addendum to 'desperate hope'

Get out your hankie, Sheryl!

I recently had the honor of being in a wedding between two very dear people to me. It was a great time. I met a bunch of new friends. We laughed a lot, ate too much, and I actually danced.

All that was great and stuff, but the real meat of the thing was what struck me during the ceremony. What a setting to taste hope.

Here were two amazing people. And there was this audience of their most beloved people. The crowd was so excited to see these two get married. And not just because they were good folks, or even good folks together.

I think it was so holy in that place because everyone could see these two in their nineties together, still flirting, still in love, proud of a good life lived. Everyone, I think, sincerely wanted this for these two. And what occurred to be was that a wedding is more than a commitment, its a tangible setting for hope to descend on a crowd of people and just blanket that place for a moment in time. In that setting, it was something you could drink. It was surreal.

I was just in Chicago. I was there when Obama won. I haven't ever been in a city that was more filled with hope. It binds us together when we face the future, when we face uncertainty.

I hope.