Clam Bake!

The first time that the whole of the wedding party gathered together in one place was not until the third night that we had been in town (if one counts the one during which my father and I arrived as the first). The second night some of us had dinner at that Spanish restaurant. Oh, but that third night! A staple of my very early childhood was trips to my mother's family in Connecticut, and the typical form of social engagement there and then was the clam bake. As we were to see many of those relatives for the first time in years, it seems appropriate that even in Florida the event would be a clam bake. My first question and last question was on the possible attendance of Elvis Presley. I got a maybe, but was disappointed.

Obviously a clam bake entails the eating of clams in various forms, and in each they were delicious. Lubricating conversations were two tasty beers, one being a tangerine ale (which I repeatedly avowed was good for you) and the other being Yuengling (which was too much fun to say given that we were in Sarasota, evidently the winter home of the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey circus). We had it all: clam cakes, chowder both New England and Manhattan and all the little neck clams one could eat. I regard them as the pistachios of the sea. The mechanics of eating them are effectively the same.

It felt nice to be for once a part of the private party in public surroundings and not part of the public excluded. Somehow I could not find it in myself to excoriate myself for such ostentatious display of prosperity. What a lovely evening it was to eat, drink and make merry with a healthy blend of blood relatives and strangers (from the bride's side, of course). To eat clams with gusto as the sun set over the beach and over-exuberant children play volleyball adjacent to us was one of the more pleasurable experiences I can name of late.

Of course good is never good enough, and so following the clam bake the night carried over to a nearby bar where we got to know a little bit better some of the groomsmen and bridesmaids, among others. I will confess to having exceeded my well-intentioned usual appetites, but for very good reason I'm sure you'll agree. That morning and the preceding night I had been feeling quite unwell, so there would be a reasonable fear of exacerbating my condition with drink and a couple of dubious clams, and yet I was worlds better the morning after. What a remarkable machine is the human body!