Skydiver Wedding

Tom Argile of Clay Park, Georgia sent in this story and a picture

I was watching the bride and groom tie the knot when I noticed a skydiver floating to Earth in the distance.

As the Preacher said, “You may kiss the bride.” all the seated guests were watching as the skydiver’s parachute became entangled in some power lines.

They guy was hanging there with his arms flailing about.

The groom, I didn’t know then, used to be an airborne ranger in the army. Tux and all, I saw him jump into action. I don’t think I ever saw a guy move that fast.

He quickly kissed his bride and took off running. He moved like lightening. Within 45 seconds he was beneath the skydiver. “Are you okay?” he yelled. The diver said he was but couldn’t reach his chute releases. The groom reached into his pocket and produced a knife. He yelled, “Catch!” as he tossed the knife.

A few moments later the skydiver was sawing at the chute straps.

The skydiver looked down tentatively before sawing the last strap.

The groom yelled, “I’ll break your fall!” And the diver fell.

And the groom broke his fall.

The groom invited the skydiver to the reception, and I (the photographer) got some good pictures.

Beautiful Bridal Gang

The Bridal Gang

Everyone knows that, as a bride, you have a kind of Bridal gang; a group of your closest female friends and relatives. Who fuss over you for almost the entire wedding day. Well, let me tell you about mine.

I had 2 flower girls: Kim and Daphne.

Kim, the 6 year old daughter of my Sister, has Down ’s syndrome. She is the cutest little girl I have ever seen, and she has the most beautiful spirit. Up until this past spring, she was unable to walk She used to scoot on her fanny across the floor wearing out the bottoms of all her pants.

Daphne, my Maid of Honor’s Daughter is afflicted with CP (cerebral palsy)/. If you knew her, however, you would understand that she doesn’t consider herself afflicted at all.

Then there’s my bride’s Maid, Lorraine. She is a Nurse in a hospital that treats childhood cancer. She has dedicated her life in the service of others.

My Maid of Honor is totally blind. She lost her ability to see with her eyes 5 years ago because of a brain tumor. How she copes with that situation like she does is a mystery to me.

Let me tell you about my best friend La Donna; she is one of the most beautiful people I know.
Despite my pleading, I couldn’t convince her to “be ‘in’ my bridal gang”. It’s funny, because the one person, who didn’t want to dress up and parade around with me, is the person who helped me the most throughout the entire day.

When La Donna was ten, her abusive dad told her she was ugly, as he poured acid on her face and body. She now has terrible scars that no surgery can fix. Let me say, whether she realized it or not, she WAS in my bridal gang, and I love her dearly.

So, as you now see, my bridal party consisted of 4 people in my life who taught me some important things.
1. I don’t take my life for granted.
2. What’s on the outside of a person doesn’t matter as much as what’s on the inside.
3. Beautiful spirits are all around us, and we don’t have to look hard to see them. Sadly, you can usually find the beautiful spirits by looking where most others are not.