The Wedding Church

Cousin M and I went into the church and it was packed with people. As we looked around, I saw other cousin, Ta and her daughter, Tr off on the left side of the building. We couldn't get to them because of so many people. After we settled into a 'standing only' section, I began to really look at the people. Some of the guys were dressed in the typical Zorro outfit you see in the movies. WTF? Whatever make them happy, I guess. I began to look around. The church was large, with ceilings that were three or four stories tall. The traditional icons and gold fixtures were in place, typical of some type of Greek Orthodox churches.

Cousins Ta and Tr didn't see us. After all, Tr was getting married here tomorrow and all these people where here as a part of the pre-wedding ceremony. Cousin M and I tried to scan the audience for a glimpse of other family. Finally, we see them up on the right side of the church, just a few pews from the alter. We made our way over and forward. Thank goodness the ceremony had not started yet. It seemed as if we would never make it up to the front when suddenly, a priest came out and requested about six members of the audience make selections. What? Cousin M and I just looked at each other, both wondering, 'for what?' People were getting up and moving toward the center of the church, making it easier for us to navigate through. Suddenly, there was a huge tent in the center of the church with all the selected people standing underneath. There were men at each corner, holding the posts up while people made their way to the tent. The top of the tent had windows all around. I glanced back to watch where I was walking, then glanced back to look at the tent. The people were now up at the top of the tent, looking out the windows. Cousin M and I just looked at each other. No words were needed.

Cousin M and I made it to where the family was sitting. Cousin M's daughter, Cousin A was there, as well as, mom, dad and Charlie. They didn't say anything, but just looked at us with a rather painful look on their faces. I looked toward the alter and saw they had two displays. One was a tribute to 'Green Acres' with the head of Eva Gabor in a glass case (I was hoping it was just a wax head and not the real thing..) along with a few live chickens. The other display was a tribute to 'Gilligan's Island'. There were a few coconuts and some boat equipment there. All I knew was, we had to get out of there!

To be continued.....