Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 2, 2010
I Swear ...
Rehearsal dinner toast, part 2
Vic Fleming
Ted won several geography bees, spelling bees and quiz bowl competitions. Where did he learn this?! Susan and I are not geographically savvy. We did not drill him on these topics of encourage game-show competitiveness.
At 14, Ted formed Fleming Technologies and began trouble-shooting computers. If you lived on our street, he’d babysit for you by night and fix your computer by day!
Dabbs and Mary Cavin are here tonight with their kids Will and Kate, and can attest to the prowess of Teddy the techie. Our next door neighbors in 1998, the Cavins hired Fleming Technologies to build them a computer – an opportunity that may have shaped the course of Ted’s career. Ordering the parts via the Internet, with a little trial and error, Ted built the Cavins a state-of-the-art computer.
From then until about four years ago, when Ted’s permanent address finally changed, the Fed-Ex and UPS delivery drivers were like part of our family. Hardly a day went by without delivery of hard drives, motherboards and the like.
Through high school Ted worked at computer stores – Comp USA and then Best Buy. He got those jobs on his own. And Comp USA put him, a 15 year-old, on the return desk. Hey, by then, he had a resume that said he built computers!
When Ted sets his mind on something, especially something that the people around him have no real expertise, then look out! He is going to achieve. And I so much admire this about him.
In recent weeks, we have been blessed with opportunities to get to know and spend time with Catherine’s extended family. Walter, Charlotte, Charlotte Marie, and all you other folks from Georgia who are here tonight, I know that you all are proud of Catherine, and your pride is certainly justified and well founded.
Three years ago, when I had only known Catherine for a year, some friends of mine from Vermont were visiting the Atlanta area. The wife of this couple suffered a medical emergency and had to be hospitalized for a substantial period of time. The husband was particularly frustrated and in distress over the whole situation.
I called Catherine at Davidson and asked whether she might call her church in Atlanta to see if someone there might go out and pay a visit to my friend. The next day, Walter DuPre and one of the members of his men’s group at First Presbyterian Church in Atlanta called on my friends. It was a visit that was very much needed, and very much appreciated. But that whole episode told me a great deal about Catherine’s character and the character of her family as well.
Since Ted had the good fortune to meet Catherine five years ago, my observation has been that, in ways I can’t really put into words, Ted is a different and better person when Catherine’s influence is in his life. Now Ted’s a good person before that magic starts to click, but when Catherine enters the picture, it is transformative. In the slide show that you’ll see later, look at the expression on Ted’s face in the pictures that feature just him and Catherine, unposed. You’ll see what I mean.
The slide show is part of my toast to the bride and groom, and for reasons that I think you’ll agree with, we’ve chosen to put it at the foot of the docket.
So, for now, Ted and Catherine, on this, the eve of your wedding day, I offer you this blessing, using the words of a song:
“I wish you joy. I wish you lots and lots of happiness. But most of all, I wish you love.”
Vic Fleming is a district court judge in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he also teaches at the William H. Bowen School of Law. Contact him at vicfleming@att.net.
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