By Donald H. Harrison

Thirty three years ago, when Marty Block, Bill Zysblat and two other friends all were freshmen at Syracuse University, they so enjoyed dating beautiful women that each boasted he would be the last to be married. 

So they made a bet—whoever was the last bachelor to stand under the chuppah would collect $100 from the others. Not long after he exchanged wedding vows with Cindy Edwards and stomped on a glass to the shouts of' mazal tov, Block on Sunday, Dec. 19, collected $300 from Zysblat—who had held the money from the two other former bachelors in trust. Block had won the bet with two years to spare.

San Diego County Superior Court Commissioner Jerry Varon officiated at the civil ceremony which borrowed Jewish customs although the couple are of different faiths—with Block an active member of the Jewish community and Edwards of Christian background. 

Himself a Jew, Varon explained to the inter-religious crowd that there are at least four explanations for a Jewish bridegroom breaking a glass with his foot at the end of the wedding ceremony. One is that the custom recalls the destruction of the Temple—an event so momentous for the Jewish people it must be remembered even in times of happiness. A second explanation is the shattered glass is representative of the fragility of the marriage, which the couple must work to preserve. A third explanation suggests the shattering noise is to drive off evil spirits. And the fourth, said Varon, is that the custom represent "the last time the groom will get to put his foot down."

The chuppah and breaking of the glass contrasted with a brightly decorated Christmas tree which stood nearby inside the University Club. The wedding ceremony was followed by singers Jon and Deanna Ramsay performing a duet of "The Prayer," made popular by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli.

Edwards, a single mother who had raised two children—Russell, 18, and April, 17—was accompanied to the canopy by her birth father, Bob Edwards of San Diego, and stepfather Richard Blake of Massachussetts. Block—who earlier had been accompanied to the chuppah by his parents, Mort and Ginger Block of Buffalo Grove—greeted Edwards in front of the chuppah, then escorted her under it, representative of bringing her to a new home. Holding up the canopy on poles were Zysblat, Dr. Steve Brody, Steve Schulman and Block's nephew, Luke Petersen of Lake Zurich, Illinois.

Fifi Stewart, the maid of honor, commented that the blonde bride was "drop dead beautiful" and a person who had pulled herself up by her bootstraps, while the wavy-black-haired groom was a "Prince Charming." In their comments to each other under the chuppah, Edwards described Block as her "very best friend and the very best man I know," prompting Block to quip: "Keep going!" 

Block, in turn, described her as "spunky, spirited and special," revealing that she was wearing two left shoes because some sales person had packed one wrong one into the box, and it was too late to rectify the error. He said he admired Edwards who after a divorce had raised her two children, and still was able to earn degrees in chemistry and biology.

In a particularly poignant moment, Block presented his bride a purple pendant in memory of her mother who recently had died. Purple had been Mrs. Blake's favorite color.

Special roles were played in the wedding by Block's niece, Karolyn Petersen, who served as a bridesmaid, and his sister, Randy Peterson. Block, a former San Diego regional president of the American Jewish Committee, called upon that organization's regional director, Samuel Sokolove, and wife, Eva Sokolove, to recite ha motzi, the traditional blessing over the bread. 

Rich Grosch, a colleague of Block's, had assembled a special video that not only showed scenes from the lives of the bride and groom, but also included a spoof meeting of the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees in which, in a mock vote, fellow trustees voted to remove Block as their president so he could spend more time with his bride.