A Shower for Two Seasons Amidst a Hurricane

This weekend in Miami was one hell of a trip. Amber's family came down for the Steelers vs. Dolphins football game, so my family took the opportunity to throw a "wedding shower," which is like a bridal shower except that I'm also there. It was actually more of a pre-wedding reception in Miami for those who can't make the trip out to Steeltown.

I have my suspicions that this Miami party might be comparable (in terms of fun factor) to the official wedding reception in October. Now, that could be a stretch, but those of you who attend both can tell me if I'm wrong.

Oh, and for those who didn't know, this party went on in the middle of a hurricane. Well, not exactly. For all the talk of hurricanes and the attempts at inducing panic in the news, Hurricane Jeanne skirted Miami, so we were only hit with the storm's outer bands. I'm sure any parties in West Palm Beach, where Jeanne hit directly, were cancelled, but not in Miami!

Torrential downpour? Bring in the moros y maduros!
50 mph gusting winds? Turn up the music!
Evacuation warnings? ¡AZUCAR!

And since everything else in Miami closed, it seemed like our party was THE event of the night. I guess that's why Paris Hilton was trying to get in the door. Sorry, Paris, the fire marshal said we were at gringo-capacity. You can wait, but be sure to hang on to something or the wind will blow your 9-pound body away to Oz.

I've got hand it to my sister, Melissa. She managed to plan this fiesta, create the invitations, design the decorations, move the furniture, setup the tables and chairs, get the food, create mix CDs, make party favors, and even put together gift bags for Amber's family! People were calling and asking if the party was still on because of the impending apocalypse, as the sensationalist newscasters would have you believe. "Yes, be here!" she'd tell people. And they were. And the party went on. Amazing! If she can do all that, can she fly, too? I think so!

Incidentally, one of the most impressive aspects of the party was the decorative theme of the whole thing. From the get go, the invitations, the distinction was clear. Pittsburgh represented Amber, Miami was me. At the actual party, there were two types of tables.

The first type had sunflowers in vases filled with sand from Miami Beach, with some sand spread lightly around the tables. There you have summer -- sunny, warm, colorful -- that's me. That's how my hometown is 10 months out of the year, and I love it!

The second type had novelty branches in tall vases filled with fake snow. There you have winter, representing Amber. Despite my jokes, Amber's not a cold, frigid person... but her city is for 6 months out of the year. However, she is white like the snow, and that's a fact!

Finally, I can't finish this post without mentioning the following:

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, there's a temporal phenomenon in the Miami culture called Cuban Time. For an in-depth explanation, please see this entry. Amber's sister-in-law, Susan, having lived in Miami for a number of years, was aware of this time-based discrepancy between announced and actual start times. Amber's brother's friends, who live in Miami but are originally from the western PA area, are also undoubtedly familiar with this. Well, they knew that the invitations said the party started at 5:00pm. Did that mean show up at 5:30pm or 7:00pm?

So in they come at 5:45pm, which in Pennsylvania society is a mortal sin worthy of excommunication from country clubs and square dances for you and three generations of your descendants. Well, in Miami, you're still early gringos! Yes, despite their best efforts to be late, our monolingual English-speaking friends were early. HA! That kills me!