. . . my oldest friends, Tim and Betsy, got married in Williamsburg, Virginia, home of our alma mater. They sent me this picture of the wedding party today, which includes Professor Ceiling Cat in statu nascendi. Can you spot him? (Hint: he’s wearing an ill-fitting blue suit borrowed from the groom’s father, with the trousers pinned up.)
Just remember: it was the early seventies.
Happy anniversary,T&B!
Later that summer, I was a member of a wedding party for another college friend, this time in Fort Worth, Texas. They didn’t take kindly to longhairs there, and it was a very fancy wedding: the creme de la creme of Fort Worth society, including many oil magnates.
As it was hot, our job as males of the wedding party was to escort the ladies from their cars to the church, shielding them from the sun with umbrellas. We lined up for our job, and when it came my turn, one monied old lady looked at me in horror and said, “Are you telling me that I have to be escorted to the church by Rasputin?”
You’re the one on the far left holding the basket of flowers, right?
+1 LOL
The long hair is the giveaway.
Is Prof. Ceiling Cat the bearded man?
The old lady’s Rasputin comment would suggest so, I believe.
By the way, what a thing to say! There are lots of famous bearded dudes, and she references the one famous for being a creepy sociopath. Gee, thanks lady…
JAC as the mad monk. That is hilarious.
CLEARLY the young lad, third from the right.
5th from the right. Could not be mistaken for any other era.
That was my guess too.
Nice hair!
Come ON you guys .. this isn’t rocket science!
Jerry gave away the hint that he was wearing a blue suit!
There are only two blue suits in that picture, and ONE of them is worn by someone who clearly isn’t 22 yet!
So by elimination alone it’s simple!
He shouldda said it was dark blue. He’s between The Beak and Sack.
On my screen they all look blue!
Oh my, that hair 😀
Fifth from the right? It must be a dark blue suit. The facial features, especially the lips, match. The “ill-fitting suit” is a bit pinched at the waist, and the 70s eyeglasses and hair of course would make sense. 🙂
Of course the first layer of thought when seeing the word Rasputin is his hypnotic effect on the Queen, but then the photos of his preserved penis (or what is purported to be) crowds out everything else. Did you mention that interesting fact to her?
It was a big pick-up line in the early 70s, and therefore cliché.
That story is hilarious. 😀
This is a fantastic photo, for so many reasons…
Finally, a photo worthy of whyevolutionistrues’s Wikipedia entry
http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/i-haz-a-new-picture/
This is the first comment I have ever posted to any blog. You should be honored, Jerry. Alas, time distorts the truth. The comment comparing you to Rasputin came not from the Fort Worth wedding, but from Tim’s Aunt Virginia, who, as reported by Tim’s mother, looked in horror at the choices among the hirsute groomsmen….and ended up with Jerry, as her escort down the aisle.
I am honored by your comment, and stand corrected. I always get those weddings mixed up! But I do remember a drunken K.K. waking me up in the middle of the night in Texas because he’d spotted “lion steak” in the fridge (it was, of course, a package labeled “loin steak”).
He was probably confused all his life why anyone would want to “gird a lion.”
Out here in the San Francisco Bay Area we have Rasputin Records
http://www.rasputinmusic.com/
which sells a lot of music from Jerry’s era that he likes.
You can even order “Best of Doc Watson”
http://shop.rasputinmusic.com/best-of-doc-watson-1964-1968/015707953528
The old photo color doesn’t bear up well, they can *all* be “wearing an ill-fitting blue suit borrowed from the groom’s father, with the trousers pinned up.”
Why evolution is true? Because we survived the early seventies and became better suited.
*Ba* *Dum* *Pish*
Where did you get my 1975 wedding photo from?!
Reminds me of all those old Open University televiosion programmes we used to have in the UK –
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/educational-technology-and-practice/educational-technology/1973-maths-beards-and-props
Not enough kipper ties.
Personally I don’t see what’s wrong with the amounts of facial hair in the picture. Given the age of the young men and the geological association of at least one member of the party (raising the likelihood of others being geological too), they’re remarkably un-beardy.
I was attending an OU Geol.Soc. field trip a couple of weekends ago. Lecturer/ trip leader had a full-blown goatee ; OUGS organiser : full set ; myself (oilfield geologist) : full set. Students : clean-shaven.
I was bearded for 10 years from 1983-1993 approx, initially so I could look appropriately stubbled when I went to see the Anti-Nowhere League!
…oh yes, & because I had bad skin when I shaved.
OMG the Hair! Its hurts my eyes!!!
Well, you clean up nice.
I like it. The look provides you with a sense of danger.