Congratulations to Rich and Sherri
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This weekend was the wedding of my cousin Richard and his fiancé Sherri. Sherri is a really cool lady and she totally completes Richard. Rich is a very down to earth, very grounded guy - pragmatic, hard-working and as about as earnest a man as you'd ever want to know. He's been working with practical applications of alternative energy, wind and solar, ever since college and has a great love of the outdoors. Sherri sets Richard a little off-balance, in a very nice way. Sherri is a very intelligent, warm person with a heart so kind her eyes twinkle. She's a book buyer for Vroman's, the quintessnetial independent bookstore in Pasadena. Together, Sherri and Richard have become known as the perfect hosts, offering up casually elegant dinners and comraderie that have become the envy of my family (which appreciates being entertained).
Cherie and I packed up the kids and headed south where we joined my sister Ginny and her daughters Kelly (18) and Jessie (15) at my parents' home. It was good to see the whole famdamily, particularly "Brother" John (Rich's brother), "Uncle" John and Jenny (Rich's uncle and aunt), and the whole retinue of my cousins and their kids. Bringing the youngest generation together always is a happy thing, particularly for the aged ancestors in the family (that would currently be my parents' generation), and this weekend held much anticipation for them. It didn't disappoint.
Saturday evening was the wedding and reception, for about a hundred guests. Typical of Sherri and Rich it was simply elegant, traditional and low-key. On Sunday morning, my parents hosted a very casual brunch for the family in their backyard which included not only the bride and groom (before they headed off to Spain on their honeymoon) but Sherri's folks as well, which was great as they're really lovely people.
One really neat surprise at the wedding at was the music. I noticed a couple of guys who looked to be in their early sixties playing amplified accousitc guitar before the ceremony - it was some lovely slack-key Hawaiian interpretations of old rock songs. Turns out it was Paul Johnson and Gil Orr, famed surf guitarists (The Surfaris and the Chantays), who play as The Duotones. At the reception, they went electric, just the two of them with no bass and drums. If you're not a fan or, or aren't familiar with the surf guitar sound of bands like The Ventures, Dick Dale and the Deltones or The Surfaris, they were the roots music for guys like the Beach Boys. This is music that really showcases the beauty of the solid body electric guitar. These guys were great, and brought things full circle for me since it was Richard who introduced me to the already bygone genre when I was about 15 via The Ventures.