I'm not so sure. Neither the man who caught the garter nor the woman who caught the bouquet at my wedding ever married. It's been 21 years. But I'm happy for your minister!
By poking around with his stick, he will probably damage coral and other slow-growing reef animals. Clueless divers of all degrees of sightedness are currently destroying divable reefs by their careless actions with their hands and fins; I hate to think how many centuries of coral growth you could kill with one poke of a stick. I wouldn't dive with him (I am PADI certified), and if I had a dive business he would only get to dive in quarries. "Because you can" isn't always a good reason to do stuff.
He also won't be missed by most women and gay rights activists. He has made numerous slurs on the record against both groups, in particular his famous statement in an interview just a few years ago that he doesn't find any female comedians funny and that women were meant to stay home and make babies. He hurled a nasty epithet at the gay son of a cameraman on a recent telethon. And he has been rude to people bringing group donations to the telethon who only wanted to thank the people who contributed the money. I won't donate a cent toward his cause until his name is completely severed from the organization (i.e., no more "Jarry's Kids). And because of this annual telethon, muscular dystrophy research is overfunded compared with research into cures for other conditions. I sympathise with the children and adults who live with the various forms of muscular dystrophy, which are horrible, but until a kind, nonjudgemental spokesperson can be found, my money will go elsewhere.
As an editor, many of the things that bother the British bother me, too. I won't even start on my feelings about "impact" as a verb.
But languages change. Many years ago, when my brother was studying cultural geography in college, my parents were bemoaning the changes they didn't like in modern spoken English. So my brother started speaking to them in Old English. Once they had that explained to them, they agreed that language is a living, changing thing.
Then there's the English major I used to work with who maintained that English has barely changed since Shakespeare's time...
There's a great recent book called "Homer's Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper that tells the tale of a cat who lost both his eyes to infection just as they were opening. He never had sight and has done some pretty amazing things, like teaching himself how to use the toilet at age 11. It's a fascinating story about both Homer and Gwen and a must-read for cat lovers.
But languages change. Many years ago, when my brother was studying cultural geography in college, my parents were bemoaning the changes they didn't like in modern spoken English. So my brother started speaking to them in Old English. Once they had that explained to them, they agreed that language is a living, changing thing.
Then there's the English major I used to work with who maintained that English has barely changed since Shakespeare's time...
--Vikya
Celtic knot shamrock, men's XL