Acknowledgements

If Anna Resvik had not left some hick town in Norway to sail the Atlantic and bring her radiant self to the shores of the proverbial Lake Wobegon and if the poor, tired, huddled masses yearning to breathe free of the Andrew Family had not decided to get the hell out of England and settle in the sunny state of Georgia and if the guitar had not touched Sam Andrew (the Third) so much and if he had not decided to go to San Francisco and meet the sweet woman from Minnesota who is seriously the sweetest woman and if Seattle’s houses had not been so damn cheap in 1986 and if San Francisco’s houses had not been so damn expensive, and if Suzanne had not said, “Soreya is a dumn name for a baby and you know it, let’s please call this thing Mari” and if Harold had not been the most selfless man in all of history and never complained once that he basically had a miserable childhood and if Seattle had not been so beautiful but so small and if Arielle had not taught me about the Bible and forced me to go to that dorky Christian club that I was so ashamed to go to, and if French had not been such an alluring language and forced me into wanting to study in France and if that Italy calendar had not been on the red-headed girl’s wall and made me study in Italy after all, and if Rosie Thomas had not written “2 Dollar Shoes” and if Chris had not been the cutest boy and if Chicago had not had the tulip festival when I visited, and if Dr. Rabe had not been the most glowing woman in the history of America and if Joe had instead said “Girl, out of my face” instead of being the most kindred of spirits and the most humorous of humorists and if Megan had not asked me how Italy was and then that guy didn’t ask us if we liked J-Lo and if Lise had not been neurotic too and if B hadn’t been so lovely with his excellent outfits and his stunning letters, if he had not sent me roses all the way from Paris and told me I was his bird, if I hadn’t felt that perhaps it was the time to release him, perhaps, and if RJ hadn’t said, “How about the Anglican Church?” and if Priest Sarah hadn’t been the most fabulous of women and if Tyler and Kelli hadn’t kept saying “We don’t want to sing songs out of hymnals, you Catholics!” (or basically) and if Guatemala had not been so achingly gorgeous and if Michael had not sat with me on the couch and listened to crazy jazz and made fun of me for loving VHS videos and been so completely dazzling and if my chemistry professor had not been blessed with the mercy that God has bestowed upon him during grading week, and if Chicago hadn’t had such a fine assortment of neighborhoods and if the winter hadn’t stopped just before I was about to give up and if Whipple Park didn’t have all the Ecuadorians playing soccer in it and if that old man hadn’t said “You remind me of my mother” and if that one bloke hadn’t said “Eres bella” and if the Grind had not fed me iced soy lattes and bagels with hummus and if Kristina had not accepted me just as I am and if that stained glass window at church didn’t exist and if forgiveness was not feasible and if I did not take such delight in all people everywhere who are so beautiful, then I would not be graduating college this Saturday and everything would not be as glowing as it is.