The most radical summer of all times

At Cate and Brady's wedding this past weekend - an amazing weekend during which I kept looking around at my friends and thinking about how lucky I am, and how, by the way, AWESOME we are to have at weddings (just keep it in mind when you get to that invite list) - we ran into Ryan Hanson, the brother of Nick Hanson, who just happens to be a card-carrying member of the rock band Buffalino. And you know who plays drums for that band? That's right. My little brother, Angelo Vincent. Although I'd appreciate it if you kept that information to yourself when I try to sell my story, "Rock 'til you drop: The Buffalino Story," to Rolling Stone because it would be bogus if they knew I was the sister of a band member.

Ryan and I had met up in Wooster, Ohio, on a beautiful, bleak winter weekend. But even if we hadn't we'd be BFF anyway. Because that's what being siblings of Buffalino band members, not to mention being pretty cool people yourselves does for a friendship.

Ryan and I spent a good portion of the evening trying to call young Vinnie and leave him a message about the serendipitous meeting up in New York City. However, when I talked to my brother yesterday he told me he'd received not a single phone call. This is interesting but not unexpected, I suppose. The wedding was in a bar.

Vinnie did tell me however that it was awesome Ryan and I and all our friends had been able to hang out (I KNOW! That's why we kept TRYING TO CALL YOU!) and proceeded to give me the full rundown of his summer which will involve a) finishing up school b) a trip to Europe c) a summer in Maine with the band and then d) going on tour. I explained to him that this was just perfect because some very key people are planning on taking part in the extravaganza, like Ryan, who could, say, manage the band (we talked about it over cocktails and in between failed phone calls) and me, who will write that Pulitzer winning piece and Max Bobbitt, who'll be taking some photographs of the band for press purposes and J, who will contribute artwork to posters and album covers. Everybody wins. And everybody spends the summer in Maine.

Sure, it may not go down as projected by two optimistic and semi-joking siblings, but why give up totally? The dream of the most radical summer of all times? It's a reality for Vinnie and some of his friends and once again I'm reminded that I don't have to be so practical all the time. Vin suggested that Matt Cutler (a good friend of all the band members, a scholar, and owner, if I'm not mistaken of the game "Pocket Principles," which we played up in Wooster and which, I believe, deserves an entire post of its own) and I start some kind of journal. Why don't we?

The possibilities of the summer are endless and, for now, not quite tangible, but I think everybody better be on the lookout for some - dare I say it? - magic.

I was also made aware at the wedding by my darling husband who'd been planning away that we're apparently having a Fourth of July party in Maryland. I'm told everyone is flying home to attend. This is what happens when you meet up with old friends. When the celebration's on and you're not thinking about the plane you have to catch the next morning and everything is beautiful.