Ellie and Walter’s 50th Anniversary (example memory)

Fifty years ago this week, Ellie Castillo married Walter Rivera in the parish hall where her mother had made every sandwich by hand. They had forty dollars, a borrowed record player, and no idea what they were doing. We asked them the secret this weekend, and Walter said, “Never go to bed angry.” Ellie said, “He’s lying. He falls asleep angry all the time.”

The kids planned everything in secret — the cake, the slideshow, and a band that played their wedding song, badly, on purpose. Walter danced with Ellie in the middle of the backyard while the grandchildren pretended to gag and then quietly stopped to watch. He still holds her hand like it’s the first time.

Fifty years, three children, three grandchildren, and one very well-loved recipe box. Here’s to the next fifty.