Saturday, April 5, 2003

While I usually remove myself from large crowds, gentle reader, I discarded my modus operandi for a night and thoroughly enjoyed myself at Janet and Dan’s wedding.

For me, the ceremony began with some uncertainty as I ran my duties of an usher through the SCREW-UP machine. Repeatedly. I promptly forgot the concept of “walking slowly and rhythmically” and unceremoniously dragged Dan’s charming grandmother down the aisle–picture a guy linking arms with a woman 3.5 times his age and dashing down the aisle with her at 5.5 times her normal walking speed–and I apologized to the gracious woman afterwards. The damn floral and lace arrangements that blocked off the pews confounded me as tried to unhook them during dismissal, but the congregation thankfully unhooked them for me.

Despite these mishaps and perhaps a thousand other small mistakes (including those of others, natch; I’m not that daft, you know), the ceremony came together, and it was amazing.

And then the reception collected all of us, and there was certainty in the clanks and the clinks of silverware, the coughs, the chatter, the kissing, the laughter, the inebriated singing, the couple smiling, the chandeliers swaying merrily in a breezeless room, the spectacle of normalcy done tastefully. Janet’s father, who currently holds pole position in my ranking of model fathers, looked equal parts dazed and proudly happy and danced like a dervish.

Past and present gathered in a room for an evening and gave way to the future. The noisy confluence of acquaintances old and new–Owen, Viv, Jeff, Tim, Susan, Wailin, Linda, Tash, Jeff, Matt, Carol, all in the same room with church people and raucous relatives–will remain in my mind’s eye and ear for some time. And so we danced, gorged, imbibed, and a good night was had by all.