The Anecdotal Life Part: 112
This may be one long cheer for the home team. I had a super vacation "Up North".... for about two weeks....
The impending heatwave urged my traveling companion and me to simply beat it Northward as fast as possible to Michigan. I was ferrying a great friend to an eventual meeting with her "wayfaring sailor"/husband and it was the easiest trip to the cottage I've ever made, especially with my two cats. Maybe it was something about her voice, after all we did talk for two days straight, but what are friends for?
Our plans were pretty well laid out so that upon arrival to the Crystal Lake area, we launched ourselves out of the car, through grocery and fruit markets and into the picnic prep for about 70 people coming the next day for the Fourth of July. One group, actually two groups of our regular cottagers, seemed to have acquired ten or so amiable extras looking a lot like so many gypsies. Fortunately, they turned out to be only some very sweet and thank God, helpful teenagers. Realizing we were sliding toward a slight lack of certain food supplies, neighbors ran back home, raided their freezers and we made ends meet.
Lawsuits and internecine boundary wars behind us, we quietly formed a large, tremendously congenial and peaceful crowd. It was as gratifying as celebrations get. You'd never have known we'd so many differences at one time between us. For me, the Fourth of July isn't just about INDEPENDENCE ; it's about a unity of spirit and we had that!! (Democrats and Republicans take note. )
I'd like to think I spearheaded the picnic, but even at the time I knew better than that. My "helpers" were many and too competent for me to take any ego trip. I did manage to solve a few glitches , one of which was "swiping" a tank of propane out of a neighbor's garage when ours ran out in the first five minutes. Mainly, I just ran around checking and fetching. A day later my friend and her husband took off for time together and lighthouse tours. My son and his partner buzzed off to the upcoming preparations for my great nephew's wedding. My sister and I poured ourselves into my Honda Element, minus those two"furballs" who we left on their own for a night in the cottage. We headed south and made it just in time for my great nephew's wedding to Ashley, his sweetheart of nine years.
My son officiated using his newly acquired Internet License. And, he did a stand up, bang up job of it. He does not "luxuriate" in idioms or slang like I do, so his was a dignified and well paced performance. Moreover, it was so meaningful and well written, that we all wanted copies when he had finished.
The tent for the wedding dinner was the size of a hockey rink and then some. Appropriately, they had a L.A. hockey player as best man. But no, no hockey game broke out; instead later on, after dinner , a dance broke out and I helped.
Naturally, it didn't start out that way. Joey and Ashley stepped softly from what was by then, ambient light and moved slowly into the spotlight. I began to see why there was no hurry and such a slow song.
Joey and Ashley have a wonderful disparity between them. Ashley's around five ft. three and Joey's around six ft. seven. ( Football hasn't been the same in Grand Ledge without Joey and his brother Mikey), but as a dancer, Joey makes a fine wide receiver. Watching them dance was something of a spectator sport. Dancing aside however, Ashley gave the now famous "Pippa" a run for the money in terms of sheer elegance. Very queenly that gown and hairdo.... Joey on the other hand, in his tuxedo, carrying a little glass of champagne, looked like a federal judge; he was that imposing.
Mike, his brother, now single again, danced a great deal with his little flower girl daughter in his arms. It was an excellent strategy for making headway with all the available ladies. Max, his cousin, didn't do so well at first. I think it was due to some pale yellow, somewhat incongruous sunglasses he was wearing. Later on he fared better when he ditched those and let his blue eyes work for him.
It wasn't long though before the dancing took a wild turn for the better and the proverbial lid came off the place. That did it for me. I couldn't sit still another minute. I got up to dance. It was a melee of groomsmen and bridesmaids and what have you. So I got to dance without considering my toe I had fixed in March; I got to dance exactly the way I wanted to and for as long as I could stand up. I got to dance every which way I could imagine without any social disapproval since they were all as crazy as I was. I got to dance with anybody and everybody- or anybody that was still ambulatory and still up for it. I apologized to one of the groomsmen saying I was sorry I couldn't do some step he did; he laughed and replied, "heck, we're all just trying to keep up with you." Now that's gratification of another sweet sort!!
That wonderful, beautiful wedding was followed a few days later by a slap-happy, completely bungled card game on our beloved cottage porch where sixteen-year-old Josh fulfilled a youthful bucket wish, beating us all at last...something he had been wanting to do since he was eight.
After that , the deluge, in terms of an incipient flu brought home from the wedding that brought four or five of us down. Thank God, I am still here to tell you, that was one nasty bug. It took me a week to creep home. But, no matter, it couldn't beat down the happiness and satisfaction I felt.
Hope you all had as great a fourth of July as we did.
Copyright: July 30, 2011
The impending heatwave urged my traveling companion and me to simply beat it Northward as fast as possible to Michigan. I was ferrying a great friend to an eventual meeting with her "wayfaring sailor"/husband and it was the easiest trip to the cottage I've ever made, especially with my two cats. Maybe it was something about her voice, after all we did talk for two days straight, but what are friends for?
Our plans were pretty well laid out so that upon arrival to the Crystal Lake area, we launched ourselves out of the car, through grocery and fruit markets and into the picnic prep for about 70 people coming the next day for the Fourth of July. One group, actually two groups of our regular cottagers, seemed to have acquired ten or so amiable extras looking a lot like so many gypsies. Fortunately, they turned out to be only some very sweet and thank God, helpful teenagers. Realizing we were sliding toward a slight lack of certain food supplies, neighbors ran back home, raided their freezers and we made ends meet.
Lawsuits and internecine boundary wars behind us, we quietly formed a large, tremendously congenial and peaceful crowd. It was as gratifying as celebrations get. You'd never have known we'd so many differences at one time between us. For me, the Fourth of July isn't just about INDEPENDENCE ; it's about a unity of spirit and we had that!! (Democrats and Republicans take note. )
I'd like to think I spearheaded the picnic, but even at the time I knew better than that. My "helpers" were many and too competent for me to take any ego trip. I did manage to solve a few glitches , one of which was "swiping" a tank of propane out of a neighbor's garage when ours ran out in the first five minutes. Mainly, I just ran around checking and fetching. A day later my friend and her husband took off for time together and lighthouse tours. My son and his partner buzzed off to the upcoming preparations for my great nephew's wedding. My sister and I poured ourselves into my Honda Element, minus those two"furballs" who we left on their own for a night in the cottage. We headed south and made it just in time for my great nephew's wedding to Ashley, his sweetheart of nine years.
My son officiated using his newly acquired Internet License. And, he did a stand up, bang up job of it. He does not "luxuriate" in idioms or slang like I do, so his was a dignified and well paced performance. Moreover, it was so meaningful and well written, that we all wanted copies when he had finished.
The tent for the wedding dinner was the size of a hockey rink and then some. Appropriately, they had a L.A. hockey player as best man. But no, no hockey game broke out; instead later on, after dinner , a dance broke out and I helped.
Naturally, it didn't start out that way. Joey and Ashley stepped softly from what was by then, ambient light and moved slowly into the spotlight. I began to see why there was no hurry and such a slow song.
Joey and Ashley have a wonderful disparity between them. Ashley's around five ft. three and Joey's around six ft. seven. ( Football hasn't been the same in Grand Ledge without Joey and his brother Mikey), but as a dancer, Joey makes a fine wide receiver. Watching them dance was something of a spectator sport. Dancing aside however, Ashley gave the now famous "Pippa" a run for the money in terms of sheer elegance. Very queenly that gown and hairdo.... Joey on the other hand, in his tuxedo, carrying a little glass of champagne, looked like a federal judge; he was that imposing.
Mike, his brother, now single again, danced a great deal with his little flower girl daughter in his arms. It was an excellent strategy for making headway with all the available ladies. Max, his cousin, didn't do so well at first. I think it was due to some pale yellow, somewhat incongruous sunglasses he was wearing. Later on he fared better when he ditched those and let his blue eyes work for him.
It wasn't long though before the dancing took a wild turn for the better and the proverbial lid came off the place. That did it for me. I couldn't sit still another minute. I got up to dance. It was a melee of groomsmen and bridesmaids and what have you. So I got to dance without considering my toe I had fixed in March; I got to dance exactly the way I wanted to and for as long as I could stand up. I got to dance every which way I could imagine without any social disapproval since they were all as crazy as I was. I got to dance with anybody and everybody- or anybody that was still ambulatory and still up for it. I apologized to one of the groomsmen saying I was sorry I couldn't do some step he did; he laughed and replied, "heck, we're all just trying to keep up with you." Now that's gratification of another sweet sort!!
That wonderful, beautiful wedding was followed a few days later by a slap-happy, completely bungled card game on our beloved cottage porch where sixteen-year-old Josh fulfilled a youthful bucket wish, beating us all at last...something he had been wanting to do since he was eight.
After that , the deluge, in terms of an incipient flu brought home from the wedding that brought four or five of us down. Thank God, I am still here to tell you, that was one nasty bug. It took me a week to creep home. But, no matter, it couldn't beat down the happiness and satisfaction I felt.
Hope you all had as great a fourth of July as we did.
Copyright: July 30, 2011
posted by The Anecdotal Life at 1:56 PM
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