A good friend of mine’s wife called a few months ago and asked me to call her son. I called the young man and found out that he and his live in girlfriend were going to get married. I had volunteered to perform the ceremony, when it occurred. The son informed me that no date had been set. Since they already had a child no urgency seemed needed. Several months went by and I again called the son to inquire about a date. The ceremony was again put on hold due to an impending second child.
Not wanting to get caught flat-footed, I applied and received my certificate as a full-fledged minister. I am capable of performing marriages and all other ceremonies related to my new position. I was ready to perform my duties. I also called the Mendocino County Clerk’s office to make sure that there were no further rules or regulations I needed to follow. The clerk at the office informed me there was a full sheet of instructions that needed to be followed for the marriage to be fulfilled.
Not living full time in Mendocino County, I informed the clerk that the next time I was in Ukiah I would come by the office and get a copy of the instructions.
So last Tuesday I was in Ukiah for my Ukiah High-class of 1954 monthly luncheon. I timed my arrival early in Ukiah so I could go by the county clerk’s office to get the form, which lists 7 conditions that need to be completed so the marriage will be legal. The completed marriage license must be returned in 10 days after the ceremony. An envelope for this purpose is provided. And I could still make a noon lunch with my classmates at the truck stop.
Getting the form was fairly fast, and I also was able to get some help from a very nice person at the assessor’s counter which is in the same room. I needed to change the address for our tax bills since our house and office had completely burned down in the 2017 Tubbs fire. A Post Office box in Hopland is now used for all of our mail. This form was going to take a few minutes. That was fine with me and my bladder so off to the Loo I trotted.
Coming back from the Loo I looked into the chambers of the Board of Supervisors. The board was in session. I had never met either Ted Williams or John Haschak, both newly elected. I could not read the small name tags from the back of the room so I went to the front row. I still could not read the name tags. All of this time I was standing crippled with my cane.
I can only assume Haschak always behaves this way as he started yelling something at me. I explained I was a senior member of the county, even related to chairperson Carre Brown. I would like to put a face to the names of the new supervisors. I may even wish to vote for one of them.
The next thing I know is Mendocino County’s version of Vanna White, Deputy CEO Darcie Antle, was escorting me out of the room. The Supervisors were in the middle of a very important meeting. It couldn’t have been too important as there were only about 10 people in the audience. Having her hold my arm was worth the drive up from Santa Rosa. I hope the new supervisors get a second chance to meet and greet me before Eversole gets me.
Back at the County Clerk’s office across the hall the nice lady had the form to show me correcting the address for our four tax bills on our ranch. I had now completed the two things I needed to come to the county administration center to complete. I even had time to make lunch at the truck stop with my classmates.
I never did get the envelope.
Be First to Comment