marriages, may have contributed to our own. Or perhaps we just managed to find the right partner early in life.

We continue to travel and write together. Larry still makes me laugh. So we’ve renewed the contract for another year.

We’re both grateful to have had this time together. I can’t imagine being with anyone else. He’s still a surfer, and sometimes I think of the ocean (and his board) as his mistress. But I knew what I was getting into all those years ago.

And I wouldn’t change a thing!

50 Years--And Counting

On September 4, 2015, Larry and I reached our 50^th wedding anniversary. It sounds like a long time, even though it seems like yesterday. The following day, we celebrated the occasion with family and friends.

Through the years, we’ve been asked how we’ve managed to stay together all these years and still like each other. We usually quote Lorenzo Music. You may remember him as the voice of ‘Carleton, your doorman’ on the Rhoda show or the voice of Garfield, the cat. Years ago, he and his wife were interviewed on a talk show, When they were asked the same question, their answer was, “Low expectations.”

Of course, everyone laughed. But the more we thought about it, the more truth we heard in it. Our expectations often get us in trouble. We set them too high, and then we’re disappointed when they aren’t met. By keeping them lower, we are pleasantly surprised when things work out better than we expected.

Another quote we loved on longevity came from Robert Mitchum. When asked about his own long marriage, he attributed it to “lack of imagination.” We always thought this statement contained an element of truth.

Our low expectations or lack of imagination or the great modeling we had in our families, with many members demonstrating the value of long marriages, may have contributed to our own. Or perhaps we just managed to find the right partner early in life.

I am personally grateful for whatever factors contributed to the past fifty years. I’m ready to keep going, and since Larry also renewed his vows, I guess he is, too.