The Wedding

 I attended a wedding last night. "So what" you say to yourself. So this.

It housed a real live rock and roll star and his real live rock and roll band doing their thing. But as great as they were, and they were, they came in a very distant second to the feeling that exploded from every corner of this place from "I do" to the ice cream bar that awaited as I waited for my car at the last whisper of the night.

This was where happiness landed. After a summer that beat the Hell out of my wife and me, here is where I remembered what it was before it wasn't for both of us. The ceremony was immaculate, filled to overflowing with beautiful, heartfelt, touching words, none more so than that of the bride, who had me at hello. And there was this impish old person, almost stealing the show with the blessings she bestowed upon the couple in a kind of Dr. Ruth meets Mel Brooks outrageous cadence. Laughing and crying happy tears.

The party that ensued was a seamless transition to a universe of zany, unrelenting, unmitigated fun. From the trick bicycle performer arriving to do what he does to the music of "I want to Ride My Bicycle" straight through to the bride playing a mean trumpet with the band, it was entertainment wholly infused with love, the answer to all that ails you, an unequivocal statement of hope and belief in the days, the years, the life that lies ahead.

The speeches were unambiguous, unrelenting in their joy, in their tale of two people whose partnership was as perfect as the rainbow that appeared above their heads just before the setting of the sun. As if that magical moment was somehow but another part of the orchestration.

The rock star was still rocking as I finished the last bite of ice cream and drove into the night. And if this summer was one for me to forget, this evening was one to remember forever.