The Stories I Tell ~ from The Word Cellar: Thank God for Loving

About Me

Location: Pennsylvania, United States

I love stories. I'm the one at social functions with a dozen new anecdotes. But I worry about hogging the conversation. Sometimes I tell myself that I'll be quiet and let others do the talking. But no matter how hard I try, my stories insist on bursting out! Here I can let my stories (the classics that I tell again and again, as well as new ones that unfold along the way) run free. I'm a professional writer and editor, and sole proprietor of The Word Cellar. I write for a variety of publications and clients on everything from green buildings and nuclear reactors to entrepreneurship and the arts. If you need words written, edited, or enlivened, I can help. Contact me.

6.14.2007

Thank God for Loving

This week marks the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of marriages like James' and mine. On June 12, 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in the case of Loving vs. Virginia:

Marriage is one of the 'basic civil rights of man,' fundamental to our very existence and survival ... The Fourteenth Amendment requires that the freedom of choice to marry not be restricted by invidious racial discriminations. Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State. (Thanks to Karen at Chookooloonks for this.)

In other words, less than 10 years before James and I were born, our union would have been illegal. This is just one of the many reasons I'm glad to be alive in this era, despite its many problems. This, central air conditioning, and Rita's gelatis.

Here's to all loving couples, no matter what they look like!

p.s. Don't you just love that the defendants' name in the 1967 case was "Loving"? How perfect is that? It's like a dentist named Dennis Tooth. Or a podiatrist named Paul Foot. There's been some research into how names impact our lives. Check out the quirky science.

Labels: beautiful things, life