The Crew

This past weekend, I attended a big, awesome, fun wedding, joining my friends Bryce and Heather.  This one had been on my radar for awhile, as weddings tend to do, but it was also something noteworthy for me because I remember reading the news of their engagement last Easter while I was in the hospital.  So, being able to attend was a big bonus for me.

Also being a good friend of the whole family, I was asked to help a little with the prep-work (along with a few other close friends, or "The Band," as we soon dubbed ourselves.)  We gladly got to the reception hall/barn early and helped set up various tables, pictures, flowers, water jars, a microphone stand, etc, little odds and ends that add up to a lot of work in the end.  The kicker is that, despite the blistering heat and ticking clock, not one of us complained.  Even me, and I can whine like a little bitch when I want to.

But not when it's worth it.  Not when you're working for a good cause, and for people you care about.  And okay, I get a charge out of it.  It was really fun to help out, and to be part of something.  Part of the crew.  Weddings obviously bring out a lot of different emotions in people, so this is what I got out of it.  And not being married myself, and not being attached at 36 and not knowing if I will ever really be married, I may feel differently than some, but here goes; I was talking to the groom's sister and her husband the day after, and they said that they don't have "great friends like this" where they live.  I told them that a handful of years ago, I didn't even know most of these people but now  they are friends.  We are now members of a crew now.  I have crazy opinions about marriage and what it means, but the wedding itself, I'll admit, I love it, because it is the joining of two people in front of friends and family, so to be one of those friends, in that select group, especially with people that I didn't know not too long ago, means a lot.  it means that you've established lasting friendships over that short amount of time, and what is a marriage if not a lasting friendship?

The Band

There's a line in "Goodfellas" about bring part of a crew, and I can't remember it or find it now, but it ran though my head over the weekend.  When Bryce and Heather made their way to my table to thank me for coming, I turned around and thanked them for having me.  Bryce said, "Why wouldn't we have you?"  I replied, "Because I'm just some weird guy you know."  instead of blowing it off and saying, "Nah, you're not a weird guy," he said, "We're all weird guys."  A whole crew of weird guys (and by "guys," I also mean the girls.  We certainly do not discriminate in this crew.)

That's why I gladly helped with the set-up.  That's why this crew all still ask how I am feeling, and some even visited me in the hospital last year.  We all party together, and drink together.  And this may sound like a stretch, but most of us are on the same kickball team year and year, and this year, we are undefeated, and basically mowing most of the league down.  We are a team.  A band. 

A crew.