A LOVE STORY

    Vern was assigned to jury duty just before Christmas of 1984. At the long lunch break, he had formed the habit of walking the few blocks to Pioneer Square to spend a few minutes with son John in his gallery and frame shop on South Washington Street. As he was making his way along the familiar route, his eye was caught by activity in one of the old buildings; a Christmas craft fair was in progress. One of the displays was of some gracefully shaped ceramic pottery, featuring backgrounds of a textured effect, rather like coarse canvas, overlaid by the long, flat shapes of reeds or cat-tail leaves. The colors were soft grays and browns, and the pieces were unique and charming.
    The artist was a pretty young woman who told him her name was "Nan, short for Nancy", and, yes, the pottery was her own design. Her blue eyes shone and her voice had a smile in it as she explained how the pieces were made. Vern was very impressed with both the young lady and her talent. He asked if she would be interested in showing her work in a nearby gallery and she said she surely would. He explained that he was on his way to visit his son and would ask if John would care to lend her a little window space for her attractive creations.
    John's gallery, The Prints & The Pauper, specializes in artists of the Northwest. Since his father was so excited about his find, John readily agreed to look at the work if she would bring in some samples. Vern delivered John's business card to Nancy on his way back to court. A few days later, a handsome display appeared in the gallery window.
    Soon Nan was hired as part-time help, and her clever hands and artist's background were put to good use in the small shop. Her ready smile and genuine interest in people made her an immediate favorite with gallery customers. John and Nan formed an easy friendship during those business hours. Vern and I also became very well acquainted with her and with the three other girls with whom she lived in West Seattle.
    John has a home near Eastgate where he has lived contentedly alone, surrounded by his beloved music. He has been a musician since he was a child, earning spending money while in high school and paying his way through the University of Washington, as part of a rock band called "Charade". At one point, he, and a girl named Julie, performed as a twosome in local lounges, both singing and playing the guitar. He writes music. His home is also a recording studio. He has made music tapes to be used as background in restaurants and lounges. Between his music and the gallery, he had become a rather solitary, though not lonely, person. He seemed settled into his bachelor state.
    Nan is an outdoor girl. She and her friend, Donna, used their week-end freedom hiking and fishing or just discovering new spots to enjoy in the nearby mountains. Soon, they invited John to come along, and he was surprised to realize how much he enjoyed doing these things which had been such a large part of his growing-up years. When Donna left on a long vacation, John and Nancy continued their week-end jaunts and their friendship deepened and grew. Then, one day in September of l990, while the four of us were on a camping trip in the Olympic mountains, they told us they were going to be married. We were delighted. We had already decided to "adopt" Nan as one of our own. Of course, Vern takes full credit for the match. They must agree, because John asked him to be his Best Man at their wedding. We were proud and touched by the honor.
    Nan made their wedding rings, utilizing the "lost wax process". She carved them first from blocks of very hard wax, made a casting of the wax in metal, melted it out, and filled the resultant form with molten gold. They are wide, gold bands, carved with oak and willow leaves. She told us that she had chosen these because, to quote, "John is strong, like an oak, and I am flexible, like a willow." The rings are gorgeous.
    I was so intrigued with her idea that a poem wrote itself in my mind. When it was put onto paper, I presented it to them, thinking they might like to put it into their Wedding Memory Book. They loved it, and we all got a little misty-eyed. It was very satisfactory.
    On their Wedding Day, my verse had been turned into a piece of art with a spray of pink dogwood painted for a background. It occupied a place of honor beside the Guest Book, along with a picture they had taken of themselves on Bogachiel Ridge in the Olympics, where he had proposed and had been happily accepted,

* * * * *
Nancy Putnam and John Nordstrand were married in a beautiful ceremony at Tibbetts Creek Manor near Issaquah, June 23, l99l.

* * * * *

THE OAK AND THE WILLOW

A lone Oak stood in a forest glen,
Hardy and strong and content,
All unaware of how lone it was
As the seasons came and went.

A supple, young Willow appeared one day
To share that sylvan glade.
It flourished and grew and friendship bloomed
In the shadow the Oak tree made.

The Willow bent to the lightest wind.
The Oak stood firm to the core.
Each, though unique and whole in itself,
Together, became something more.

As time went by. their branches twined,
And closer they grew with each day
Until, at last, they became as one
And Love will keep them that way.

Now, woven together, the tender and strong,
Stand firm to the storms of life
And thus it will be for John, the Oak,
And Nancy, his Willow wife.

- Dorothea Nordstrand

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