When Life Brings You Lemons

Life is full of curve balls, unexpected changes, and sometimes tragedy.  And for those who think they always have control of things -- well, that's just plain stupid.

I know people who are masters of supposed cause/effect. If they hear of a man being killed by lightning, they will comment "Well I would never been outside during a storm." If it turns out that it was a bolt out of the blue, as they say, then the answer is, I guess "Well I seldom go outside, so lightning won't strike ME."

Ha. As if.  In my observation during these nearly 58 years on the planet -- I have learned that while we can, and should, try our best, often things are well out of our control.

I heard a story last night that made me very happy.  I can't give details, since I have been asked to keep identities private, but generally speaking, there was a wedding outside in a tropical locale. Many guests gathered, and the rains came hard during the ceremony, soaking all. The skies cleared, but the wedding bosses said no one could stay outside -- the party must be moved inside. This upset the bride, as the room provided looked sterile and corporate, and she couldn't believe her first dance with her beloved would take place there -- after more than 100 people had traveled to the wedding.

Her groom came to the rescue. He got the idea that the thing to do was plunge, with his new bride, into the swimming pool. And so he did. And then the guests, all garbed in formal clothing, followed suit -- holding the first dance in the pool, to joyous laughter and applause.

I saw the video of this, and can't stop smiling. The lemon of bad weather at a wedding was turned into the most delicious lemonade.

Many of my friends and I have been married over 30 years. The details of our various weddings have blurred over time, to speak the truth. I remember Barry and Donna had a great band -- black guys on LI who played terrific Motown.

As the priest was going to pronounce Mike and Loni married,a huge thunderclap knocked out the power to the church -- and the hilarious priest said "Don't despair -- this is a message from FPL -- not from Above."

Mark and Ricki had the first truly opulent wedding we had attended -- at Turnberry in Aventura, before it was Aventura. But their marriage lasted just a few years...

I remember one of the worst weddings -- a former friend I'll call Vince, since that's his name. Vince is Italian, and we looked forward to a great party out of "The Godfather." But he married a nice but very chill WASP from the Midwest, and I guess her family was in charge, and the result was the most fun-less and joy-less weddings of all time. I remember Vince's sister Lee saying to me "This whole affair is a bunch of pregnant pauses."  Alas -- that marriage was brief, too...

But the point is, the wedding in the Tropics will be remembered by all guests forever.  The groom took a lemon and squeezed it well.  Bravo. And brava. They made the worst into the best.

That's a great life lesson.