The following excerpt is taken from Santa Rosa, CA’s Press Democrat under the banner “Married – At Last.” It is, of course, about the same-sex marriage issue. Reporting on activity in the County Clerk’s office, Mary Callahan reported that…

“The shared emotion and common bond of those previously denied the right to wed, save for a brief window in 2008, made for an exceptional comaraderie, even intimacy, among strangers who appauded, for instance, when the first couple to the altar, Katie and Amy Evans-Reber of Petaluma, exited, beaming, from the chapel room off the clerk’s office.

A friend of theirs, Erin Nelson of Rohnert Park, had arrived with three dozen long-stemmed roses and stationed herself in the hallway with her infant son, Declan, 9 months, and daughter, Scout, 3, who distributed the pink and red flowers to newly married men and women.

“We wanted to be part of it,” Nelson said, then eyed her children. ‘They don’t understand what’s going on. But they understand love, and that’s what this is all about.”

That scenario is pretty much my take on the subject. Love. A picture of two elderly men kissed was included in the article. The caption read, “Don Nicholson, 91, kisses his partner of 49 years, Phil Johnson, 72, at the end of their marriage ceremony, performed Monday by Chief Asst. Sonoma County Clerk Deva Proto.” The numbers speak for themselves; 91, 72, 49 years together. For this couple it can’t be about anything but love, and a ceremony that two people who love each other can share out in the open, with friends and strangers bearing roses to honor their commitment to each other. Even the haters have to see the value of their devotion, regardless of their sex.

Jerry Tuck is a retired San Andreas resident and an indie author. Contact him at olwhofan@aol.com or use the Contact Form.