A huge August highlight was Lynn's wedding in Charleston, S.C. on the 18th. Byron wrote about it already, so I'll overlap a little. Because it was in a destination city, there were extra events besides the wedding and reception, like the dinner cruise on Friday night. It was there that I first met Kevin, the groom, and his parents. They're from NW Iowa, so obviously they were good people. I really liked Kevin and his pink seersucker pants, seersucker being the suit material of choice in the southern summer for those more accustomed to northern climes. My mind was blown right away when someone pointed out a dolphin that was swimming 2 feet from the bow of the boat, matching the boat's speed exactly. To me, dolphins were something you found in Hawaii and unfortunately zoos. Possibly in the Caribbean. Not in a harbor in the continental United States. I looked around, and there were dolphins all over the harbor. Fascinating. Less majestic than the humpbacks we saw in Boston, but easier to see and more plentiful.
We did the reunion thing surrounding the boat cruise with Kerry, Kelly, Becca, Holly, and their spouses, all of whom I'd met before except Diego, a Spaniard cut from Princess Bride cloth. His frequent accented chatter about American football was really interesting to us. I also saw for the first time (I can remember) since Europe one of my traveling partners, Tracy. She brought her son Miles on the boat, a son who was not near existing the last time I saw Tracy. She was one of my favorite people I've ever spent time with and responsible for at least a quarter of the times in my life when I've suffered anoxia due to giddy giggling fits. I got Miles to like me because it's super important for me to earn the approval of all the world's children, but spent most of the boat cruise talking to people I hadn't seen in 8-9 years. There was so much to catch up on that the bartender at the open bar had to start paying people to take drinks because I for one just couldn't break from a conversation to get refreshment. The babysitting kids were there, grown up, which is a mind blower.
Saturday during the day Byron and I went to Fort Sumter to cross another Civil War site off my list. I'm covering one every two years, on average, although the average is misleading. I learned things there. For everything I'm describing surrounding the weekend, you can imagine that it's happening in a sauna, because that's how it felt.
We got to the outdoor wedding early and went to a bar that was covered but open to the outdoors to wait and talked with other guests with the same plan. The wedding itself was very nice and brief, and the "kiss the bride" kiss for sure made the society page. Lynn looked lovely, and her brothers sat down next to their dates before escorting their mother, providing comic relief when the presider dude informed them of the oversight.
I wasn't expecting it, but I got a vegan meal, and it was delicious. Thanks. It wasn't until the reception that I met a person who worked on math teacher professional development and did Teach for America in Baltimore. I talked to her about math education policy, but not about The Wire. Later she surprised me on the dance floor, although I was just an observer. "Dancing Queen" got me on the floor, but I didn't dance my hardest until "Let's Go Crazy," when I channeled 7-7-07 into a laser thin beam of energy. Then I totally got served by Iain the Scot.
The toasts on the boat and at the reception were generally good. There were distinct groups of friends present: Lynn's college friends, Lynn's (lowercase) foreign service friends, Kevin's West Point friends, and Kevin's business school friends. Much was made of Lynn's prolific dating record, which was exaggerated for humorous purposes. Her dad related their agreement in high school that because there were too many boys for him to remember, he'd just call the boy du jour "Spaulding." Lynn gave the best toast IMHO, because she expressed gratitude and I felt like she was talking about me even though she didn't say my name, and I bet a lot of others there felt the same way. Although Lynn said she was so touched by everyone from her past making it there for her, I was flattered to have been invited.
It threw me off when a lovable countryish fellow expressed his appreciation for "A Prairie Home Companion." I hope they come to see a show.
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