tales from an ordinary world

2000-11-18

"As the ladies line their eyes
and the men make their excuses
and the talk is going cheap
I'll be smiling in my sleep"
Lloyd Cole.

It's hard to know what to say about other people's weddings. We didn't attend the reception, that was a closed affair for a select few, but many people gathered at a bar in the inner city to celebrate a friend's passing into another stage of life. When we first got there, I was too conscious of being in a crowded room with too many other people I didn't know well enough - maybe if I'd been a bit more sociable at all those parties he'd had over the years, I'd have felt better. Of course, over time, things became more relaxed anyway. Speeches, hinting at pressure from the family to continue the tree's growth. The groom seemed to have a good time, as one would hope - things start to change from now on - not changing for the worse, just changing. No longer in charge of just your own destiny, you have other priorities. People reminisce over old 80's tunes, and eventually we escape into the night, fast food on the way home, thinking, wondering what the future holds.