Tag: #Wedding

  • Short Story Review: “Fireworks,” by Graham Swift

    (The short story, “Fireworks” by Graham Swift, appeared in the January 17th, 2022 issue of The New Yorker.)

    Crisis and release. Some people live for it, some thrive in it, but most people try to avoid it. As we are all living in a global crisis, helplessness seems to be a feeling that we are all dealing with, and, in some cases, projecting on others as well. Different characters exemplify these emotions, and reactions in Graham Swift’s short story “Fireworks.” It’s a short short story, even for The New Yorker’s standards, but that isn’t a knock against the piece, as it is a concise and subtle work.

    Plot: The story is set during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the question is if Frank’s daughter’s wedding will happen, or will the world end, and then the after effects of that situation at a neighbor’s bonfire on Guy Fawkes Night.

    I liked this story, for its simplicity and directness of Frank’s experiences. How Frank stayed steady and calm about a positive outcome for the Missile Crisis, and how life would continue. I like how Graham Swift worked in the observation of Frank’s dread of Mondays, but also his relief and focus when that work day was over, as now the rest of the week would be manageable for him. Knowing that Frank was a bombardier in the War, added a nice depth to his character, as Allied aircrews had a high mortality rate. And how it all mixed together at the neighbor’s bonfire, celebrating the foiling of the Gunpowder Plot, which if it hadn’t been stopped, could have plunged England into war and civil strife. Frank’s heroic act is faith, belief that it will be okay, though everything is out of his control. Sure, maybe this wasn’t the most dramatic story I have read, but I don’t think high drama was the point. I felt like this was a story confirming where we are presently, and where we can still end up. And if it does work out, appreciate what you went through to get there.

  • Disc Golf

    Last week I was on vacation with my family up in Maine. The wife asked me what I most wanted to do while away, and this first thing I said was napping. But after that I just blurted out, disc golf.

    Am I a disc golfer? No.

    I have done it twice in my life, and the last time was 10 years ago while at my best friend’s wedding. (Here comes a story!) My friend went to grad school in Kansas City, and that was where the wedding was taking place. As such, he invited a good number of his grad school friends. A couple of days before the wedding, the grad school gang all wanted to go disc golfing, and they were a real nice group of people, and invited the wife and I to go along. We were game, and had a great time with them. One guy brought a portable cooler with beer, and another person loaned us discs to play, so everybody got a little tipsy, and it was competitive enough to allow some friendly trash talking.

    Every now and then, disc golf pops into my head, but living in NYC there really isn’t a place to do it here in the City. But, way up in the woods in Maine, I had a feeling that there would be a place.

    About thirty minutes from our house we were staying in, there was a totally rugged, as it took you up the side of a very steep hill, but also a well-maintained course. The baskets and chains were what looked to be new, and tees all were clean, solid slabs of cement. There were discs to borrow, and being that I was there on a Monday, I had to place all to myself. It was like hiking but while playing a game.

    I enjoyed myself, and it was one of the highlights of our vacation. And I am doing the thing I did the last time I disc golfed; I am wondering if I should go and buy a set of discs. You know, just in case I need them in ten years.

  • That Other Anniversary

    And I happen to have another anniversary this week. Today is my ten-year wedding anniversary. I am a little surprised that I have been married for ten years. It did go by rather fast. I never thought that I would get married in the first place, so to get to this place, I guess does show that the two of us made the right call.

    The truth is that most of our anniversaries haven’t had the best celebrations attached to them. Our first anniversary was pretty great as we took a week in Vermont to celebrate. And then after that, it’s been pretty hit and miss. One year, the wife was out of work and money was pretty tight, but we still went out at the local restaurant down the block; nothing fancy. Another year, my wife was pregnant, so no alcohol silliness for either of us, nor oysters. After the kid was born, that anniversary celebration was a babysitter, and an afternoon movie. We also don’t do big gifts. Most of the time it’s Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream on the couch laughing at something on TV.

    But neither of us complain about it. I could be all cute and sentimental and say that the kid is our wonderful anniversary gift, but that would be a lie. The kid makes us a family, which is awesome, but I married my wife because I like spending time with her, and she’s smart and makes me laugh, and is fun.

    She’s still fun after all of this time.