Meg and Michael's Wedding

My dear friends Meghan and Michael got married a little over a week ago. This being the my third wedding--and bridal party-- of the summer, I'm afraid of sounding trite or cliche in my descriptions... oh well. It was a gorgeous wedding with several days of celebration leading up to the event. Meg and Michael looked so happy and perfect together that the rest of us couldn't stop smiling.

The wedding was at Holy Trinity, a great Catholic church (not an oxymoron) in Georgetown. Pic above was taken during the rehearsal (unfortunately, Michael is sans seersucker jacket in this one). The reception was out in Vienna at the country club. Both bride and groom have big families, many of whom were in attendance, along with a whole lotta Notre Dame grads. However, notably absent were Michael's brother and brother-in-law, both of whom are deployed with the Marines. Politics aside--a hard thing to do for those in DC--it was sad to celebrate without them. I don't buy into the cause, but my heart did go out to all the families who pass milestones such as this without loved ones.

Following the ND fight song, Meg and Michael shared their first dance to... surprise... Journey's "Open Arms." Michael was expecting James Taylor but Meg started things off right!

Sara and I were honored to be Meg's Maids of Honor. Of course, this involved giving a toast, which we agonized over for quite some time. While there are lots of funny Meg stories, they are either inappropriate or likely only funny to those of us who lived through them. I guess that's what makes them special though--that there are all of these experiences we have shared through the years (about 15 of them) that bond us together. I believe this all sounded more eloquent in the toast itself... or maybe that was the champagne.

Note pic above of Meg and Maggie--sadly, she was not invited to the wedding. Picture at left of Sag and me decked out in pink. More pictures can be found here.

More on Israel/Lebanon

The crisis continues in Israel and Lebanon and the U.S.-based commentary continues to be abysmally one-sided. The knee-jerk pro-Israel position has been adopted by nearly everyone--American media, U.S. Congress, and virtually all corners of the American Jewish community.

For those seeking more info/less bias, check out the following for news and ideas:

Brit Tzedek V'Shalom
Save Lebanon
Alternative Information Center
BBC
Ha'aretz
The Daily Star

Israel v. Lebanon

It doesn't take a genius to guess who's going to be victorious in this one... the winners will be the IDF (Israeli army); the losers the people of Lebanon. I'd wager that first runner-up will go to Hezbollah, who may succeed in bolstering its standing among the Lebanese.

The whole thing is pretty gross.

I don't imagine that I have any new insight to provide into this situation, but I'd like to register my voice--an American Jewish one--against the actions of the Israel. [To be clear, I'm also opposed to the actions of Hezbollah. (It's damn hard to be actually for someone in the Middle East these days.)] I find myself receiving emails lately from various Jewish listservs announcing Israel solidarity rallies. Now that's chutzpah. This is not to say that the kidnapped soldiers, nor the individuals on the receiving end of Hezbollah's rocket fire don't deserve our support--they do. Rather, it's the implication that Israel is the victim in this situation, instead of the aggressor. The rally I'd like to go to would be Jews holding vigil for the Lebanese who have been killed in this affront. Sadly, I don't think attendance would be too high.

To read more from inside Lebanon, check out this blog.