Sample Feature Story

Love is in the air as a couple gets married Monday with no cake, no

dress, and no kiss.
Bride Sunni McGrath, from Yorba Linda, and groom Wallace A. Svec,
from Brea, were married by Judge Samuel McGregor in the Fullerton
Courthouse minutes after McGrath was sentenced to a year on probation for
drunken driving. Following the ceremony, the bride was whisked away to
prison instead of being whisked away by her husband. She was already on
probation for burglary and grand theft possession of cocaine, so the arrest
for drunken driving lead her back to jail.
At the ceremony, the bride wore a blue jail uniform and to prevent the
couple from passing anything to one another, an attorney stood between
them as they exchanged vows. The couple longed to kiss, but under
advisement of the judge they waved instead and blew kisses.
The newlyweds have dated for three years and wanted to get married
to avoid problems with visitation rights and requirements. Despite her
current situation, McGrath expressed feelings of content about the wedding.
It was real different. But I feel really good because I love him to
death, she said from her jail cell Monday afternoon.
The bride said she planned to send her wedding night watching
television and the groom was unsure about what he would do. McGrath is
scheduled to be released in three months and the couple has plans for a

traditional wedding with the cake, the dress, and finally a kiss as husband
and wife.

Having a long list of things to accomplish in what seems like an

insufficient amount of time is a constant struggle for people. But perhaps
there is actually more than enough time that people arent using.
Jill Laszlo, a psychologist at Michigan State University, has her own
ideas about being too busy and not having enough time. Her primary area of
research is in how people spend their time. For 25 years, she has been
studying the way Americans spend their waking moments.
People feel that the workweek has been increasing and leisure time
has been decreasing, but Laszlo has found a steady increase in the amount
of free time.
Laszlo states, In fact, since 1965, men have gained seven hours of
free time in a week, to 41 hours from 34 in a week. Women have gained six
hours of free time, to 40, from 34. Yet people feel starved for time. Where is
all of the time going? Laszlo attributes watching television as a factor that is
eating up time.
Women, she added, have more free time than they did two decades
ago, all of which has gone into watching television. Television now
consumes 37 percent of the free time of American women and 39 percent of
the free time of American men. Laszlo finds that there has always been a

large segment of the population that feels rushed, but only in recent years
has lack of time become a valid excuse.
Laszlo states, Its a convenient cover-up. Many people say they dont
have time to read newspapers, but its just another way of saying theyd
rather be doing something else. So, people arent actually running out of
time, they need better ways of consuming their time.