Wedding

My friend and I came to this country 64 years ago. I came with my girlfriend whom I married shortly after arriving, my friend came solo. Since he was strapping young man (then) he had no difficulty meeting the love of his life.

After an honorable courtship they decided to get married. I was not surprised, because his choice was a very lovely young lady. I was pleasantly surprised when he asked me to be his best man. Growing up in Hungary and never been to a wedding before I had no clue what the title best man meant. But I agreed.

The day of the wedding ceremony arrived, and I was there sharply dressed in my rented white tuxedo. The ceremony went on without a hitch. The banquet followed where I was seated a the dais. I was informed that during dinner it was customary for the best man to stand up and say a few nice words. This was when the sh.t hit he fan.

At that time my English was not as eloquent as it is now (!), plus I was still very shy (I outgrew that, too). Anxiety time was here. But as a good trooper I prevailed. At the right time I stood up, I clinked my glass and said something like this: let's all drink to the good health of the young couple. And they all did.This speech will not make the annals of great speeches.

Sidebar: at their 50th anniversary dinner I was asked to say a few words, and by that time few words were not in my vocabulary. As I remember my shyness was history. Besides, a few words are not enough to describe such a good friendship and such a wonderful couple.