The most adorable wedding of the season happened yesterday to a couple I've known for over 20 years, longer than my daughter has been alive. A very old friend of mine parents just got married. (very old...he's 40-Hereafter known as My Adopted Little Brother) Yes you heard that right his mother and her long time love finally decided to get hitched. They are quickly approaching retirement age, but that didn't stop them both from living life and celebrating their love with us all.
Attending this warm ceremony did three things for me:
1. It reminded me that it is never too late in life to find true love and celebrate it.
2. It reminded me of how alone I am. I felt more single with them all then I ever do in the Twin Cities with my other married friends. . .that is a real puzzle....am i that shallow? Am I that focused on myself that I felt like a square peg in a round hole being stag? I know one other thing it showed me while I'm on this topic. I can't be around this group and not miss my ex that I was dating during that time. Maybe I just missed his presence. And not just having him on my arm, which is impossible now, as he is otherwise engaged emotionally, but it would have been nice to just see him and his wife out having a good time together. Maybe that would have had me miss the idea of him less. I don't know, it's a puzzle, but one I'm bound to figure out, given enough time and thought.
3. The preacher and his wife and congregation were something out of a Stephen King Dark Tower/Needful Things/teener episode. The writer in me couldn't resist giving them each a worthy and appropriately evil role in my imagination of how they hypnotize the otherwise 'normal' town and bring out the more animalistic nature. . but i digress.
My favorite observation of the night is without a doubt a story that I heard from two different sources, and each had a slightly different version of the story, depending on their point of view. I will condense it into the complete version as heard from all, but keep in mind each star had their own 'innocent' point of view of how this actually happened. Names changed to protect the guilty. (clears throat)
My Separated At Birth Littlest Brother has a VERY large sweet tooth. . . My Adopted Little Brother, and Mr Tumbling Down After both know this, and I had commented in front of by brother's wives and them (individually of course) that My Littlest Brother was continuing to pull quite a LARGE amount of jelly beans out of his pocket. (jelly beans were on every table at the reception tied up in nice white netting and in small enough sizes to be palmed quite easily and pocketed. . . hum.....) My Littlest Brother was only grinning ear to ear at this comment and looking at me like this couldn't surprise me. The story ensued to impress and confound me.
It was Oktoberfest and on this yearly celebration the 3 hour long parade is famous for floats from area business and charities, which throw candy out to all the children lining the parade route with their slightly drunk and hung over parents. GREAT Wisconsin tradition and one we all attend. These couples were there as usual and Mr. Tumbling Down After 'dared' My Separated At Birth Littlest Brother with the following "I dare you to go out there and get some candy." Now of course he denied daring, although when questioned admitted he was pretty drunk at the time and might have, bringing a familiar chuckle from My Adopted Little Brother and making me wonder if he hadn't instigated the entire thing from the shadows. My Separated At Birth Littlest Brother smiled like a cat stalking the elusive cream, and continued, "I waited, and when the next float came by and the candy was thrown, the kids all ran and jumped for the candy, and I LEAPED OVER them all screaming "MINE! MINE!" I couldn't resist seeing Gollum in this image of him. My Adopted Little Brother and Mr. Tumbling After both gave me great expressions of the children's faces as they cowered in fear from the image of this adult man grabbing candy away from them.
As My Separated At Birth Littlest Brother sauntered back to his friends, with his fists full of candy My Adopted Little Brother says, "Really? Really, man? You could BUY candy." The smiles from each of their wives were 'all knowing', as was mine.
I love this story, and it reminds me of why I love them all so much, and miss them in my life. I will try to see them more often, maybe it will make me feel less alone with them and more like myself. Wish me luck in trying, it's hard for me to walk across burnt bridges, even if they are still standing.
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