Tiptoeing Toward Tomorrowland
Here we sit at a celebration dinner
For David and Lisa, with everyone a winner.
We’ve dressed ourselves in clothing fine and supple
As we gather to honor the newly wedded couple.
Here we digest food, at Claremont near the Bay,
And I’ve been asked if I have anything to say.
“I do.” “I do.”
Oh wait, the phrase “I do” was reserved for you. (pointing to David and Lisa)
The Claremont sits against the Berkeley hills,
As the human heart with glee and gladness fills.
Here I stand, the father of the bride,
With jolly jolts of joy rising up inside.
David and Lisa, you begin now to embark
On a true California Adventure Park:
As Californians in the Golden State,
You have found your ideal mate;
Let the adventure of your lifetime begin…
Later, after Waikiki, where you can swim.
Up until now you've lived in Fantasyland,
A necessary state of mind that courtship may demand.
But reality soon rears up upon its evil axis
With stuff like work and toothbrushes and taxes.
Still, with your love and resolute will,
You have your own duality-reality to fulfill.
As surely as my verses here are meant to rhyme,
You never will forget the lessons learned in Anaheim:
You’ll have a place to live on Main Street, USA,
Remembering the dictum: “After work, it's time to play.”
And so, the Adventureland of marital bliss
Will deepen with each succeeding kiss.
It boggles the mind, it Googles the mind,
To share, to learn, to see, to find
That you are each a pioneer
Within your mutual biosphere:
And this will help you to understand
The contours of your own Frontierland.
Tomorrowland is not yet here,
And I'll never see it, I fear –
I say this not out of sorrow
But simply because I've never seen tomorrow.
Each tomorrow becomes today,
Pushing the future out of the way.
Yet seeing your love, I understand
That we all have seen the Promised Land.
With those you love, you share the vision
That tomorrow unfolds with each decision.
You’ve got the Buzz, your love is fond:
You’re off to Infinity and Beyond!
Dick Hacken for David and Lisa Catmull on their wedding day.
November 10, 2007