Life Is Good
(the 2nd time around)
It was a night filled with surprises. Dear friends of ours were married at the Metropolitan Club. The event began with cocktail hour for the 300 attendees, accompanied by a fun selection of popular music . . . so we barely noticed when the wedding processional had officially begun - various family members and the groom himself walked up the "aisle" they carved through the crowd to the percussive strains of "Life is Good" by Los Lobos. You couldn't not dance. It was a favorite song of the groom's that described exactly how he felt. The song consists of variations on one simple, soul-stirring phrase: "I get all happy 'cuz my life is good . . . turnin' out just like I thought it would. Ooo-la-la . . ." It has a driving, stirring groove, but in spite of the upbeat nature of the piece, I can't hear it now without tearing up a bit. That night was so unbelievable. At last it was time for the bride to head down the aisle, and she did so, in her mother's gorgeous white wedding gown - to "The Peter Gun Theme"! The crowd went wild. Of course, that was just the beginning of the evening's twists and turns - too numerous to mention here - but suffice to say, the most wonderful surprise came when halfway through the ceremony, the Justice of the Peace told us a little story about how she'd first met this couple three years ago . . . when she married them for the first time! There was silence in the room for a moment as we tried to make sense of what the judge had just said, and then the screaming began. We'd been duped! Our good friends had been secretly married for three years! They were getting married again, so they could celebrate with the people who loved them. A lot of other crazy things happened that night, all wrapped in a warm little blanket of memorable music. And hearing any of those songs today immediately triggers the incredible melange of joy, shock, hilarity, spirituality, and uncontainable love and laughter that filled me that night. Carrie Maloney |
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