I met Carl, the founding father of Disorganized Individual Scooterists (DIS) two summers ago when I was out getting ice cream one evening. I recognized his picture from somewhere online, and went right up and introduced myself when I saw him hanging out with a group of crotch rocket guys, quite impressed that there he was on his vintage scooter amidst a group of his contemporaries on their bigger, louder bikes. I liked him immediately, his unassuming nature and his famous grin already growing on me as we shook hands for the first time. I recall that the girl he was with that evening wasn't the lady he married yesterday.
Carl Sr., father of the groom, and yours truly.
When I went to the first DIS rally that Carl had organized later that same summer (Actually, Carl called it the "Not a Rally Rally", but we all knew what it was.) I met Megan who was to be yesterday's bride, but none of us knew it then. She was a sweetheart to be certain, about the same age as my elder daughter, and I can't tell you what it was, but somehow at that first get-together I pictured Carl and Megan together as a couple even though they weren't there as boyfriend and girlfriend. They just seemed right for each other.
It wasn't until a chilly evening this past April when I went for a ride with Carl, Megan, and Jeff, another member of our little group, that I learned the heart melting part of Carl and Megan's engagement. Megan adored Carl since they were kids together sixteen years ago, and knew in her heart that someday she'd be his bride as they dated on and off through the years. I almost shed a tear when she told me that at the restaurant that evening, but I saved it and a few others for their wedding yesterday.
This weekend Carl and his family hosted the DIS rally and the wedding was the highlight of the rally itself. I was going to combine some writing about the rally and the wedding together here, but the wedding deserves its own post. I'm a great fan of the falling-in-love kinds of chick flicks (Not so much on the ones where some kid is dying, some underdog comes out on top, or animals can talk.) and Carl and Megan's courtship and wedding could be made into a movie that I know I'd love to watch especially if the credits at the end were to roll over a dark screen so nobody could see me wiping my eyes and nose into a handkerchief. If anybody had seen me sniveling yesterday at their wedding I could have blamed an errant soap bubble for landing in one of my eyes.
Carl and his groomsmen were attired in suits with ties and short pants. Megan wore a beautiful white gown with pink trim and pink sneakers and came "down the aisle" on her pink scooter. Highlights of the ceremony were the exchanges of vows, written by each for the other, with the scooter theme woven throughout. I think it was Megan who said something like, "...going through life side by side, or in staggered formation depending on road conditions." After the exchange of rings, Carl and Megan were presented with jars of two-stroke oil which they combined into the tank of the shiny, black Stella with "Just Married" on its rear on which they'd leave the ceremony together as husband and wife.
Unfortunately, the dear lady who was my guest and I exceeded the weight limit of the Piaggio so I took the car to the rally/wedding, but it ended up being a very good thing because she was suffering with sciatic pain and we left quietly, shortly after we congratulated the new Mr. and Mrs. I had to overcome a few odds and toy with the calendar to make sure that I could be there, but I wouldn't have missed the wedding for the world!
Carl and Megan, I wish you all the best as you scoot through life together. May your journey be a long and pleasant one and may the ups and downs be as smooth as they can be!
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