No rice, please

A wedding without rice? That would be like Damon without Pythias, or spring without baseball.

But there's such a proposal in the Connecticut legislature: ``An act prohibiting the use of uncooked rice at nuptial affairs.'' It demands that ``no person shall throw, fling, cast, or hurl any uncooked rice at any time during the celebration of any marriage.''

The reason: Eating uncooked rice is not good for the birds in attendance.

Phooey.

Throwing cooked rice is not so good, either, especially for the just-marrieds.

Besides, most couples don't invite birds to their weddings, other than penguinesque fathers-of-the-bride. Not birds with feathers, anyway.

Of course, every guest list does include those other ``birds'' -- characters with peculiar idiosyncrasies. But even they rarely stoop to eating uncooked rice off the ground.

And never in formal dress. ----30{et