Princess Diana

Watching the Concert for Diana right now. WHY, OH WHY, did they invite Diddy (is that what he's going by these days)? Is nothing sacred anymore?

I'm sure this is one of those instances in history where people ask (or will ask), "Where were you when you heard?" August 31, 1997 was the day of my wedding rehearsal.What a day that was!

First, we weren't sure the groom was going to attend. My dear father-in-law decided he needed a vacation two weeks before the wedding, so he left my groom ALONE and in charge of the pizzeria to go fishing in Florida. My love didn't want to close the pizzeria for the afternoon, so not till the 11th hour did he locate someone capable to run the place for a couple hours while he raced from Jersey to Astoria with his groomsmen for a "quick" run-thru.

Then, our ring bearer (the cutest in existence) and his Mommy didn't have a ride to the church so we sent the father of the bride to go get them. This was before we were all cell phone abusers, of course. Funny thing was, we sent my father off without giving him an address. We all (bride, parents, angry groom, priest, groomsmen, bridesmaids, sourpuss bitch of honor and assorted family members along for the ride) waited and waited and waited at the church for well over an hour for what should have been a fifteen minute trip. Once they got there we were finally ready to get started.

Maybe because we were all so stressed from waiting, maybe my hair was pulled too tight from my wedding hair run thru earlier that day (it did look good, if I do say so myself), maybe it was because mine was the first wedding in the family, there were so many things we should have addressed, but we didn't. We were led thru the service by my family priest, we said thank you and we left. There were some questions asked, like when the bitch of honor asked WHY she had to stand NEXT to me during the ceremony? WHY couldn't she stand at the front of the church so she could watch (she didn't and she didn't). That is a story for another day, though.

We left the church and we all returned to my parents home for a big dinner my mother had prepared. Yes, I was a bit annoyed when my groom announced that he and the groomsmen weren't going to stay, we had a TON of food! I think the guys were annoyed that they weren't going to get a free meal after schlepping all the way to Queens. I'm sure, though, they all got back at their pal and made him make them their fave dishes once they got back to the pizzeria.

I think it was towards the end of the evening when we heard the news about Diana. Maybe it was even mid-party. That part is fuzzy. I DO remember having gone to bed and my mother waking me to tell me that Diana had died. I also remember the feeling of sadness that washed over me.

I relived that same feeling almost two years later when I sat vigil on my mother's couch, yet again, waiting to hear of the fate of JFK Jr.

So sad.