Random Thoughts

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 4:15 pm

I was once a best man and I think my toast was rather spectacular. I'd celebrated the fact that although I initially disliked the groom at primary school, I knew he was OK once he showed me he was wearing Man Utd socks under his school uniform. Towards the end of the speech I produced a pair of socks of the same vintage and then segued into the toast of 'United Forever'! I like to think you might wish to adopt that tomorrow WSS, and I imagine SLL will pray to become a best man soon so that he can try it out.

so lacklustre · Post by **so lacklustre** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 4:54 pm

Sounds far too blokey and uncouth.

I will probably never be a best man (billy no mates), but if I were I like to think my speech would be full of wit and repartee, delivered in a mockney slur with beer on my shirt and piss stains on me strides.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:07 pm

Well of course the delivery was not in the least blokey and was highly couth, and I was showered with accolades for the excellent 'plotting' of my speech, and needless to say my superb allegiance when it comes to footie.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 5:51 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Well of course the delivery was not in the least blokey and was highly couth, and I was showered with accolades for the excellent 'plotting' of my speech, and needless to say my superb allegiance when it comes to footie.

Naturally.

I think I'll steer clear of footy - people will think I'm very strange. But a little Red Sox reference might not be a bad idea - they're all rabid Sox fans on my mom's side of the family, especially my uncle.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:04 pm

There you go, a pair of red socks, and then, er 'Red Sox Forever!'

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:12 pm

Otis Westinghouse wrote:There you go, a pair of red socks, and then, er 'Red Sox Forever!'

verena · Post by **verena** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:03 pm

The Clinton family had a cat called Socks, in the days of Bill's presidency. Funny I just remembered that.

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:12 pm

The Clinton family had a cat called Socks

and in one of those truth-can-be-stranger-than-fiction things, so do I!

WSS, I was going to suggest you crib your toast from the Wear Sunscreen graduation one, so it would go: wear sunscreen. go red sox. dude, try some conditioner on that hair.

bobster · Post by **bobster** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:14 pm

And who can forget GHW Bush's and Barbara "Mama Antoinette" Bush'/s canine Millie, who wrote a book (I think Benji was the ghost writer, however.)

And Nixon had King Timahoe -- of course, decades before that, a dog named Checkers helped send him to the Vice Presidency.

double dutchess · Post by **double dutchess** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 12:21 am

Barbara "Mama Antoinette" Bush

Haha, good one, Bobster!

To bring the conversation back to the Red Sox... yesterday on the bus I saw a guy wearing a shirt that said "Yankee's wives love Fenway franks!"

One hundreth post! Whooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 8:37 am

Saw a guy wearing a "Jesus Got R Done" t-shirt the other day. In a better world, this person would be taken out back and beaten with a rubber hose.

verena · Post by **verena** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 3:29 pm

This is extremely random, but...

Concerning flowers, did you know that roses are mighty ? I mean for real. Some do speak to you. Even call you. Silently but it is so intense, one who gets hit can't ignore. Happened to me not long ago, in the Trocadero garden (on the right bank of the Seine, opposite the Eiffel tower fyi). I couldn't believe it. Not that I am not used to getting strange messages, but this one was a total shock. My conclusion (nothing new) is that there may be surreal things in the world which we cannot understand or even imagine. Would be a true wonder, and such a source of hope.

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:00 pm

Sometimes life's little pleasures are one's salvation.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:11 pm

Several times a week, in my experience.

selfmademug · Post by **selfmademug** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:05 pm

El Vez wrote:Sometimes life's little pleasures are one's salvation.

Thank you, 'Vez, you always understand

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:26 pm

OK, I'm back from the wedding and my speech went off perfectly. I got plenty of compliments on my delivery, the funny moments got lots of laughs and I didn't get too nervous. Thank God I had a microphone, because it's not the kind of thing I would like to have shouted. My son decided half way through that he needed to "tell Daddy something", so I did the last half of my speech with a three-year old boy tugging on the leg of my trousers. Maestro Levine was not there (he has some health problems that kept him from traveling to Western Mass. for the wedding), but I met his brother Tom who is a very talented artist and a wonderful guy. What a great weekend.

Here's what I said:

"Hi, for those of you who don’t know me or who I have not had the pleasure to meet yet, I’m Ken’s nephew, Matt Conroy. My mother, Jan, is Ken’s eldest sister. I feel very honored to have been asked to speak today. I guess the traditional thing to do in circumstances such as these is to tell an embarrassing story about the groom’s adolescence or college days, but if you want to hear any of that, you’ll have to speak to his sisters or brother – that’s all well before my time. I’m sure they have plenty of excellent material.

So I’ll tell you something embarrassing about my adolescence instead, which involves Ken of course.

We grew up in Southern California, so I didn’t get many opportunities to see Ken when I was younger, but his visits were always a highlight for my older brother, my sister and me. Whether it was the nonsense songs he made up about things like jelly or eggs (which my mom had to listen to repeated again and again after he left), or the fact that he always found time for us kids, I always felt a deep bond with him, despite the distance between us.

One visit in particular stands out in my mind. I had just obtained my driver’s license – it must have been around 1984 – and one evening my sister and I decided to take a drive over to Westwood with Ken. If you’ve been to LA, you know that as you drive along Sunset Boulevard, heading into West LA, you pass through Beverly Hills and Bel Air. On a whim, and with Ken’s encouragement, we decided to take a brief diversion and drive up into Beverly Hills. I don’t know what we were hoping to see, but I soon got lost as we continued up the hill, navigating the twisty roads. Of course, instead of insisting that I turn around as any sane adult would do, Ken egged me on by saying “Keep on going!” at each fork in the road, as my sister cackled in the back seat. Soon, we turned a corner at the very top of the hill and came face to face with a massive gate, protecting an equally massive house. Here was the dilemma: it was dark, there was little or no room to turn around, on one side of the road was a hillside descending into darkness, and I hadn’t yet perfected the art of the three-point turn.

But did Ken take over the wheel? No, he got out of the car – smart move – and guided me through an 18-point turn that must have taken a good ten minutes and came frighteningly close to disaster. It’s quite possible that my life could have ended that evening – so I’d just like to say thanks Ken, both for encouraging me to do stupid things like driving up into Beverly Hills without a map on a dark night, and for teaching me how to execute a three-point turn.

As I moved to Boston and then New York, I became very close with Ken, and I can’t think of anyone in the world whose thoughts and opinions I treasure more. He has opened my mind to new ideas, my ears to new voices and sounds, and has been a source of love and counsel when things have been tough. He is also wildly popular with our son and daughter, who are here with us today.

Of course, my sister and I still joke about “Keep on going!” every time we get lost and I suppose it’s an appropriate phrase to keep in mind in light of today’s gathering as well.

Life is a search for love. And finding the person you can love and with whom you can share your own love to the very fullest is not an easy thing – it requires perseverance, determination and a healthy dose of luck. I think I speak for everyone here today when I say that I am so happy that Ken and Jan have had the inner strength, determination and fortune to find each other – and that we can all be here today to celebrate this joyous occasion with them.

When we met Jan, we knew immediately that she was the right person for Ken. Her warmth, generosity, intelligence, humor and love shine through everything she does. We are so pleased to welcome her as part of our family, and proud that we can be here today to celebrate Ken and Jan’s wedding with the rest of you.

So, without further ado, I’d like to ask you all to raise your glasses. Ken and Jan, may your years together be filled with love, joy, laughter, health and happiness.

To Ken & Jan!"

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:36 pm

WSS -

Very cool! If I should ever find myself having to do that sort of thing, I think I'll just read aloud the lyrics to the Randy Newman song "Love Story" and then exit stage left, chased by angry bridesmaids.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:42 pm

El Vez wrote:WSS -

Very cool! If I should ever find myself having to do that sort of thing, I think I'll just read aloud the lyrics to the Randy Newman song "Love Story" and then exit stage left, chased by angry bridesmaids.

Ha!

I can see it now!

This was a fairly small weddding - fewer than 100 people - so it was not too nerve-wracking. In fact I wasn't even thinking about how nervous I should be until my uncle Ricky said, "So, are you nervous?" the minute he saw me.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:49 pm

WSS, I've catered many weddings and seen many toasts over the years. What you said was not only very eloquent but very sweet. They must have all loved it. What a fabulous group of words put together by someone who obviously cared a lot.

And I've been through those windy hills of California - and around 1984. Perhaps I saw you there.

Cheers to you for a great speech.

I'm raising a glass of wine to you now.

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:53 pm

spooky girlfriend wrote:WSS, I've catered many weddings and seen many toasts over the years. What you said was not only very eloquent but very sweet. They must have all loved it. What a fabulous group of words put together by someone who obviously cared a lot.

Cheers to you for a great speech. I'm raising a glass of wine to you now.

Thanks spooky. Back at ya!

I need a glass of Shiraz after all that. I'm off to the basement to grab a bottle!

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 9:54 pm

Oh for some Courvosier and a risque party hat.

Post by **spooky girlfriend** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:02 pm

Like that's not what you're doing right now, ElVez. Who are you kidding?

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:03 pm

spooky girlfriend wrote:Like that's not what you're doing right now, ElVez. Who are you kidding?

Did he mention the male thong?

El Vez · Post by **El Vez** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 10:16 pm

Look, if y'all are gonna pile up on me, at least have the decency to cover yourselves in grease and maybe put on a little Satie to set the mood.

verbal gymnastics · Post by **verbal gymnastics** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 4:12 am

verena wrote:This is extremely random, but...

Concerning flowers, did you know that roses are mighty ?

Didn't some beardy guy do an album about a rose being mighty like?

WSS - well done. I've been best man twice now (as well as having to make a specch at my own wedding). It's a fabulous feeling when a speech has gone well and people are heaping praise on you and buying you drinks for a job well done.

At least that's what people have told me