Melanie and Jim's Big Five-Oh!

Saturday evening we attended, if not the biggest, certainly the nicest, social event of the year. Our friends, Jim and Melanie were looking for an excuse to hold a dinner party... Suddenly, it dawned on them. "Why not hold it and celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary?"

Well, why not, indeed! I'm not sure that it happened exactly like that, but anyway, the two things - party and anniversary, came together for one memorable evening in Paradise. What a nice party they put together. Drinks, food, dancing, live entertainment. It was all here!

Y'know, for the past 20 years it seems, Dianna's and my careers seemed to share a lot of commonality, at least in the folks that we continually ran into at conferences, training sessions, disasters, meetings, etc., etc. With Dianna working for the Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs and my working for the Washington Emergency Management Division, there was always a lot of "cross-pollination" as we called it. It seems we always had personnel from fire departments, law enforcement agencies, military organizations, and so on, always around us wherever we were. So why should this be any different?

Bill Hunt (of Loreta and Bill) made us feel right at home with his Bend Fire and Rescue teeshirt. We always had Oregon firefighters attending whatever the function was. His wearing the teeshirt just seemed for a bit, that we were back in the Northwest - well, except for the 85-degree weather and the palm trees. Oh, and the thatch roof, and of course, the Belikin Beer!

(NOTE: All the photos with a date and time at the bottom were shot by Nigel Markey.
It was his kind permission that allowed them to be posted here. It's very much appreciated.)

Bill and His Teeshirt

Deema and Roger Look completely tropical. Jim and Melanie's pool provides a nice backdrop for their photo.

Roger and Deema

A bit of an aside, since we just finished having a pool built. Here's a shot of Connie and Gregg's pool at their house right next door to Jim and Melanie's. John Harris is building theirs as well. Their pool has a concrete deck and a similar design to our pool. Looking Good!

Connie and Gregg's Pool

So, on to the party. Jim and Melanie provided lots of chicken drumetts, and jalapeno poppers for appetizers along with plenty of soft drinks, beer, and assorted other liquids.

Loreta, Mae & Deema Sampling

Jim and Judy

Lots of conviviality before we sat down to eat. Everyone had a good time.

Craig and Dianna Share a Funny

Jenni and Brad Enjoying the Patio

When it came time to eats, well, let me tell you. No one shrank away from the table. What a spread - lobster tails, fish, veggies, and plenty of everything.

The Herd Grazing

Mmmmm, Good Eats!

Entertainment for the evening was excellent. Mostly provided by Abel, who normally is Mayan Massage practitioner. He and his parner are excellent singers and provided great music all evening.

Abel and Dianna - Sharing Business Cards?

Abel and Dianna

Jim's hand-carved bar was a constant focal point for the evening. Here we see Christina raiding behind the counter and Wendy - a satisfied customer if there ever was one.

Christina Doing Her Thing

Wendy Enjoying the Party

Getting ready for the serious bit now. Nigel (thanks again for sharing your photos) is talking with Jim and Jenni before Jim and Melanie repeated their vows, reaffirming a life spent together.

Jim, Nigel and Jenni

Jim - Going Over His Lines?

Now we're to it. Pastor Doug Spinler officiating and guided Jim and Melanie through the ceremony.

Jim and Melanie Repeating Their Marriage Vows

Guess They Must Have Had a Lot to Say

Part of the Crowd Watching the Ceremony

Jim Emphasizing a Point

And They're Done

Getting Ready to Kiss the Bride

It was an impressive enough ceremony that prompted a bunch of us (I'm not sure how many) to get out on the floor and repeat our vows. Hopefully everyone was with the right partner!

Earl and Gail and Dianna and Me Renewing Our Vows

Judy and Larry Patronizing the Bar

Folks Enjoying the Show

Wendy and Roger Relaxing

A Table Full Relaxing

Then it's on to dancing to Abel's "song stylings" as they say.

First Dance Belonged to Melanie and Jim

Dianna and Me Shaking A Leg

Dianna, Judy and Loreta Talking Roots and Shoots Club (gardening)

Dianna Having a Great Time

Dave Having a Great Time

You know a party is doing well when the conga line forms. Well, this party was no exception.

Conga Line Held Up For A While

Craig and Mae Doing the Boogie-woogie

“I was proceeding in a Southerly direction, milord, when I heard uh, strange
sounds coming from the Walldor place, milord. A sort of boogie-woogie music
was being played. On further investigation, I saw the defendant standing there
with a guitar and an old hat on the floor collecting pennies..."
- Long John Baldry - From the song "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie On the King of Rock and Roll"

More folks hanging out around the bar. Popular place to frequent, that.

Wendy and Roger Enjoying Themselves

Roger and Deema Doing the Same

Christina Behind the Bar

Abel Visiting the Bar - "Wetting His Whistle"

The evening's entertainment - Abel and Company and Brad and Christina. Fun music for a fun evening.

Songs From Abel and Frienc

Song Stylings From the Band

Every good party needs someone to tend to business. Here's the young lady cleaning up the mess we all made, along with security services for the party by Polly.

Marta's Happy Face While She Works

Polly Hard At It, Finding the Food Bowl

Last, and probably least, a short bit of video I shot at the party. Quality just isn't there, but then, neither is sound, as my little camera shoots video sans sound.

The Party in Motion

Lastly, I just want to thank Jim and Melanie for sticking it out together for 50 years, just so we could be invited to this party and have such a great time among such friends! It was truly special.

Thank you Jim and Melanie for allowing us the privledge of joining you in celebrating your love and partnership of 50 years. Here's to the next 50.

Cheers,
Dave and Dianna