Once upon a time, there was born a handsome young bear.

young bear

He enjoyed short shorts, waterparks, going skins, 80s music, preppy clothes, occasional merengue, freedom, the free market, and a strong civil society.  Occasionally, when he really wanted to get in touch with blue-collar middle America, he would leave his limousine liberal neighborhood and venture into a different part of Alexandria. . . and that’s where, one day in January 2007, he discovered Nick’s Night Club.

Then there was a moment.  Something in the universe shifted.  The stars aligned, and through some secret and un-duplicatable combination of George Strait, plaid shirts, birthday wishes for Cappy, and certainly corona, he decided it would be OK to ask a young and impressionable intern if she had any reservations about dating someone from the office.

Are you catching on??

Let’s take it from another angle.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess.

cool

the baby princess

She grew up loving cheese, climbing trees, and carrying a denim purse wherever she went in the second grade, until she got to the third grade and became a huge tomboy.  No more pink underwear, PLEASE!

But that’s neither here nor there.

This princess got to Nick’s Night Club, and, as a relative newcomer to the DC metro area, hoped for a little something to remind her of her home in the hills of Tennessee.   But what did she find?  Hostile New Yorkers, posing as friendly normal country linedancers.  She knew something was amiss when the mysterious, tall, dark, plaid shirt-wearing fellow lied about his age and wouldn’t give her a straight answer on anything.

Perhaps she should’ve moved on to another cowboy that night. . . but she had a strange feeling in her stomach (not the corona!). . . something that told her she needed to investigate further.

Flash forward:

November 15, 2008

bride and groom

man and wife

wedding

We have a bear who still enjoys going shirtless in public, but usually confines it to the soccer field, and a princess who’s found her knight-bear in shining armor.

And they lived happily ever after!

the_princess_bride

That is, happily for the first year.

And it has been a great year. . . even though at the rehearsal dinner, he claimed he was a better cook.  Which is false.  Fortunately I (the princess) am not bitter and am above such pettiness.  It must be so easy being married to me!

I love you, Israel-bear!

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