L. Paxon: “this is a very momentous day for us all. We have once again made legislative history. I could not help, in listening to…”

“this is a very momentous day for us all. We have once again made legislative history. I could not help, in listening to the Speaker's words and the words of my good friend, the gentleman from New York, Mr. Jack Quinn, I could not help but think what a great, important piece of personal history this floor and this body has been in our lives. Susan and I met literally in these Chambers, got to know each other here, through the encouragement of a lot of you, and I think of Ray McGrath, who performed wedding ceremonies before we were even dating. He said, you guys have got to get married. Our friends got us together, they lived with us through that dating period, and up in that corner one day when we got engaged, and then, of course, thanks to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Jim Greenwood, we found a priest in a church in Pennsylvania that would marry us on neutral ground. Then, of course, the Members have lived with us through our married life, and are now helping us raise our daughter. We need help all the time. This is the kind of family that we can never replace. Members have witnessed our lives together and helped us in so many ways on this floor. My colleagues are losing a colleague today, and I am losing my legislative partner. Every single day we come to this floor and we share our lives. We are going to miss that. We think we are going to have a little more interesting dinner conversation, having two different jobs to bring to the dinner table.”