So... my daughter is getting married.  In November.  To a great guy.  And they want a party.  Not a fancy schmancy EVENT but a Party.  For all of there friends and familes. 

 

Therein lies the problem... or should I say challenge!  Between the two of them we have calculated that there will be approximately 400 people attending this wedding.  That's right - FOUR HUNDRED!!!  They have a budget and it needs to include everything from the Dress to the Invitations to the Limos to the Church to the Reception.  The average Hotel-Ballroom-based wedding receptions go for something like $45/person.  Times that by 400 and you get a whopping $18K!  And that is just the reception/food, not counting the band/DJ or the Dress.  So that was out. 

 

Next we looked at local halls... you know - the Wedding Factories.  They also provide facilities and some make you buy their food, others allow you to bring in your own.  Those go for anywhere from $10/person ($4K) to $25/person ($10K).  Still too much.  So we went looking for "halls".  Like the Elks Lodge or the Auto Union Hall.  Oops - not big enough... moving on we tried the local Portuguese (SDES) hall... BINGO!!!  There are two in neighboring towns - one is comprised of two buildings located approximately 50 feet apart (one large and one smaller).  That would hold the right amount of people (dining for 400 in the Large building, dancing for 400 in the smaller) but that walk across the parking lot would have been annoying.

 

We moved on to the other SDES hall in the other town.  That one has approximately the same square footage but is MUCH better laid out.  The larger part (dining hall portion) is connected via in inside ramp to the smaller part (dance floor and stage) with the bar located right in between.  And they only wanted $3K for renting both from Friday night at 7 until Saturday night at midnight!  SCORE!  We booked it right away so it didn't slip from our fingers.  The dining part can hold up to 45 round 10-seat tables, so we are going to have about 40 round tables and then the Bridal Party at seven 8-foot long tables running up one entire side of the room.   Hopefully it will all fit, otherwise I may be sitting in the kitchen to eat!!

 

Now on to decorating this place... next time... stay tuned!

I found out today that a friend passed away this morning.  His name was Tom Carey, 49, and he was a very good man.  When I was growing up, his family and mine were very close and have remained that way to this day.  Tom had 4 brothers and sisters, I had 3.  He was a few years older than me, and was kind of that "All-american" good looking swimmer-guy all the girls oogled and the guys looked up to.  Strong, fit, handsome... you know.

 

Tom was a Fire Captain in a local Fire Department.  He and his wife raised two great boys, both grown now.  Tom was on his way to visit his younger son at college when he had a "cardiac incident" about 30 miles from home.  His potassium levels apparently dropped and he drove off the freeway into a field.  As a firefighter, he probably had some idea that he wasn't safe to drive because the rescue squad said it looked like he just pulled off the road.  That was about 45 days ago.  He was unconscious for a couple of weeks, partly as a healing process and partly because of the damage caused by the lack of blood flow to his brain. 

 

No one was sure if he would even survive the first 24 hours much less 45 days.  He had signed a "Do Not Recusitate" (DNR) order so his wishes were known, and his mother and wife and sons were holding out hope that the recovery process would kick in and he would "get better".  But it was not to be.  He was paralyzed, couldn't move, eat or communicate beyond basic eye movements, and those were only intermittent.

 

Tom spent about 3 weeks at the local hospital 30 miles south, then was transferred to a rehabilitation until at a hospital closer to home.  Once it was evident that he was not doing well, he was transferred to the closer convalescent hospital in our town, where family and friends could visit.  He was cared for by Hospice, which I can tell you is a godsend for families faced with a dying loved one.  Hospice can help ease the transitions that occur and can help explain what is going on to people who only have to do this under the worst of circumstances.

 

Tom was moved to the convalescent hospital a few days ago and family received the call this morning that they needed to come because he was slipping away.  Family came but by the time they arrived, he was gone.  I hope going was easy for him... I really do.  I loved him like the second-cousin you see at family reunions - you catch up on the kids, the career, the vacations... and then you move on to the next conversation because you know you will see them next year... only it will be a long time till I can catch up with Tom... and I will miss that.  Godspeed my friend.