The Equal Time Clause of the Marriage Contract

...clearly indicates that, when one has dedicated an entire post to one’s mother and shown you an old photograph of her with her parents, the only fair, decent, and equitable course of action is for one to follow it with an entire post dedicated to one’s spouse’s parents and show you an old photograph of them.

It was taken in November 1930 when Ksanthipi and Dhimitri (for those were their names) were celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary, having been married on Albanian Flag Day in 1926 in the Albanian Orthodox Church in Fier, Albania. The couple had recently moved from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

When they became American citizens, each of them changed their names, anglicizing them to James and Carrie. At the time of this photo, Dhimitri had already become James but Ksanthipi had not yet become Carrie. Ksanthipi had also recently learned that she was pregnant with her first child; Mrs. Rhymeswith-
plague’s brother was born the following June. Dhimitri and Ksanthipi K. (Jim and Carrie C.) were married for nearly 57 years. They are buried near Orlando, Florida, where I met their daughter in 1961. My wife’s mother took credit for our marriage from the very start, saying she had caught me with her spaghetti and meatballs.


I laughed, but I didn't argue. Her daughter, of course, had absolutely nothing to do with it.