For any doomsayer, myself included, the past month has been a bonanza. In addition to enduring rising gas and grocery prices, high inflation, and escalating international conflicts, one of the creators of AI has predicted that there is a 10% chance that humanity will be extinct in the next decade. If this is the case, I am definitely not cutting back on my soda, pizza, donut and pancake consumption.

While hearing the dire news has been challenging, it’s been made even more depressing by the incessant political ads from candidates reminding us of how horrible our lives are and how they will be even more awful if we don’t vote them into office. (I’m Mike Cole and I approve the message that the money spent on advertising would be more useful being spent to help constituents!)

If I were an optimist, I imagine I could comfort myself with the thought that there remains a 90% chance that I will still be around in a decade with increased knee and back pain, worse vision and hearing, and depleted Medicare and Social Security systems.

Unfortunately, I’m not as much of an optimist as I would hope, though I still work hard to see joy and hope wherever I can.  Thankfully, last Saturday was one of those occasions as I had the good fortune to attend my son’s wedding and see the joy of two people who have found the loves of their lives and the hope that they are at the start of a wonderful life as husband and wife.

While my son is only 27 years old, I must confess that there is a part of me that thought he might never get married. In fact, he made this exact statement during his teens. I believe he thought this way because of his propensity to pursue individual activities and his trepidation at having to compromise his time.

As a parent, it is unsurprising that I have always hoped for my son to find happiness in whatever form he desired. Additionally, I have always hoped that he would make good decisions. In deciding that marriage was for him and in choosing the bride he did, I believe he made two fantastic decisions. He clearly thought about being with someone whom he would feel good about loving and supporting, someone who accepts and loves him for who he is, and someone who challenges and inspires him to be his best self. Remarkably and thankfully, he found all these traits in the same person.

Granted, I am his father, but I honestly believe that he is the most thoughtful and interesting person I know. While I can say that I contributed to his genetics and upbringing, I have always felt that my wife and I would have had to really screw things up for him to not grow into a wonderful person.

How thoughtful is he? Thoughtful enough that he used his diplomatic skills to protect his friends from bullies in elementary school, thoughtful enough that he became a vegan in high school for both humane and environmental reasons, and thoughtful enough as a college student that he stopped his car in city traffic while on a date with his future wife to help a disabled man who had fallen from his wheelchair on the sidewalk and returned him safely to his apartment, pushing him for 20 minutes.

How interesting is he? As a young man, his favorite hobbies were yo-yoing and solving Rubik’s cubes (that’s right, there are many different sizes). As an adult, his favorite hobbies are disc golf, rock climbing, and Dungeons & Dragons.

Needless to say, he needed to find a very special person to appreciate and support him, and that is exactly who his wife is. Though I have only spent time with her on rare occasions since they started dating five years ago (I expect much more moving forward), I noticed immediately that she approaches life with a positive attitude and not only accepts him as his authentic self, but also complements him with her more gregarious and outgoing nature.

It seems that she approaches being his partner much like I approach being his father: Let him be his true self and sit back and marvel.

As for the future of society, I’m not confident enough to make bold predictions or anticipate how AI will transform it (I can barely use a computer), but for at least one weekend, I was able to share in the jubilation of two young people living in the moment of professing their love and commitment to one another in front of their friends and family, and then having one heck of a party!

The writer retired to Enfield in July 2026. He can frequently be seen at a sporting event, rallying on a pickleball court, biking the Northern Rail Trail, or kayaking on Mascoma Lake. He can be reached at vnewstalltales@gmail.com.