Thank God I’m a monogamist but did I get married FOUR times

[Lobato1]

Thank God I’m a monogamist but I did get married FOUR times

.
Although it was with the same girl.

The reason is that France being a laic state, the French Catholic Church will not marry a couple until they first go through a civil wedding & city hall then updates the so call, “Livre de Famille” with the couples individual history of previous marriages if any, if widowed, etc., etc. & then & only then, will the Catholic priest marry the couple after he is shown the French State’s “Livre the Famille.
​

.
.
BOTTOM LINE:
I got married “Four” times, twice in July 21, 1958 & twice 50 years later & in the same city hall & church in Normandy, France.

City Hall Ceremony 07/21/2008


.
.
12th Century Norman Catholic Church 07/21/2008





​

Best Regards

Lobato1

 

[NightSwimmer]

Do you get double gifts too?

 

[Lobato1]

No, but almost, the French are something else.

We had begged everyone not to give us presents because we were way, way over our weight limits & in addition we would be going on a river cruise up the Rhine & if they really wanted to give something, to give a donation to that beautiful Catholic Church that we had strong ties to it.

The guy in the middle, kneeling & in the black suit, is my wife’s cousin & being the town’s mayor was very active in organizing our 50th anniversary months before we arrived in France & when I told him we wanted no gifts & my reasons he replied scornfully:

“on va voir ça!”
We will see about that!
​

& true enough, we were loaded with gifts & money.
We received a wedding card from the 2nd woman in front, dressed in green & when we opened it the following day, she had enclosed a check for 82.34 Euros & when we asked my wife’s sisters about the strange sum they explained it was the exact amount she received from her social security pension & of course, we were overwhelmed.
​

Best Regards

Lobato1

Do you get double gifts too?

 

[NightSwimmer]

Congratulations for all of your successful marriages!

 

[Lobato1]

Thanks & very best regards
Lobato1

 

[Minotaur]

Perfect! Congrats on all the marriages. Love the photos too. Sounds like a wonderful love story to me!

Min

 

[Lobato1]

Maybe we had a lot in common to share

Since we were both trilingual (speak, read & write English, French & Spanish & later we picked up three more languages plus a couple of dialects)

We both loved to travel (my wife had previously traveled to Italy, the UK, Belgium & Switzerland) & when we came to the USA in 1960 to settle down, buy a house, car, etc., etc., in less than a year we decided we still had a lot of running to do & without even asking my wife, I asked the company I was working for, to send me back to Europe until I retired a decade ago after having spent almost 45 years in Western Europe.

Although we have gone back to Europe, five times since we retired, meaning:

"We haven’t gotten rid of that traveling bug.
​

LOL & best regards
Lobato1

Perfect! Congrats on all the marriages. Love the photos too. Sounds like a wonderful love story to me!

Min

 

[BitterPill]

Les texans... that's cool.

Is that bocage country?

Congrats on the successful marriage(s) by the way.

 

[Lobato1]

Les texans

The bocage as we Americans understand from WWII is in Basse Normandie & where we celebrated our gala celebration that same evening because my wife was born there.

However the photos I posted of the city hall & church are from Haute Normandie some 60 kilometers east from there, where I met, courted & married my wife, three years later.
​

As for the, "Les texans" noun:

In general in the Europe I know, if you are born in say Arizona, New York, Idaho, Oregon, etc., etc, etc you are an American but "IF" you are born in Texas, then you are a:
​

"TEXAN"​

I was an expatriate American working in Western Europe for almost 45 years & got used to this European idiosyncrasy of being labeled a Texan in Residence Permits, Carte de Sejour, Tax ID’s, Hacienda, Driving Permit, & so many other documents that I as a foreigner was obligated to have.

But the high (or low), point was an occasion where a bureaucrat fuzzed over every letter, date & number written on my passport, birth certificate, Residence Permit then turned around & wrote on the work permit’s place of birth:
​

"EL PASO"​

This was back in the 60s & I started to protest that no one knew where a hick town in the middle of nowhere like El Paso was & the guy replied that "Everyone" knew where El Paso was, then as to prove his point looked to another bureaucrat at another window & shouted;

"Hey you, where’s El Paso?"

& the other guy scoffed & replied,


"TEXAS, where else do you want it to be?"
​

I was lucky to convince the guy to add TEXAS to El Paso.

​

& you can see how the newspapers labeled us.

LOL & best regards

Lobato1

Les texans... that's cool.

Is that bocage country?

Congrats on the successful marriage(s) by the way.

 

[BitterPill]

The bocage as we Americans understand from WWII is in Basse Normandie & where we celebrated our gala celebration that same evening because my wife was born there.

However the photos I posted of the city hall & church are from Haute Normandie some 60 kilometers east from there, where I met, courted & married my wife, three years later.
​

As for the, "Les texans" noun:

In general in the Europe I know, if you are born in say Arizona, New York, Idaho, Oregon, etc., etc, etc you are an American but "IF" you are born in Texas, then you are a:
​

"TEXAN"​

I was an expatriate American working in Western Europe for almost 45 years & got used to this European idiosyncrasy of being labeled a Texan in Residence Permits, Carte de Sejour, Tax ID’s, Hacienda, Driving Permit, & so many other documents that I as a foreigner was obligated to have.

But the high (or low), point was an occasion where a bureaucrat fuzzed over every letter, date & number written on my passport, birth certificate, Residence Permit then turned around & wrote on the work permit’s place of birth:
​

"EL PASO"​

This was back in the 60s & I started to protest that no one knew where a hick town in the middle of nowhere like El Paso was & the guy replied that "Everyone" knew where El Paso was, then as to prove his point looked to another bureaucrat at another window & shouted;

"Hey you, where’s El Paso?"

& the other guy scoffed & replied,


"TEXAS, where else do you want it to be?"
​

I was lucky to convince the guy to add TEXAS to El Paso.

​

& you can see how the newspapers labeled us.

LOL & best regards

Lobato1

I had a blast in France, and I like the French. Whenever I venture my opinion that the French are awesome, even my English relatives look at me askance.

I'm headed to Europe late this summer, and I've always wanted to visit Normandy though it won't be on this trip, sad to say.

Vive la France!

 

[Jen]

Very very nice,Lobato.
Congratulations!!

My husband and I were married in Puerto Rico 27 years ago (after having met in Italy)........ maybe we'll go back for our 50th.

Best regards
Jen