Public Art

We've decided what to do about all that junk at the bottom of the hill that you'll be coming through to get to the ceremony.  We're going to commission Christo to wrap it all in 17,000 square yards of lavender nylon.

Well, no, we probably won't do that.

But the ceremony itself is going to be a form of public art.  A happening.  A Be-In.  And we're in the process of choreographing that, and deciding on all the roles for all the appropriate players.  It won't be like watching TV, as most weddings are, with the action going on at a distance and everyone else passively absorbing the drama.  No, everyone who comes is going to be an integral component of the day.  You all are marrying us, declaring your membership in our community of mutual love and support.  We will have an officiant, but each of you will have some parts of the officiant's roles and responsibilities.

We don't know what that looks like yet, but it'll be fun.

On another art front, I was at a conference here in Boston last week, and when I got off the subway, I realized that right across the street was Frank's Tailors, a second-floor old-school menswear store.  I'd heard nothing but good things about them, so during my lunch break, I went up and got fitted for my new wedding suit.  What a throwback place!  The "showroom" was maybe 250 square feet, the size of a big bedroom.  The carpet had been newly installed in the 1940s.  And there were an upper and lower pipe rack around two sides of the store holding over 300 suits.

The walls were barely painted, the windows tiny and grimy, handmade signs all around.  They were NOT investing in the decor.  But Bill Kopellas (son of Frank) helped me find a wonderful Brioni summer suit, and marked the alterations in about three minutes.  (Brioni, by the way, is the brand of suit that James Bond wore, though, you know, don't get your hopes up for Pierce Brosnan or Daniel Craig...)  I looked at four suits, tried on two, got fitted, and still had time to get lunch before the afternoon session.  And during the time I was there, he worked with four other men to select or alter their clothes. 

Nora won't see this suit until the afternoon of the wedding, just as I won't see what she's wearing.  I'm going to have to buy a lock for the hall closet.