Dr. J. P. McStanigass's Personal Guide to the Immortal Nineties: Music; Rock.

What have I missed?

Rick Rubin, Thank You

I Returned to Willey a Week Later

The Two Shall Become One Flesh

Photography by Erik Notz

My best friend Steve Leib got married on July 1st. The wedding took place in Willey, Iowa.

Willey is a group of homes and farms that surround a catholic cathedral that seems, from a distance, to rise from the corn fields. Next to the church, a man and his wife are building a vineyard. I talked to them for a while. John and Rose have traveled to a lot of places. They lived in Italy for a time, and decided to do a little research concerning vines and wine. Now they are making their dream of a vineyard a reality. The vineyard sits on top of a hill where you can look in all directions to see the rolling hills of north-western Iowa.
The town of Willey boasts a population of around 180 residents, making my friends wedding the event of the month. The whole town helped with the preparations, including a pavilion outside for dancing, food for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding feast, and also a brunch that sunday morning. Even the trestle of the vineyard was decorated with ribbon.
I arrived in Willey friday night for the rehearsal dinner, and left after the brunch on sunday.

We celebrated Steve and Krystel's wedding for three days. It was amazing. I couldn't help but think about all of the weddings I have been to in my lifetime. Some were really great and some seemed empty. This celebration was amazing, the way that I always imagine a wedding should be.

I came home with a sense of spiritual rejuvenation. I really needed this experience, and God knew it. Praise the God that gives good gifts. He has gifted my friend with a beautiful wife, and has blessed me to be a part of their journey.