The Wedding of the Century

But first. An apology to our leaders in Washington. In a recent blog I stated that they were not fit to run a flea circus. I should have been more specific. They are unfit to run a flea circus with actual fleas. They are eminently qualified to run to run one where the impresario cons the rubes into believing they are seeing what are really imaginary fleas. One argument for constantly re-electing these chumps is to keep the bunco artists all in one place. It's hard enough to buy a good used car without having to deal with ex-congressmen.

So the wedding of the century. I love western Massachusetts-you can hardly hear the Bostonians congratulating themselves on being the Hub of the Universe. The wedding took place in Westfield at a beautiful new Catholic Church. We have a great variety of church architecture here in Easton, but the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Westfield is truly spectacular with an outstanding blend of the traditional-exquisite stained glass- and a modern layout that somehow seems more welcoming than old fashioned churches. Perhaps it was the semicircular design that was a startling break from the old linear approach of churches and cathedrals. The church also featured lovely warm-toned woodwork and thoughtful detailing-for example the exterior shutters had cutouts in the shape of the chalice used in the Mass. The wedding ceremony was performed by an old family friend who had baptized the bride. Once, forty years ago, I had been a groomsman in a traditional Polish Catholic wedding and expected a lot of kneeling-(actually I mostly remember kielbasa, pierogies and beer at the post-reception reception), but while forgoing the kneeling, yesterday's ceremony was warm, charming, and worthy of the mystery of the sacrament.

The reception was at the Log Cabin at the foot of Mount Tom. A place I was first acquainted with also forty years ago when I bus I was riding home from UMass was diverted over the mountain and down the very road by the restaurant! The reception dinner was wonderful with a remarkable ending. The traditional chocolate mousse desert hid a fabulous raspberry sauce under the mousse. One should be warned of these things because most adults approach mousse with respect and small spoonfuls. Folks that thought it was puddin' dug right in and hit the raspberry jackpot with a good dollop of chocolate!

I'll be spending the next several weeks editing the video footage shot by my crack team of cameramen while waiting for the returns from the still photographers who do a much better job of shooting weddings than videographers. Better lighting with the flash, better composition from a skilled photographer, and no loud background music are all reasons to prefer the wedding album to the wedding DVD. However,  I will be encouraging the happy couple to restage the reception dancing in a well lighted studio as an Easton Community Access Television reality show called Find the Dancing Teachers.