Independence weekend
Jul. 7th, 2004 07:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidFriday morning NPR broadcast a reading of the Declaration of Independence, each clause read by another familiar voice. I don't know why, but it gave me shivers, hearing it in its entirety. Perhaps it's a reaction to our country being on the brink of limiting so many of the freedoms the founding fathers felt were important enough to fight a war over.
On the Fourth, I spent most of the day in transit, taking the T (my first time at the new Airport stop; it's very pretty), a shuttle bus, a plane, a shuttle van, and a cab in my quest to get to a hotel in Urbana, IL (I keep wanting to add helicopter, camel, and canoe to the list, to round it out a bit more :-). One of my good friends was getting married there the next day, and I was pleased and happy to be able to attend.
The Historic Lincoln Inn is a very Tudor sort of place. There's stained glass, the kind with a little picture in the middle, and heavy carved wood furniture, and a huge fireplace just off the lobby. I checked in and was given a key. An actual key, not an electronic card. Wow. I took the elevator up, and was rather flabbergasted to find that not only had the floral upholstered pattern been continued on the walls of the elevator, but even on the inner doors. And there was a large mirror hanging in there, too. My room didn't have a four-poster bed (others did; I peeked when housekeeping came around), but there were draperies at the head of the bed. Later on, I found out that one of the function rooms not only had portraits, but moose heads hanging in it. A bit more Old than Olde World, though some parts were a bit shabby. Interesting, though, definitely.
Sunday evening, I got a ride with some of the other guests to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch. The groom's parents had arranged the get-together. I was a bit nervous, since I knew no one there, and sometimes crowds are cliquish. I shouldn't've spent a moment on it: people were very friendly.
The reindeer had impressive racks of still-fuzzy antlers (horns?), and thin brown coats for the summer. I was surprised to hear their hooves click as they walked, sounding a little like high heels, even in the mud. And these reindeer are picky: they like graham crackers for snacks, but only Nabisco brand. I took some photos; I hope they come out.
There was a buffet dinner, and I was amused to find out that most of the cheeses had come from the Butcherie (in Brookline), and the cookies from Cheryl Ann's. The groom's sister lives in Needham, and shipped them out. The food was solidly good, though there was little that was amazing-over-the-top. For dessert, there were wonderful berries, and I had a brownie, amazed at how wonderful it was - the chocolate in it, or something. It's been weeks... I liked them much more than the cookies, which were merely too sweet.
After the meal, there was a funny presentation, photos mixed with interviews, with music in the background, and voice-overs, describing the groom's history (some true, some.... enhanced), then the bride's. Except that the program glitched soon after the bride part began, twice, so that was mostly skipped.
It was still light out, so there was time to head into the corn maze. The owner showed a map briefly of the maze, which this year was cut in the shape of a dragon. It's before the season, though, so all the other stuff he had, the entrances, etc, were set up from last year's maze, which featured a map of IL. It's not as fancy as the more local mazes, but it was a lot of fun. I only found two of the six different hole punches, and had a wonderful time doing it. I could hear people in the maze, and sometimes see them; some of the corn was short enough to see people's heads. It was getting darker, in the gloaming, as I avoided particularly muddy spots, and then, there! spotted a pair of fireflies. And another, and another. It was wonderful, the maze paths punctuated with fireflies. And I realized in that moment that I was perfectly happy, alone in a corn maze watching fireflies.
I came out of the maze before it was completely dark, and headed over to the go carts. I sat in one, hands on the wheel, feet on the pedals, and noticed that there were dozens of fireflies in the yard, lighting up at intervals. I could understand people thinking of fairies...
I rode around the crushed stone track a couple of times, then stopped to watch the fireworks visible on the horizon from a nearby town. It was strange to see them without any booms or music, just the flowering of colored light. It's so flat out there that I could see a couple of town's fireworks at once. None of them were as spectacular as Boston's, but I'm a sucker for the ephemeral beauty of fireworks in almost any form.
The next morning was the wedding. Note for anyone planning a summer wedding: making sure the hall has air conditioning is a good thing. It was just hot enough and just humid enough to be noticeably less than optimal. However, that was the only real glitchy part of the wedding.
As always happens, the bride was beautiful, radiant wearing her tiara and veil along with a jacket and long dress that I thought lightly gold, but she called "champagne" (how appropriate, champagne in Champaign :-). I was honored at the kabbalat panim1 when the bride not only gave me a blessing, but also a second blessing, and asked me to hold her jewelry during the ceremony2.
It was a beautiful wedding, short yet lovely. The music was provided by a klezmerish group, who were very talented.
Highlights of the reception: talking with the bride and seeing her being so completely happy; planning when we can next catch up; watching the mini-musical his family put together about the two of them; the bride and groom getting everyone to sing "That's Amore"; rolled up eggplant with pine nut and TVP stuffing. The time flew by, and it felt far too soon that I had to leave. I wish them both much joy as they build their new life together.
1 Greeting people before the ceremony; the bride and groom traditionally do this separately, since they aren't seeing each other before the wedding
2 The bride is not supposed to wear any jewelry other than the ring she accepts during the ceremony.
On the Fourth, I spent most of the day in transit, taking the T (my first time at the new Airport stop; it's very pretty), a shuttle bus, a plane, a shuttle van, and a cab in my quest to get to a hotel in Urbana, IL (I keep wanting to add helicopter, camel, and canoe to the list, to round it out a bit more :-). One of my good friends was getting married there the next day, and I was pleased and happy to be able to attend.
The Historic Lincoln Inn is a very Tudor sort of place. There's stained glass, the kind with a little picture in the middle, and heavy carved wood furniture, and a huge fireplace just off the lobby. I checked in and was given a key. An actual key, not an electronic card. Wow. I took the elevator up, and was rather flabbergasted to find that not only had the floral upholstered pattern been continued on the walls of the elevator, but even on the inner doors. And there was a large mirror hanging in there, too. My room didn't have a four-poster bed (others did; I peeked when housekeeping came around), but there were draperies at the head of the bed. Later on, I found out that one of the function rooms not only had portraits, but moose heads hanging in it. A bit more Old than Olde World, though some parts were a bit shabby. Interesting, though, definitely.
Sunday evening, I got a ride with some of the other guests to Hardy's Reindeer Ranch. The groom's parents had arranged the get-together. I was a bit nervous, since I knew no one there, and sometimes crowds are cliquish. I shouldn't've spent a moment on it: people were very friendly.
The reindeer had impressive racks of still-fuzzy antlers (horns?), and thin brown coats for the summer. I was surprised to hear their hooves click as they walked, sounding a little like high heels, even in the mud. And these reindeer are picky: they like graham crackers for snacks, but only Nabisco brand. I took some photos; I hope they come out.
There was a buffet dinner, and I was amused to find out that most of the cheeses had come from the Butcherie (in Brookline), and the cookies from Cheryl Ann's. The groom's sister lives in Needham, and shipped them out. The food was solidly good, though there was little that was amazing-over-the-top. For dessert, there were wonderful berries, and I had a brownie, amazed at how wonderful it was - the chocolate in it, or something. It's been weeks... I liked them much more than the cookies, which were merely too sweet.
After the meal, there was a funny presentation, photos mixed with interviews, with music in the background, and voice-overs, describing the groom's history (some true, some.... enhanced), then the bride's. Except that the program glitched soon after the bride part began, twice, so that was mostly skipped.
It was still light out, so there was time to head into the corn maze. The owner showed a map briefly of the maze, which this year was cut in the shape of a dragon. It's before the season, though, so all the other stuff he had, the entrances, etc, were set up from last year's maze, which featured a map of IL. It's not as fancy as the more local mazes, but it was a lot of fun. I only found two of the six different hole punches, and had a wonderful time doing it. I could hear people in the maze, and sometimes see them; some of the corn was short enough to see people's heads. It was getting darker, in the gloaming, as I avoided particularly muddy spots, and then, there! spotted a pair of fireflies. And another, and another. It was wonderful, the maze paths punctuated with fireflies. And I realized in that moment that I was perfectly happy, alone in a corn maze watching fireflies.
I came out of the maze before it was completely dark, and headed over to the go carts. I sat in one, hands on the wheel, feet on the pedals, and noticed that there were dozens of fireflies in the yard, lighting up at intervals. I could understand people thinking of fairies...
I rode around the crushed stone track a couple of times, then stopped to watch the fireworks visible on the horizon from a nearby town. It was strange to see them without any booms or music, just the flowering of colored light. It's so flat out there that I could see a couple of town's fireworks at once. None of them were as spectacular as Boston's, but I'm a sucker for the ephemeral beauty of fireworks in almost any form.
The next morning was the wedding. Note for anyone planning a summer wedding: making sure the hall has air conditioning is a good thing. It was just hot enough and just humid enough to be noticeably less than optimal. However, that was the only real glitchy part of the wedding.
As always happens, the bride was beautiful, radiant wearing her tiara and veil along with a jacket and long dress that I thought lightly gold, but she called "champagne" (how appropriate, champagne in Champaign :-). I was honored at the kabbalat panim1 when the bride not only gave me a blessing, but also a second blessing, and asked me to hold her jewelry during the ceremony2.
It was a beautiful wedding, short yet lovely. The music was provided by a klezmerish group, who were very talented.
Highlights of the reception: talking with the bride and seeing her being so completely happy; planning when we can next catch up; watching the mini-musical his family put together about the two of them; the bride and groom getting everyone to sing "That's Amore"; rolled up eggplant with pine nut and TVP stuffing. The time flew by, and it felt far too soon that I had to leave. I wish them both much joy as they build their new life together.
1 Greeting people before the ceremony; the bride and groom traditionally do this separately, since they aren't seeing each other before the wedding
2 The bride is not supposed to wear any jewelry other than the ring she accepts during the ceremony.
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no subject
Date: 2004-07-07 07:04 pm (UTC)Yes, indeed. my 4th of July post here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/hauntmeister/84777.html) lists a few of the insults that George II has inflicted on the America he inherited.
# He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.
# He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
# He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
# For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury.
# For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.
Sound familiar?
no subject
Date: 2004-07-07 08:16 pm (UTC)"We hold these truths..."
Date: 2004-07-08 07:37 am (UTC)We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
It's a good one to read multiple times emphasizing each word to see the importance/impact of meaning.
Re: "We hold these truths..."
Date: 2004-07-08 12:35 pm (UTC)