Brides and Evil Brothers

Last weekend The Dulcinea and I made our way south for the wedding of a cousin of mine. The ceremony and reception were in Des Plaines. With nearly 200 people in attendance, it provided the opportunity to see family new and old as well as for The D to plot against me with my brother. I wish I had a photo of the look on my mom's face when she saw my brother in a suit as the mixture of shock and delight was priceless. However much he says that I am the milkman's son, his claims are belied by our undeniable similarities. Among them are a common fondness for progressive rock (we have duetted to Genesis' "Squonk"), predilections for RPGs and things Cthulhu, and a shared taste for bacon that some might label preternatural. We also have similar sartorial inclinations, namely that our standard uniforms consist of jeans and t-shirts.



Consider the above photo. The D and I spent last Friday night at JC Penny with her playing the role of Patton and I but a shell-shocked soldier. The result was the outfit above. My brother's appearance amused me because I knew that he and a haberdasher would go 'round in circles like a couple mutes in the Tower of Babel. If nothing else, my brother is honest and he revealed that his suit was picked out by his friend Helena. This made sense.



Notice the violence towards me yet the loving sweetness directed at our cousin. Older brothers are evil.

Girlfriends must be as well because The D spent more time talking to my family than I did. I was greeted with "Hello" and "How are you?" while she got all the enthusiastic hugs and "Wonderful to see you agains".

The ceremony was really nice with the best part being its brevity. My cousin must have given up on Christianity because officiating the affair was an honorable cousin of ours who was a circuit court judge in Illinois. The reception started shortly thereafter and featured much merriment. I found myself on The D's dance card even though I have two left feet. It was the first time I had shook my booty to Madonna.

After a decent night of sleep, we checked the weather forecast only to find that Madison was in media res of a storm that promised rain, sleet, and snow. Hence we decided to hang around the land of Lincoln for a day. We decided to get a room in Rockford and ride the storm out in a jacuzzi. Before trekking north, we decided to stop at the newlywed's (fairly) new home. I'd never been there before so, after The D eschewed a stop at Ikea which could have been costly, we headed to Border's where I could get my hands on a map and she could do a spot of homework due that night. While she toiled away, I got directions from my uncle and looked at some books about Chicago architecture including the Rookery where my maternal grandfather had worked. The city has some wonderful buildings. It made me feel bad that Madison is so keen on replacing old buildings with bland condos and making the outer areas of the city limits into McSuburbs that are indistinguishable from subdivided areas anywhere else in this country.

Sprawling on the fringes of the city…

Speaking of suburbs, the happy couple live in Schaumburg. Their house probably wasn't even 10 minutes from Woodfield Mall. Alas, my cousin is a suburbanite. At least she doesn't like in an exurb. Truth be told, my brother is looking at becoming one as well. While he wants to buy a house, he can't afford anything in the city so he's looking at burbs like Forest Park or Berwyn. (Anyone remember Son of Svengoolie?) At least they're nice places and are closer to and have more in common with the city than places like Schaumburg.

Despite my dislike of suburbs, the visit was fun. Besides the happy couple, my uncle and his wife were there as well. Our visit included photo albums being busted out for The D's benefit and she was able to gaze at the long, shiny blonde locks of hair I had as a wee lad. We were also told a humorous little story by my uncle which concerned my dear departed dad at a tavern and some rather potent horseradish.

As evening settled upon us, The D & I bid farewell and hit the road for Rockford.