Tag Archives: John Prine and Iris Dement

Prayer of St. Francis and John Prine and Iris Dement

Our wedding anniversary was a couple of days ago. In the busyness of the last few weeks, winding down supervising student-teachers and dog sitting, it slipped past me, not unaware. Without disclosing which one it is, this a milestone anniversary.

The Prayer of St. Francis is a touchstone in my life and in the family. I refer to it in my writing and presenting. It served as a reading at our wedding and it is used at celebrations of life, particularly in my family.

I remember our wedding day clearly. There were interesting happenings. A friend got off the bus in a town an hour from where we had the wedding. Kathy drove to get him. Although others told us it was bad luck to see each other on our wedding day, we organized going to pick him up. Despite ourselves, the luck has been good as we are together and enjoy each other’s company.

Sitting in the front pew of the church, I heard the organ began to play the wedding song and I rose, shaking like a leaf. When I turned to look at Kathy and her dad, I stopped trembling and understood this was the right person for me.

Kathy and I enjoy music. We attend numerous concerts and our tastes are an eclectic, mix of genres and artists. We had the good fortune to see John Prine before he passed away. He was a singer you could not easily fit in a box with his quirkiness, while singing socially relevant songs. One song we enjoy is this tongue-in-cheek duet with Iris Dement. The night we saw him he sang the male and female parts of the song, adding to the humour.

In spite of ourselves, we found happiness, friendship, and love in our own quirky way.