A HPH take on the Royal Wedding

Did you hear?  Prince William married his long-time girlfriend, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton!!!  I know, I was completely shocked when I heard it, too; I mean there had been NOTHING on the news for weeks, no months, about the blessed event.  And in true British royal style, a small, intimate affair was completely pulled off without even a hint to the mass media.  Yet again, the royal family has succeeded in keeping their laundry (dirty or otherwise) out of the public eye.

Right.

So what did we here at Hyde Park Heroes think of the wedding?  I'm so glad you asked!  Because I am a true connoisseur (yes, that's spelled right) of all things royal as of, well, yesterday, I thought I would fill you in on my thoughts on the matter.

1.  It's a ghost!

When Kate first stepped out of her hotel into her sweet ride, I thought "Oh, she's borrowing Grace Kelly's dress!  What a symbolic gesture to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who care more about this wedding than the Brits do!  And what a great way to save cash in troubled times!"  Upon closer examination, of course, I realized that while the dress did look strikingly similar to the former Queen of Monaco's 1950s look, Kate's dress was beautiful in and of itself.  I really do mean that.  And of course showed a lot more skin.  Which is always appropriate for a wedding, right?  I mean have you ever seen "Say Yes to the Dress"?  Especially that see-through "looks like lingerie dress" that all the Jersey girls love?  Classy.  We've come a long way in 50 years...

2.  Can't see the forest for the trees

While I like to think that the trees that were brought into Westminster Abbey made the whole affair look a little more, well, "British country shabby chic" I would have been SO PISSED if I was one of the guests who had flown in from Lesotho or Israel or the Jersey Shore or wherever and was stuck looking at a stupid British tree.  Wow, it's a oakus maximus.  How thoroughly boring.

3.  Not his best side

I get that dear William isn't supposed to watch his bride walk up the aisle (which, good Lord, took long enough!  Get there already!)  Unfortunately, it also gave us a 3 1/2 minute view of his bald spot.  Poor guy; each day he looks more like his fuddy duddy father (are you allowed to say that about the future King?  Of course!  That's why we fought the revolution!)  Someone get this man some Rogaine! 

4.   See no evil, hear no evil...

I literally laughed out loud when I saw this picture.

Not because kiss one and two were both slightly awkward, but because of the priceless face (and hand placement) of the little girl on the left.  Poor thing, it was so loud!  And besides, she's only like what, four?  Enough with all the pomp and circumstance already.  Someone get that girl a lollipop.

5.  I think someone wore this to prom

I'm sure Pippa is a nice, sweet, ladylike young woman, even if her name is horrible.  But I'm also pretty sure that I saw this very same dress at our high school prom in 2000.  Is she going retro?

______________________________

Ok, ok, I've been a little harsh (and I haven't even mentioned the ridiculous fascinators worn by some members of the royal family).  But when we spend so much time thinking and talking about one royal wedding, we're inviting in a few snarky comments.  That said, it truly was a beautiful day and, hopefully, a sign of good to come for the royal family.  More importantly, I think it would do us good to remember the words of the Anglican priest who gave the homily:

Every wedding is a royal wedding with the bride and groom as king and queen of creation, making a new life together so that life can flow through them into the future. 

Every wedding is about more than who wore what, what the flowers looked like or the hats that someone wore.  Every wedding reminds us of our place in creation.  Every wedding reminds us of the gift of oneness.  And ultimately, every wedding reminds us that we are the bride of Christ.

Now to pick out my tiara...

Michael W. Smith might just be right

M and I just returned from a (slightly extended, due to complete failure by Delta) trip back to DC for our friend Brittany's wedding.  It was a wonderful time to catch up with friends, spend some time relaxing and not, well, really do anything (minus the whole wedding coordinating part.  Minor detail.)

We are cute!  And bright!

And when we finally touched down last night, I thought to myself that- as much as I hate to admit it- Michael W. Smith might just be right.  Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them... (everybody now!)  The ladies and gentlemen we spent our weekend with are people that we haven't seen- in some cases- in nearly a year and, in other cases, in a few months.  And yet-- these are still mostly the people (outside of our families) who know us the best, who love us the most and who we hope to continue to foster friendships with for years and years to come.  

And then something else hit me: this group, this community, is truly a gift.  It's not just about having fun (though I think riding around with his friend in the cop car might have been one of the highlights of M's time in DC)...it's about rejoicing together, weeping together and ultimately sharing life together.

Of all the things I miss about DC, I can honestly say that this community I'm describing is what I miss the most.  Don't get me wrong, we have a fledgling little community here in Chicago- but man, oh man, I don't know if I ever realized how great I had it.  And yet, more than ever before, I also realize how important it is; to have people there when you're hurting, there when you're rejoicing, to spur you on towards love and good deeds and sometimes say those hard words to you.  At the heart of it, I believe this is what we were created for ("No man is an island" ring a bell?)  I believe that deep- and often suppressed- inside all of us is a desire to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, to be loved and encouraged, to mean something to others and to have others who mean something to you.   

I am so, so thankful for these friends and the others (college roommates, amazing Florida friends, pastors who love us) who are important actors in our lives and who- we hope- will continue to provide this important thing called community moving forward.  

This doesn't mean I'm now a Michael W. Smith fan.

Bright Lights, Big City

I've just this week realized something about Chicago.

It's a BIG CITY.

Don't get me wrong, I've known all along that it's bigger than DC, even bigger than Houston.  And certainly bigger than any other Midwest city- not that I really know or care about many of those.

But, gosh darn it, Chicago is a big city.  This week, as I've driven M downtown for his internship (side note: his office- an intern has an office??- has two large windows that look out over the Carbide and Carbon building and this cool, wavy new condo building) I've been struck by the number of people.  They're everywhere.  On the roads, on the trains, in the cars, in the taxis.  Maybe it's because East Garfield Park isn't exactly overflowing with people and Hyde Park is more college town (nerdy college town, but college town nonetheless) than downtown.  But I've just really been struck by the thousands and thousands of individuals walking to and from work, up and down Michigan Avenue and circling the city on the L.

While DC will probably always take the prize for "most fanny-packed tourists per capita" Chicago is overflowing with tourists all its own.  From places like Small Town, Iowa and Middle of Nowhere, Indiana, Chicago is- for so many people- the epitome of the Big City.  I don't know for sure what it represents, but I think it might be a bittersweet mix of industrial development, capitalism and Americana.  It's midwestern enough that these tourists don't feel too out of place and yet different enough that a trip here can feel like a trip to a somewhat foreign locale.  There is something familiar and yet so completely unknown that it's exciting and daunting all at the same time.

And it is finally now- in this now 10 month adventure in Chicago- that M and I realize how much we love the city.  Not necessarily the specific city of Chicago, but just the grander idea of the city.  In the city, you can't help but rub shoulders with people who are altogether different.  You can't beat the cultural and artistic opportunities it affords.  The city is always thriving and teaming with life; yes, sometimes quite heart-breaking and oftentimes depressing, but thriving nonetheless.  Deep inside of us there is a desire to continue to live out life in a place like this, where traffic will most likely drive me to the point of insanity and we will never be able to afford a house the size of the ones we grew up in.  Which we most likely don't need anyway.  

And yet under these bright lights and in a Big City, we will choose to live our life.  And just like the draw those fanny-packed tourists feel, this experience- so familiar and yet so unknown- will no doubt continue to be both exciting and daunting at the same time. 

We Are the World

I readily admit that when it comes to world geography, I'm a bit of a snob.  Chalk it up to being a History and Political Science major, where I had to learn all the countries (and capitals) of Europe, North and South America and Africa (interestingly, my worst geography is still Asia).  Or maybe it's that I've been fortunate to travel the world relatively extensively.  Or maybe it's that I worked in international economic development.  Whatever it is, I also admit that I'm embarrassed by the lack of knowledge of world geography for most Americans.

As we've been watching the World Cup this weekend, I can't help but think that most Americans had never heard of Cameroon or Cote d'Ivoire before today.  And most probably don't know that Slovenia is different than Slovakia, which is different from Serbia.  Yugoslavia?  Yeah, it's no longer a country.  Neither is Czechoslovakia.  And Austria doesn't have a coast.

But why does it really matter?  What do these little boundaries mean anyway?  We're America!  That's what matters!  (Never mind the fact that Americans would riot if someone accidentally referred to us as Canada or Mexico.)  Knowing geography matters because people matter.  People around the globe matter.  And just as the people of Canada (few that they are) have different traditions and a different history than America, the people of Slovenia have a very different history and traditions from Serbia.  I'll never forget reading Robert Kaplan's book Balkan Ghosts.  Kaplan suggested that if his readers wanted to understand the political, religious and social turbulence of the Middle East, they should look to the area formerly known as Yugoslavia.  In essence, he summed up why I think history and geography are important: if you want to understand what's going on in the world, you need to understand its intricate past and its geopolitical present.

Now who knows where Lesotho is?