Adventures in Reading for the Wedding

The Auspicious Jots clan journeyed to PA for my brother's wedding last week. The drive was horrible. The rehearsal dinner was great. My bro looked like a stud muffin and his bride was beautiful and gracious. (Trust me on that one, none of my pics turned out of her.) The groomsmen wore matching brown Converse. The band at the reception played that oldie and goodie whose chorus is something like "Then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you" and the singer sang it to me. (Yeah, I'm a sucker for that move. If you're not, your heart has turned to cold slick granite. Or so I told my husband when he returned to the table after the song and asked me why I was grinning like a fool.) All around blast.

Lots of pictures were taken. The cousins pulled a few pranks, mostly goaded by yours truly. Nothing like a minister to up the practical joke ante at a wedding. Luckily my cousins range in age from 16 to 26 and they were down with the program. Below is the masterpiece that awaited me after a trip to the ladies' room. They tell me it was a group effort.

My sister is always up for some fun so she kept the rug cut out on the dance floor, had a hawk's eye on our rambunctious children, and looked like a goddess in a bridesmaid dress. Honest to holy, I do believe she could wear that dress again. No, really. The sunglasses, however...

Weddings are times for nostalgia. Many of us talked of Grandma Frances who died a few years ago in her nineties. We sorely missed my brother who could not make it, but whose son stood for him in the groom's line. We marveled at the fact that Grace can legally drink a gin and tonic. ("For Pete's sake, I'm 26!") And some of us quietly said prayers of thanksgiving and hope for the family member undergoing radiation treatments who was loudly shaming the rest of us to join her on the dance floor. We could barely keep up with her.

One of my favorite moments of the weekend, I uncharaceristically managed to capture with my camera. There was a thunderstorm after the rehearsal dinner. My son and I were still awake and he watched the spectacle out the hotel window.

This picture speaks volumes about my life, and about my family. His little askew jammies with astronauts. His sister's little pink sandals and his father's big shiny shoes together. His attempts to be the big man, but still being amazed by all kinds of little things I take for granted. My attempts at capturing some of the dozens of charming, funny, sweet things that my family does every single day. It's all there. Luckily, wedding nostalgia had a hold of me and I got a picture of it.

Mazel Tov to the bride and groom. Last I checked they were in Istanbul being mistaken for American soap opera stars. Long live the beloved family. Somebody find that lead singer. I want to hear Cole Porter's "So in Love!"

Shameless plugs and Unintentionally shameless plugs

Found a great post at The Cleaner Plate Club. Attention single women who are pro-organic farming, looking for a male mate, and ready to work your tails off. This guy is uber impressive. (If only I could find an umlaut on this keyboard...) Bravo to Cleaner Plate Club for giving him a shameless plug. I include his photo as an encouragement to head over to her site(for the farming info, of course) and also because he bears an eerie resemblance to one of my best buddy funeral directors who is about the same age, but hanging out in rural Virginia.

Speaking of shameless plugs... it would appear that I am not an unbiased, common gal on the street reporter. Went back to Kitchen 64 for a quick lunch with the kidlets today. Turns out that I know most of the honchos and honchettes around that joint. Distantly, but I still know them.

Oops. Please believe me when I say, I really didn't know that when I posted before.

But now that I know, please let me also say that these are REALLY nice people. I mean REALLY. Hard working, kindhearted, haven't been home in 3 weeks because they're slaving over the labor of love that is Kitchen 64 kind of people. And thanks to an anonymous comment on my last post I checked out the entrees. Wow. So what do ya' say, Northside? Let's keep this one going after all the tourists stop filling it.

Shameless plug transmission ended.

Peace and Remembrance

Here's something to make you wake up and smell the grumpee. Do I need to reiterate my Emerson quote from Sunday? Somebody isn't paying attention.

See D. Haffner's post on the emcee heckling she and other peace supporters received on Memorial Day.

Crib notes on peace for those with limited attention spans...
When soldiers don't die at war they can be with their families and hopefully die of natural causes at a much later date. This will make for less parades, yes. But, oddly... it seems to make the soldiers and their families happier.

It is an amazing thing, but you really can respect and honor the sacrifice of veterans while praying for peace.

History class in the UK - rated I for inane

The Good Atheist strikes again, thus earning himself a spot on my links and a hyperlink for you. This time he is taking on history curricula in the UK and good for him.


From the Daily Mail...

Schools are dropping the Holocaust from history lessons to avoid
offending Muslim pupils, a Governmentbacked study has revealed. It found some
teachers are reluctant to cover the atrocity for fear of upsetting students
whose beliefs include Holocaust denial. There is also resistance to
tackling the 11th century Crusades - where Christians fought Muslim armies for
control of Jerusalem - because lessons often contradict what is taught in local
mosques.
The findings have prompted claims that some schools are using
history 'as a vehicle for promoting political correctness'.
The report concluded: "In particular settings, teachers of history
are unwilling to challenge highly contentious or charged versions of history in
which pupils are steeped at home, in their community or in a place of worship."
But Chris McGovern, history education adviser to the former Tory
government, said: "History is not a vehicle for promoting political correctness.
Children must have access to knowledge of these controversial subjects, whether
palatable or unpalatable."

English and history classes in my day were sometimes rough. Emotions ran high. Teachers and students disagreed. Students and students disagreed. And I remember a couple of days when I seemed to disagree with everyone. We were different races, classes, genders and religions, but we all survived those discussions. I also recall getting into a good university and not being shell-shocked by in-depth class discussions because I'd already experienced them in high school.

As I stand on the precipice before my 20th (public) high school reunion, I (like every other reunion attendee in this world) am not thrilled by all of my memories or the thought of re-living them. But I am grateful for the times my mind was stretched. I am glad I shared years with people who tested me, annoyed me, openly called bull on me, and were honest in their mostly civil disagreements.

As adults we find ways to limit the human thorns in our sides. As high school students, we don't have that power and, yet, for many it is the most educationally significant time of their lives. I believe there's a connection. You can't take the edge and the ire out of adolescence by hinkying with history. Or biology. Or sex ed. The holocaust, species diversity, and sexuality are all hard to talk about in depth. Whether you agree with your conversation partners or not. Therein lies the education. We learn, grow, and sometimes change.

Speaking of which, my son and played on my public elementary school playground the other night.

"Is this where you went to school, mama?"

"Yes, indeed! The place where I learned to read. The place where I learned to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. The place where I learned how to boogie. I still have some of the moves. Wanna' see them?"

"Sure."

Come on now. You didn't think I got these moves from church did you?

Kitchen 64 comes alive

For those of you who are local readers, I hit one of Richmond's newest the other night: Kitchen 64. It was packed but thanks to the experienced staff, all went smoothly.

The interior is stunning, particularly if you knew it in its previous life. As Zippy's it was a dark hole. (Now, don't get me wrong - I went into that dark hole on several occasions for the beer selection and for Zippy's mama's unbelievable homemade rolls. Let us all pause for a moment of silence to remember those little beauties.) But now it is bright and warm - lots of wood and a cool-as-a-talking-monkey bar.

The patio was packed and I expect it to stay that way until November. We sat inside at a nice booth that could easily seat 6. The menu is huge and fans of some of the owners' other Richmond legends will see some familiar favorites. The Greek nachos were obscenely loaded. The crabcake bruschetta was unremarkable, but for the rockin' crabcake. Go for the sandwich instead. The menu is sensible and familiar which will do well in Northside. Nice beer selection. Great prices. And a staff that runs like a machine.

Long live Kitchen 64. Congrats to its owners on another job well done.