the american south: do we really need it anymore?
i hardly know what to say.
PRAIRIEVILLE, La. -- Lauren Roberts was riding in a car with her aunt, Daina Sancho, to Blockbuster one day last summer when Sancho said, "Lauren, I have something to tell you. I'm in love with I.V."
Daina was a 41-year-old mother of two. I.V., the nickname for Irwin Vincent O'Rourke III, was only 13 years old. It was a good thing, Roberts said, that she wasn't driving, because the news came as a shock. [...]
Just a few months later -- court officials said it was October or November -- Daina, I.V. and I.V.'s parents showed up at the Ascension Parish Courthouse in Gonzales, seeking a marriage license.
"I said, 'No, I'm not signing that,'" recalled Judge Ralph Tureau. "Not without knowing more about it."
The couple left. On Jan. 10, I.V.'s 14th birthday, they showed up at Mobile County Probate Court. By this time, Daina was 42. Unlike Louisiana, Alabama does not require a judge to approve marriages in which the bride or groom is under age 16. Alabama merely requires that the minor be at least 14 years old, and that both parents sign.
I.V.'s parents, Irwin Vincent O'Rourke Jr. and Mary Alice Bordelon O'Rourke, were willing to sign.
"If you've met the man of your dreams, why wait?" his father told the Mobile Register.
the full story is here, but do you really think you can stomach it?
Comments
and your point?
Posted by: auntb | April 3, 2003 11:48 AM
it's a whole other planet, really.
Posted by: terry | April 3, 2003 02:17 PM
Yes, but will he help her carry in the groceries?
Posted by: Barb | April 3, 2003 03:25 PM
Barb!! Hi!!
Posted by: terry | April 3, 2003 04:38 PM
Hi, Terry, how are the children? Got any pictures?
Posted by: Barb | April 4, 2003 01:28 PM
barb, you can check out terry's weblog here:
http://www.echonyc.com/~volfie/blog/
Posted by: julie | April 4, 2003 03:10 PM
That's just nasty. That woman's children are his age! I have just turned 21 and I can hardly tolerate many 16 and 17 year olds; how the hell could a grown woman be in love with a child? And furthermore, why isn't their town as freaked out about it as I am? His own parents think it's great. What the hell?
Posted by: Krysia | May 23, 2003 07:58 PM