Saturday, September 26, 2009

Out of the loop


Last Saturday my wife and I attended the wedding ceremony and reception for a young client of mine. It was a beautiful wedding ceremony at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, a church where I frequently attend Mass with my father who was baptized there in 1933.

My beautiful young lady client is in her early 30s and so is her handsome spouse whom I also know. My prayers and thoughts are that they have a wonderful marriage that bears them much fruit and a bounty of children. I asked the groom as I entered the church if he was ready and he replied yes he was. I reminded him that marriage is a sacrament and for forever to which he acknowledged and agreed.

Afterwards, the reception was at an unusual place for a reception, about one block away from the cathedral, at place called The Cosmopolitan. It currently has the status of Sacramento’s premier night club, a place for all the young and beautiful people to be seen dressed to the max and ready to score on each other. Expensive nightclubbing at its finest, like the image I have of a Manhattan Club 54.

As my wife and I satisfied our evening appetites, built by eating light earlier in the day, with an assortment of hor d'oeveres, we were overwhelmed by the loud music and the density of all these beautiful and young single people with alcoholic beverages in hand, engaging in nightclub mingling while hunting for that evening score. We weren’t the only middle-age people among this vibrant crowd but we were definitely in the minority.

The imagery from high to low and left to right as I sat and watched reminded me of my yesteryear nightclubbing days that began before and ran concurrently with the 1970s disco era. The predictable Friday and Saturday evenings of late night dancing and drinking and the following morning hangovers, headaches and empty wallets.

Well that was then and this is now.

It didn’t take long before the intensity of the music and beautiful and young people density overwhelmed us. The straw that broke the camel’s back was when a cocktail server brought us each a small glass of champagne for the toast to the bride and groom that was soon to follow. Since neither of us drink alcoholic beverages any more, we both looked at each other with glass in hand looking like fish out of water with a “what are we suppose to do with it” look on our faces.

At about 15 minutes before 9:00 p.m. we made a mutually-agreeable “business decision” that it was time to leave and we exited out a side door as unassuming and quietly as possible. As the door shut behind us, we were greeted with a wonderful breeze of fresh air and the beauty of nighttime quietness, in sharp contrast to the oxygen-thin nightclub air and and decibel-piercing noise.

As we walked to our car, holding hands, I looked at my wife and told her that we are both out of the loop.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Pierini,

Great blogflection today.
I, too, am out of the loop.
I like to think it's just the wisdom that comes with age.

Does music get louder, the older we get?

Have a great day,
Donna

Anonymous said...

Oh, I also wanted to say I was touched by your video of your wife's birthday celebration.
That wsa really sweet (you probably don't want to be thought of as "sweet"). I'm envious.

Charles Long said...

I've always wondered why people with the worst music always play it the loudest. I really don't like places like that with loud ear-splitting music.

I don't drink either and the last time I was in a club was during my recent 30 year high school reunion. I had water. Before that it was probably 16-17 years ago when I was a cop and it was to break up a bar fight. Not my life style at all.

Jason O. said...

Do not worry Pierini! You are still hip and with it in my world! I'm only 27 and you couldn't pay me to go into the Cosmopolitan. Seriously.
I think night clubs are one of the least coolest things a person can do on a Friday night. I fully support the local dive bar, but the club scene is atrocious and devoid of culture. At least in my opinion; but I may be horribly out of touch for my generation anyhow.

Anonymous said...

wow.....I have a headache and and empty wallet...and I didn't even go to the clubs! What am I doing wrong? peh