Bryan sent me a screen capture image he extracted from a video he took at a great party we had before Lorena and I got married. In June of 1992, Lorena flew to Oregon from Monterrey for the first time to spend a couple of months to get to know my family. She stayed with Grandpa Milo and Grandma Sarah at their house with the big cement pond outside of Newberg. I lived in Boynton Beach, Florida at the time and worked for Motorola at the time, but flew back to Oregon to spend the Fourth of July weekend with Lorena. We threw a big party for all our friends to introduce Lorena to them and to celebrate Grandpa Milo’s and Grandma Sarah’s 39th wedding anniversary. It was a great party.
Lorena and the weather were both beautiful. Lorena made her famous frijoles a la charra (cowboy bean soup). Lorena worked hard to get them just right. Right before they were served, Grandpa Milo poured off all the broth because he assumed that they were just supposed to be beans with a few condiments and that Lorena had somehow gotten it wrong. Lorena was horrified and did not say anything. The beans still tasted great, but I guess it just was not part of his paradigm that Mexican beans should be in a soup. We harrass him about that to this day–the broth is the best part.
The future best men (Byan and Warren) at our wedding were both there along with about a hundred or so other people. In Mexico they have two testigos instead of just one best man. It was honor to have both of them stand up for me. Paul and Beth Bellam were there. Paul gave a fabulous toast to commemorate both the anniversary and the engagement. Warren played his guitar and sang to entertain the crowd.
Lorena says she loved her stay with my parents. The hardest part was that it was so quiet out at their little farm. Lorena grew up in a city of about four million people with lots of traffic and neighbors who lived very close. She and Grandma really hit it off. All of my family and friends loved her and she loved them back. Lorena stay with my folks capped by that great party were a great confirmation of what I already knew–I had hit the lottery when Lorena agreed to marry me.
This picture surely brought back great memories. Thanks Bryan.
