I'm pretty sure that everyone who actually reads this blog knows that my daughter got married this past Saturday. What you don't know is that I have spent most of this past month concentrating on my Father-of-the-Bride duties and have had very little time to read anything for pleasure. What that means is that this entry will have nothing to do with my usual topics but, since it's my blog, deal with it.
I'm not going to post any pictures here, but I do want to list some of the things - the brief moments, the episodes - that stand out, for me, from the rest of the Big Day's activities. So, in no particular order, here goes:
Seeing my daughter walk into her mother's living room in her Wedding dress for the first time - with her hair and make-up done. That's when I realized she wasn't my "little girl" anymore.
Walking down the aisle with my daughter and her mother. Don't know if that's acceptable, but it was right.
Handing her to her Husband-to-be. Telling him to keep her safe. Asking her if she was happy.
Seeing my brothers and sisters together, for the first time in years, at a happy occasion. Having most of their kids there, too. Being able to talk about inconsequential stuff with them was great.
Being introduced at the reception.
Watching Cousin J. escort in both of the Bridesmaids. He did it for the ceremony, but the entrance at the reception - strut and all - was priceless. We all said he was the only one who could pull it off.
Giving the Father-of-the-Bride speech. This was the main reason that I got no reading done for the last month. I had the idea running through my mind all that time, but I wrote nothing down.I put it together as I was speaking and I think it came out pretty well. People said they liked it.
My nephew, C., coming to me after my speech and saying that he knew it wasn't my original but that I had the "heart of a writer". Very much appreciated.
The Father-Daughter dance. She told me that she hadn't cried all day, until then. I told her the same. The song was by Heartland, "I Loved Her First". My daughter had it engraved on the top of a photo cube for me. I tried to keep talking so that I wouldn't have to hear the words and cry some more.
The cake-slicing ceremony.
My nephew, K., dancing with my daughter's grandmother.
The longest-married couple dance. 56 years. God Bless 'em.
The people who helped all day. 1) Debbie, at the reception hall. She kept everything running smoothly. 2) Johnny, the DJ. Did an excellent job. 3) Martin, the photographer. He was with the bride from 11:30 AM till the reception ended at 11 PM. He was so personable, and he really knew what he was doing. 4) Dom, the limo driver. I was only with him from when he showed up at the house to pick up the bridal party, till they left the church, but he exuded confidence. He told us what to do, and calmed my daughter down early on. 5) Father Desmond, who performed the ceremony. He was warm and funny and managed to make everyone feel good. (Coincidently, he is a friend of the groom's father and the chaplain at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital, where I'd met him.)
My new son-in-law saying, when everything was closing down just before 11 PM, that he understood why you often read about a celebrity punching out a paparazzi.
Just some random observations that stick in my mind out of everything that happened on the happiest day of my daughter's life.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Chapter Seventeen
I was going to wait another week or two before I made another entry here, but I think I've got enough to talk about and besides I found this really cool picture to add to the site. Interestingly, all the books fall into the same category.
Series
Cadillac Beach - Tim Dorsey ( $7.50/$.50, 376 pages, copyright 2004, paperback)
Apparently, Dorsey has written several books revolving around the exploits of Serge Storm and his good buddy, Lenny - a maniac and a doper. This one revolves around Miami history and brings in Murph the Surf, the Beatles, Cubans, the FBI and CIA, and a whole bunch of other stuff while Serge tries to solve his grandfather's murder. This may sound confusing, but it is laugh-out-loud funny. I enjoyed it.
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge ($7.99/$.50, 247 pages, copyright 2009, paperback)
I'm a big fan of Patterson's Alex Cross series so every once in a while I pick up another book of his. This is a sci-fi series about a teenage alien bounty hunter that is strictly aimed at the tweens crowd. To be honest, I'm not too sure they'd like it. I didn't.
The Watchman - Robert Crais ($7.99/$.50, 384 pages, copyright 2007, paperback)
Usually, Crais' books center on Elvis Cole, with Joe Pike - his silent partner - coming in towards the end as sort of a "deus-ex-machina". This book revolves around Pike, with Cole in a supporting role. Simply put, Pike agrees to protect a young lady until she can testify at a trial, but it's more then that. And you learn a lot more about what makes Pike tick. I enjoyed it.
Stone Cold - Robert B. Parker ($7.99/$.50, 300 pages, copyright 2003, paperback)
Parker is the creator of the Spenser books, which I really enjoy. This is one of his Jesse Stone books. Jesse is the polar opposite of Spenser - he's a loner, he drinks too much, and he has an unhealthy obsession for his ex-wife. That said, he's good at what he does - police work - and he has a real sense of right and wrong. He also has a great supporting cast, and here they try to solve a serial killer case. Unfortunately, I don't think his books end well. The payoff seems to take place off-screen, and Jesse gets to react but it doesn't feel satisfying. It was OK.
Comic Books
I've ranted in the past about my experiences with the comic book industry, so this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
First Wave - Brian Azzarello, writer; Rags Morales, artist ($3.99 per issue, 6 issues)
I mentioned this particular mini-series before. In fact, I first mentioned it in my May 12, 2010 Special Insert #2 after I'd read the first 2 issues of the 6 issue run. It is now March 3, 2011, and issue number 6 just came out yesterday. That means that it took 9 months to produce 4 issues. Very disappointing. I probably won't be buying into any mini-series runs any time soon. That aside, Azzarello has told a very interesting, post-WW2 story. Batman is a young, gung-ho, gun-toting hero; Doc Savage is his usual pulp-fictiony adventurer; but The Spirit disappoints. I think he's only interesting when someone uses the Eisner approach to drawing. I did enjoy it.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne - Grant Morrison, writer: various artists ($3.99 per issue, 6 issues)
I'm not going to go into why there was a need for Bruce Wayne to return - frankly, it's too complicated. Suffice it to say that Grant Morrison wrote this, so we have issues ranging from the prehistoric, through the Wild West and the Future, and ending back here. I mention this because it appears to have come out on a monthly basis. Maybe this has to do with multiple artists. The down-side to that is the visual changes can be jarring. But the main reason I bring this one up is that I saw it at Barnes & Noble's as a Trade Edition for $30. I'm sure they include extras like scripts and storyboards, but I don't look at those. $30, to me, is a lot of money for 6 issues at one time. (I actually paid $12 for all 6 issues at a comic store in Oakhurst.) I'm guessing that I won't be buying too many Trades anymore. Other then that, I enjoyed it.
Keep reading.
Series
Cadillac Beach - Tim Dorsey ( $7.50/$.50, 376 pages, copyright 2004, paperback)
Apparently, Dorsey has written several books revolving around the exploits of Serge Storm and his good buddy, Lenny - a maniac and a doper. This one revolves around Miami history and brings in Murph the Surf, the Beatles, Cubans, the FBI and CIA, and a whole bunch of other stuff while Serge tries to solve his grandfather's murder. This may sound confusing, but it is laugh-out-loud funny. I enjoyed it.
The Dangerous Days of Daniel X - James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge ($7.99/$.50, 247 pages, copyright 2009, paperback)
I'm a big fan of Patterson's Alex Cross series so every once in a while I pick up another book of his. This is a sci-fi series about a teenage alien bounty hunter that is strictly aimed at the tweens crowd. To be honest, I'm not too sure they'd like it. I didn't.
The Watchman - Robert Crais ($7.99/$.50, 384 pages, copyright 2007, paperback)
Usually, Crais' books center on Elvis Cole, with Joe Pike - his silent partner - coming in towards the end as sort of a "deus-ex-machina". This book revolves around Pike, with Cole in a supporting role. Simply put, Pike agrees to protect a young lady until she can testify at a trial, but it's more then that. And you learn a lot more about what makes Pike tick. I enjoyed it.
Stone Cold - Robert B. Parker ($7.99/$.50, 300 pages, copyright 2003, paperback)
Parker is the creator of the Spenser books, which I really enjoy. This is one of his Jesse Stone books. Jesse is the polar opposite of Spenser - he's a loner, he drinks too much, and he has an unhealthy obsession for his ex-wife. That said, he's good at what he does - police work - and he has a real sense of right and wrong. He also has a great supporting cast, and here they try to solve a serial killer case. Unfortunately, I don't think his books end well. The payoff seems to take place off-screen, and Jesse gets to react but it doesn't feel satisfying. It was OK.
Comic Books
I've ranted in the past about my experiences with the comic book industry, so this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
First Wave - Brian Azzarello, writer; Rags Morales, artist ($3.99 per issue, 6 issues)
I mentioned this particular mini-series before. In fact, I first mentioned it in my May 12, 2010 Special Insert #2 after I'd read the first 2 issues of the 6 issue run. It is now March 3, 2011, and issue number 6 just came out yesterday. That means that it took 9 months to produce 4 issues. Very disappointing. I probably won't be buying into any mini-series runs any time soon. That aside, Azzarello has told a very interesting, post-WW2 story. Batman is a young, gung-ho, gun-toting hero; Doc Savage is his usual pulp-fictiony adventurer; but The Spirit disappoints. I think he's only interesting when someone uses the Eisner approach to drawing. I did enjoy it.
Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne - Grant Morrison, writer: various artists ($3.99 per issue, 6 issues)
I'm not going to go into why there was a need for Bruce Wayne to return - frankly, it's too complicated. Suffice it to say that Grant Morrison wrote this, so we have issues ranging from the prehistoric, through the Wild West and the Future, and ending back here. I mention this because it appears to have come out on a monthly basis. Maybe this has to do with multiple artists. The down-side to that is the visual changes can be jarring. But the main reason I bring this one up is that I saw it at Barnes & Noble's as a Trade Edition for $30. I'm sure they include extras like scripts and storyboards, but I don't look at those. $30, to me, is a lot of money for 6 issues at one time. (I actually paid $12 for all 6 issues at a comic store in Oakhurst.) I'm guessing that I won't be buying too many Trades anymore. Other then that, I enjoyed it.
Keep reading.
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