When Harry married Meghan
About the royal couple’s vow, why Markle’s didn’t include the promise “to obey.” Duterte doesn’t want a woman for the next ombudsman: because the job by its name would have nobody else but a man?
“If I have learnt anything, it’s that we never know what the future holds, and that’s a scary thing. But there’s nothing I can’t handle with you by my side.” -- The bridegroom “You’re the strongest man I have ever met, and you make me stronger. You’re the husband I have always wanted and I can’t wait to begin our adventure together.” -- The bride
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, now known by their royal title duke and duchess of Sussex, said vows to each other during their wedding last May 19 in London. But it wasn’t the theatric stuff I quoted above.
Those lines are from the season seven finale of “Suits,” the US TV legal drama about a college dropout named Mike Ross who practiced law in an upscale, high-profile law firm. And without, would you believe, a law degree or a bar exam?
(Not so absurd if one considers that at least one Cebuano in real life--though not even close to the Ross character in “Suits”--had appeared as a lawyer in Cebu courts for many years until he was exposed as bogus.)
Ross, the would-be husband in the TV series was played by Patrick J. Adams, and the bride was Rachel Zane, a paralegal played by, yes, Meghan Markle.
Megan was fictional bride in last April’s “Suits” episode. She was a real bride last Saturday at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Her and Harry’s vows were the standard “for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health” spiel in Christian weddings, except that notably, as Princess Diana and Kate Middleton did in their weddings, Meghan didn’t include the promise “to obey” her husband.
■ No vow to obey in her vow lead to a union dominated by the wife? Statistically, according to this story, yes.
The Lord, the story says, wanted to be sure about the men’s character from among new arrivals in heaven. He told all the women to leave with St. Peter for the lounge and all the men to form two lines before him. One, for men who were dominated on earth by their wives; the other, for men who ruled their families.
Lo, all the men, except one, were on the first line; the one man, on the second.
God was upset but praised the solitary man to, ah, high heavens. “At least among you there’s one man who is an exemplar in behavior, one who acted like a real man, the leader of his family. Tell them, good man, about courage, why you’re there alone and all the others are not.”
“My wife, Lord God, she told me. She said I should stand here.”
■ ‘I’m sh**ting’
That’s British slang for being jittery and anxious. And the world watching the Harry-Meghan wedding was amused by the remark.
Not true that Meghan told Harry, “I complete you.” His sense of humor would’ve made him answer: “Now I’m finished.”
■ Ombudswoman
Why did President Duterte announce that the office of the ombudsman should not be filled by a woman? Because by its name, a man should occupy it?
The word “ombudsman” is Swedish and supposed to be gender-neutral, But even the United Nations Multilingual Term Database suggests as alternatives: ombud, ombuds, ombudsperson, even ombudswoman.
The problem apparently is not the title. Conchita Carpio-Morales, current occupant who’ll retire soon, is a woman and nobody confused her with a man. It must be the appointing man who doesn’t want a woman as ombudsman.