[Magdalen] Thanksgiving--Swamp Mom-in-Law!

[Jay Weigel]

Prayers of thanksgiving are in order for the last of my Swamp Rats to get
married. Michael Jones, who was one of the first Swamp Rats, married Kelly
Loveday on Saturday last. I can now breathe a sigh of relief <g>

Michael my Adam got in and out f scrapes together through high school but
somehow survived them. They worked at Dollywood in the summers, played loud
music in the basement, chased girls, and of course managed to endear
themselves (and irritate) several sets of parents. Then Michael split off
from the group and dropped out of sight. By his own account (told to me a
year and a half ago) he got heavily into drugs and dropped out of school
his last semester. One day, he said, he woke up in a nasty house, looked
around, and wondered what he was doing. He somehow managed to get himself
together enough to call his mom and ask if he could come home. She told him
only if he went to detox and got good and clean first...which he did. After
that he straightened up, took the money his grandparents offered, and went
off to the evangelical college they specified, where he spent three years
before transferring to UT to earn his degree in English...,magna, he told
me, without pride. He also embarked on a brief, ill-fated marriage to a
girl he'd met at the evangelical college, which lasted about 3 years. After
UT, he headed for New England and a master's at Emerson, then a PhD in
English Lit at UConn, where he taught for a number of years. He moved back
to Tennessee several years ago when his mother became ill and has been
living there and teaching at ETSU and looking after his stepdad (who was my
P&A instructor) since. I don't know exactly how long he and Kelly have been
an item. but I'm delighted that they are now married.