A little over fifty years ago I went to a wedding and a reception. My parents insisted it was important for me to be there because I was the groom. I cut short the basketball game with my buddies, got cleaned up, put on my rented tux and made it to the church in plenty of time.
I don’t remember much about the ceremony because it was over fifty years ago, and I have trouble remembering what I ate for breakfast thirty days ago. I do remember the preacher insisting on traditional wedding vows. I had no idea what ‘pledging my trough’ meant back then, and I still don’t have a clue. Sheila hasn’t complained about it, so I guess I’ve done all right.
Our church didn’t have a room for the reception, so we used a room at the other Nazarene church in town. Today people spend thousands and thousands of dollars on fancy receptions. We didn’t have any money, so our reception was rather simple. We had a cake, of course, maybe some sandwiches and punch. I could ask Sheila for more details but she might get agitated because I don’t remember. I don’t want to upset the ‘pledging my trough’ thing whatever it might be.
People did give us gifts, and I think we might have opened them at the reception. Again… not going to ask…
I have no clue who gave us what, or how many gifts we received, or anything like that… except for one item.
I’ve always called it the ‘Hamburger Pie’ dish because we don’t use it for anything else. Hamburger Pie was one of the first things – other than pasta – Sheila learned to make. It’s really our version of Shepherd’s Pie. The basic ingredients – hamburger, corn, French-cut green beans, a can of tomato soup, topped with mashed potatoes and a couple slices of American cheese, – haven’t changed. At times we add onions, baby carrots and even bacon bits occasionally. Everything is better with bacon except maybe lemon Jell-O.
I still enjoy hamburger pie to this day. I don’t know what we would do if our ‘Hamburger Pie’ dish ever broke. You might think we’re silly and we could replace it with something new, but it wouldn’t be the same. How can you replace fifty years of hamburger pie creation?
I’m also thankful that sometime soon after our wedding, we lost the ‘Tuna Casserole’ dish. I grew up eating tuna noodle casserole, and if I never eat it again, it will be okay with me.
“Hey! Can we have hamburger pie for dinner tonight? We haven’t had it all week.”