I wish to take a point of personal privilege in this article. On July 4, our nation celebrates the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
There is another important anniversary in my life that is celebrated on July 4. On July 4, 1948, Robert Cole and Mary Earline Ross stood before witnesses and made a vow to each other to enter into Holy Matrimony.
The vows went something like this:
“I, Robert, take thee Earline, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better – for worse, for richer – for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
My mother repeated the same vow to my father. The minister then declared that the two were husband and wife.
The event was so important that they obtained a license from the local courthouse and filed the document. They were a legal entitity with certain rights, privileges, and responsibilities to each other and to their community.
The most basic of social institutions, a family, came into existence with a simple declaration. Their income tax status changed. She took his name. They combined their belongings and moved in together.
A few years later, Robert took a job at Robins Air Force Base and purchased land in Bonaire. Robert, Earline, and their new baby boy moved to Bonaire and lived in a tiny trailer while Robert built a house for his family. Three years after their first child, they had a daughter.
They not only built a house, they built a home. They invested their lives in their community and their family. They still live in the same house that my father built.
Just last month Robert celebrated his 92nd birthday. It won’t be long before my mother turns 90.
They do not have the disposable income that they once had. They are not as healthy as they were when they said their vows to each other.
When they said to each other, “from this day forward.. for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health” they meant it.
They still love and cherish each other. Death has not yet parted the two and death will be the only thing that parts them.
On July 4, I wish Robert and Mary Earline Ross Cole a happy 70th anniversary.
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