Good evening, everybody. My name is Joe Blake, and it is my honor to be here tonight at Ryan and Autumn's beautiful wedding, as Ryan's Best Man.
I have know Ryan for...24 years. 24 years! That certainly make me feel old, and I know it makes our parents feel even older. I first met Ryan when my family moved two houses down from the Rouses on Madison Street in Richmond, Michigan. Ever since we moved in, our families have always been close. Donna, back then she was Mrs. Rouse, helped watch me and Ryan when we had the chicken pox. Dena would play hide-and-go-seek tag with us, but only after we played pretend store. And Ron, Mr. Rouse, was the enforcer, making sure these two boys didn't get too far out of line. And two young boys we were - always looking for fun. Sure we got into our fair share of trouble along the way, but that is what boys do.
When we were younger, one of the greatest places to be was King's Hill. Looking back, King's Hill wasn't too kingly - just a pile of dirt 10-15 feet high. But back then it was so cool! One winter, Ryan and I finally were old enough to go to King's Hill by ourselves. One day, we went sledding. After a couple times down the hill, I was climbing back up, and one of the older kids that was there threw their metal sled down at me. It hit me in the head, and I tumbled all the way down. At the bottom of the hill, Ryan put unconscious Joe into his sled, pulled me the 200 yards back to my house, knocked on the door and said 'Mrs. Ruth! Mrs. Ruth! Joe's hurt.'
Just a few months later, it was summer, and Ryan and I were searching for pieces of wood near King's Hill to build a fort. I'll spare you the details, but I found a piece of wood AND a rusty nail with my foot. I fainted. Ryan picked me up, carried me 200 yards to my house, knocked on the door and said 'Mrs. Ruth! Mrs. Ruth! Joe's hurt.'
As the years progressed, we had a lot of good times. But as high school ended, college took me over to Pennsylvania and Ryan ended up on in western side of Michigan. But thanks to cell phones, emails, and IM - we always kept in touch and didn't let our friendship fail.
And it was when Ryan was on that side of Michigan when I knew something happened. Ryan started telling me about this cute blonde girl that lived on his floor. Now, Ryan isn't one to talk and gossip about who he likes, who he thinks his hot and such. So when Ryan started talking about Autumn, I knew she must have been something special. One year I went to go visit Ryan. It was a Saturday morning, and we were just sitting up talking, watching tv, when there was a knock on the door. Autumn came over to ask a question or borrow something. They talked for a few minutes. After she left, Ryan came back over and I didn't even have to say a word. I just looked at him, and he said 'Yeah, that's her.'
Sure enough, some time after that they started dating and going on the wonderful path that has lead them to where we are today. And it was during that time when I learned something very important about my friendship with Ryan. All along I had thought we were partners in crazy - always egging the other one on. But after Ryan met Autumn, it turned my world upside down. You see, Ryan and I used to visit the exotic foreign country of Canada. Autumn and Ryan went to the Caribbean. When Ryan and I were younger, it was cool to snap each other with rubber bands and give each other temporary welts. Autumn and Ryan got permanent tattoos. And when we were really young, despite our parents warnings, we would jump off our beds. Autumn and Ryan actually have jumped out a plane! Here I was thinking we were partners in crazy, and now I realize I was just along for the ride and Ryan was the leader!
One of the craziest things I ever let Ryan do was talk me into running cross country. For those of you who aren't aware, cross country is a "sport" where you run 3.1 miles. [Dena laughs] You like that, Dena? There's no ball. There's no bases. There's no touchdowns or homeruns. You just run...a lot. Now this was Ryan's sport. He just excelled at it. I was horrible. I couldn't even run from here to that door without being out of breath! But you know what, I did it anyways. There wasn't one race where Ryan didn't beat me. He was so good. This is one of the greatest things about Ryan. No matter what race, after he ran as hard as he can, after he was completely exhausted, he would suck some wind, put on his neon green warm-up pants, grab a water, and he would start walking the course backwards. And he'd continue walking backwards until he saw me come around the corner towards the finish line. As I approached he scream 'Let's go, Joe! Let's go! This is your time. This is your race. This is what you've been training for. This is what you've been waiting for! Don't quit! Don't quit! Don't quit!' I don't think I've ever thanked Ryan for all that encouragement. It meant so much to me. Thank you.
Autumn, this is type of guy you have married. Even when he's exhausted - even when he's completely spent - he is there for his friends - he is there for his family. That is something so valuable, so important...That is something that almost everybody could pray for.
I never had the same chance to encourage Ryan in cross country like he encouraged me - he beat me every time. Now I know high school was many years ago, and this certainly isn't a cross country race, but now it is my time I can encourage you. I ask you all to raise your glasses with me. To Ryan and Autumn: This is your time. This is what you've been waiting for. Don't quit. Don't quit. Don't quit.
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