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Feb 24, 2008 :: Sun Shine, Cabbagetown Park Amphitheater

On this lovely Sunday, I took it easy. Blake is playing out of town (driving back today), the weather is cold and a bit dreary, and Jane and I are feeling lazy. So, we just took in the neighborhood with the nice Canon tucked under my arm. I found the big chalk sun above scribbled on the circular plot of concrete just above the amphitheater--a nice, happy place close to home. Interestingly, I hadn't meant to do this, but I found myself there for a purpose.

I've been thinking, between the thousand other things in my head, about where I'd like to get married next year. I fully understand that it seems like a long time from now, but also that time will creep by in that super-sonic speed it seems to travel as I look back on whirrs of memory. It's been six months that I've lived on Tennelle? Seems like six minutes now. So, I'm trying to stay ahead of the planning (and the $$ we'll hopefully not spend) and get things nailed down, at least in principle, as fast as I can.

I've been thinking about the idea of a guerrilla wedding. We're being married by a jew/buddhist monk/internet reverend, so tradition and ceremony aren't a concern. I'd like it to be outside, if at all possible. I'd like little (if any) pomp and circumstance, including a lack of formal seating, long-winded verses and weepy moments. And ideally, I want our friends and family to stand around, have someone grab a witness at the last minute, and get on with the show. All of 15-20 minutes, start to finish, so we can get on with the eating and the fun and the rockin'. So, what if we did this, I think to myself: Send out invitations that say "meet us at the Cabbagetown Park Ampitheater at 11:00 sharp, month/date/year. Don't be late, or you'll miss it!" and then just hijack that little plot of space for a few minutes.

There's no law against gathering in public spaces, right? We might piss off the neighborhood association (or the city) that we'll be trying not to go through the ordinary channels and pay our stipend...but I think of it like this: a) I pay an inordinate amount of property tax for schools I wouldn't send a child to--if I even had one; roads full of obstructions, detours and pot holes (that many lucky people in unincorporated dekalb and elsewhere pay zero for, yet drive on daily); and, I'm sure, a variety of other city services I never, ever use. So, I think I should get to use a park for 1/2 hour or so just this once without having to ask permission.

There's my rant and my idea.

What do you think? Years from now, am I going to be telling people I got arrested on my wedding day, during the ceremony for....um...what? Bucking the system? I'd like to hear some opinions...