Wedding Bells in Lancaster

​​Weddings are happy occasions, and guess what?  That's what Margaret's and Andrew's wedding was.  Happy, fun and exhilarating.  And not over.  We are looking forward to the reception in Washington on October 25.  

It's hard to believe how much the two of them packed into a few days.  Their ceremony started at a Bruce Springsteen concert on Wednesday in Hershey PA that Annie rushed to get to, after finishing her last exam. All weddings should begin with a Bruce Springsteen concert.  On Thursday, the rest of us arrived in time for a dinner accompanied by a trivia game (team Margaret, team Andrew, and team parents) which was won by (drum roll) team Andrew.  We then moved to some memorable karaoke singing, highlighted by Margaret and Andrew's rendition of Proud Mary (Ike and Tina version), Andrew's singing of Amish in Paradise (Weird Al, meaningful in Lancaster) and then an encore of Paul Simon's You Can Call Me Al.  So much fun, some of us even were able to stay awake til midnight, and beyond.  For Joe, who had flown in from Poland via London, it was an all-nighter, but we did manage to spot some an empty bottle of "5-hour energy" near his beer.

The next day, the girls did their nails and hair and all of a sudden it was time to go to the courthouse.  Andrew's aunt, the judge, did a really good job of calming everyone's nerves, and the ceremony was meaningful, sweet.  A few tears, and many more smiles.  Margaret was a beautiful bride, with an elegant dress, hair and flowers, said the proud father, who never looks at the nails.  Andrew was the prince and knight, with a pair of fancy shoes. 

We re-enacted a foreign custom of the family pursuing the newlyweds around town taking photos, before a wonderful dinner.  Yes we took a photo of their shoes, and of all of us taking selfies with our phones.

Lancaster's an interesting town, actually a surprisingly sizable city.  Another surprise was its obvious large manufacturing base, at least at one time with many old brick factories and warehouses.  They have done a good job re-storing and adapting many of them.  Our hotel was an old converted factory, and quite nice.  

When nerves ran high, we reminded ourselves that weddings are about stories to share for many years.  Margaret and Andrew have a few, but they're better re-told in person.  

Other things happened during the week, but they pale in comparison with this life event.  Congratulations you guys.

From Lancaster with Love.  

  

May celebrations

A lot to report this week, so we better get right to it.  We have birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, Mothers Day, end of semester and retirement - all in one letter.  We should space these out a little more during the year.  

            The photo included here (that looks like an updated version of the Beatles at Abbey Road) is Margaret's bachelorette party this past weekend in DC.  Very happy occasion and so glad that Melodie, Johanna, Kathleen and Annie could all be in the photo (along with Emily from Wesleyan and Julie from South Africa).  It sounded like a smashing good time, that included dance lessons, dinner, karaoke and then a club.  (An aside on these photos - Pop's Weekly Letter is getting scooped by Facebook, but that's okay.  The more places we see these photos, the better)

Mary and I had driven down to DC with Annie to see Margaret one more time before the wedding.  Mary resisted going to the event herself, so we all took vicarious pleasure in hearing about the fun.  We had our own fun with Andrew and Margaret and Annie at a barbecue on Friday evening and then again on Sunday morning, probably too early for their taste.  We missed Johanna, who was staying with Jeff and Melodie, but did get a chance to see Kathleen, as we drove her to the airport on our way home.

We stayed with Gerry and Dennis, and had our own celebration and late (for us) evening made possible through a rousing game of dominoes.  A word to the wise - we intend to pick up this game in a serious way and challenge all comers who end up in Pittsfield.  We also drove by our old house in Bethesda to see a gaping hole in the ground, to be filled with a big mansion in the next few weeks.  We did get a chance to stop by and see our old neighbors who helped us shovel through some terrible winters.

Our summer is filling up.  Happily.  Peter had a great idea to go see the two best teams in the major leagues this September, out in Cincinnati.  We're also heading out to Chicago and Wisconsin by way of Rochester in June.  Speaking of Rochester, we had a nice long chat with David and Paula, and heard about Paula's art and David's trip to NYC on insurance fraud matters - not his, but some mighty big schemes.

Other major news is Andrew's impending retirement.  Can you hear the ovation and laughter and jumping for joy.  Yes, you can hear jumping.  Congratulations, big guy.  He intends to find contract work here and there, and hopes it will come into effect this July.  

Andrew wrote this about picking up Claire last week at Hope:  "We are now officially one down, three to go with Claire at Hope. Lur and I went up on Thursday and packed her up yesterday to finish the year. While packing the car at one point, on the street outside her dorm, I turned to go back to get more stuff, and was faced with two cops, one with pistol drawn and huge German shepherd, the other with an assault rifle. Needless to say, it was a moment of distress. They moved on looking for someone. On the way out of town, Claire got a text from her roommate that a local bank two blocks away, was robbed. Just in time for the start of the annual tulip festival. One does not think of Holland, Michigan having this sort of action."

            It's also the end of school term for Margaret and Annie finished this week.  Sean must be finishing up as well.  Tina?  And, of course, I finished, and have been celebrating every weekend since March - thank you Mary.

            We went to Boston last weekend to my college roommate Steve Tobolsky's 60th birthday party.   We saw his mother and brother for the first time in years, maybe since our undergraduate commencement.  We stayed with Cliff and Sheila and discussed hiking in Maine and New Hampshire this summer. 

            Happy birthday to Sean and Matthew and happy anniversary to Peter and Janet.  Soon we'll have another May anniversary for Margaret and Andrew.  We're off to Lancaster PA this week, and the big day is the 16th.  

Joe will be coming home for that big day.  He is in Poland this week for an annual European banking meeting.  He said he had a great trip up to Scotland to visit St. Andrews.

Oh and did someone forget to say Mothers Day?  Not me.  Hope all the mothers had a wonderful day.  I know one who certainly did.  

It was wonderfully warm in Washington, with leaves on the trees and the azaleas in bloom.  We'll get there.

 

Love to everyone from up here.