This week I went to a wedding at Randlords. The wedding was on Monday, December 19th, which might seem strange. But this is Johannesburg, where a wedding on a Monday evening in late December makes perfect sense.
I felt a little sad the day of the wedding. That same day five years ago, also on a Monday, was the day Jon died.
Just before the wedding, while Ray and I were waiting for an Uber to fetch us, we had a fight about pants. It was a stupid fight and it was my fault. Ray and I talked to the Uber driver on the way to the wedding but we didn’t talk to each other.
Then we arrived at Randlords and took the express elevator to the 22nd floor.
The marriage at Randlords was between two men, Shawn and Rodney. I met Shawn and Rodney in 2012 at the Ansteys Building with their tiny baby, Xavier, who is now a grown-up boy.
Shawn and Rodney met exactly ten years ago – December 19th, 2006 – on a street corner in Washington D.C.
The wedding was awesome, as you might expect, and I cried a lot. The view was awesome too.
Ray and I forgot about the pants fight. We said we loved each other and agreed we were happy to live in a country where men can marry men and women can marry women and fabulous weddings can happen on Mondays. We agreed it’s fucking ridiculous this isn’t the case in every country on earth, but that is a topic for another post.
Then we went home in another Uber (sorry we ghosted, Shawn and Rodney – you know how I roll), drank lots of water, and went to sleep.
Wherever Jon is, I know he approves.
Congrats, Shawn and Rodney. Your wedding was rad.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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