My friends get married

Not everyone gets to come full circle in their winding journey through life.

My friend Donnie Roberts did, though.

 

Kay and Donnie perform their vows.

Yesterday. Righteously. At the Barbecue Festival. In front of hundreds of people.

Donnie married his longtime friend, Kay Gibson, on the Grand Stand Stage immediately following the opening ceremonies for the 38th Annual Barbecue Festival.

Full circle?

Donnie was the photographer for The Dispatch for nearly 30 years before his job was unceremoniously displaced in a bottom-line maneuver by the corporate ownership of Gannett/Gatehouse. But during those years, he documented every barbecue festival this town has had from his arrival in 1990 up until his job was eliminated in 2020.

That meant climbing up on the Main Stage for some iconic photographs of the festival's top performers, including acts like Montgomery Gentry and Darius Rucker, to name a few.

Sharing of the Sandwich.

But yesterday, the stage was his. He and Kay owned it for 20 minutes or so as Dr. Rev. Lee Jessup officiated. It was all theirs. It was wonderful. 

There were two really neat moments. The first came when Rev. Jessup asked Donnie if he would take Kay as his lawfully wedded wife. Donnie promptly cupped his hand around his mouth and emphatically proclaimed to the crowd, "I do!" No microphone was needed.

The second moment came when, after the "I do's" were done, Rev. Jessup presented them with a barbecue sandwich. Of course he did. Donnie and Kay each shared a bite at the same time, essentially sealing the deal. I'm not quite sure if eating a barbecue sandwich is a sacrament of the church, but it did seem like a version of holy communion in a festival where barbecue is considered sacrosanct. Good job.

Just an added note here. Kay has been my wife's hairdresser for nearly 40 years, so Kim has actually known Kay longer than I've known Donnie. It could be that Kim and I have known Donnie and Kay – collectively, at least – longer than anybody.

And so, our friends were married.

There was a nifty back story to all of this, too.

Years ago, Donnie served as the Maid, er, Man, er, Maid of Honor at the wedding of his good friend Whitney Brooks. Yesterday, Whitney reciprocated when she served as Donnie's Best Man, er, Woman, er, Man.

"When he asked me to be his best man," said Brooks, "I didn't think twice about it. Of course I would."

And so, the circle was made full.