Say It Isn't So

Just about a week before the day when Peggy and I are set to celebrate fifty - 5-0! years of wedded bliss - we went to a wedding, and what a wonderful time it was to see two young people set out on the matrimonial path. You couldn't ask for a sweeter couple in love than Sydnie and Ryan. They exchanged personally-written vows that steered clear of the rocky cliché shoreline that wrecks so many attempts people make at being clever and original and slightly Hallmarky.  What these two did was to say in everyday words how they found love in each other and how each has made the other's dreams come true. It was the most touching wedding ceremony we've seen in many a year because it came straight from their hearts. And I've no doubt that on December 2, 2073, they'll look back on half a century with the same joy that Ms Peggy and I experience.

Lovely centerpiece

As Sydnie and Ryan departed the wedding arch, the deejay was playing "You Make My Dreams" by the two and only Hall and Oates, that 1981 Top 5 hit that still says it perfectly for people who have found happiness in each other. Hall & Oates are in their 50th year of a partnership that has seen them sell records and downloads and pack concert halls all over the world, but their next scheduled appearance is likely to be held in a courtroom.     

In happier times

A judge in Nashville's Chancery Court is sorting out the arguments as the Philly soul duo lob charges and legal papers at each other. Daryl Hall is the lead singer and songwriter for most of their songs, and he claims that John Oates broke their contract by trying to sell of his share of one of their business partnership arrangements without Hall’s approval.

You can see where this is going, can't you? What's sad to me is that Hall is 77 and Oates is 75, and while their great songs, such as "Rich Girl," "Maneater," "Kiss On My List," and "Sara Smile" will certainly live forever, these two men certainly will not.

Make me the judge, and I will rule that H&O should knock off the feudin' and fussin'. If they don't want to work together anymore, fine, guys, just sit in your respective mansions and enjoy the considerable fruits of your labors.

Besides, the hallways of our court systems are already clogged with lawyers settling the matter of whether Texas Pete Hot Sauce is deceptive, because it's made in North Carolina instead of Texas.