I DJ'd a wedding reception Saturday night at Westwood Country Club. A great facility and great staff. It was a second marriage for the groom so the age of the guests was skewed a bit older.
That meant playing little in the way of current top 40. Honestly, even when the bride and groom are of typical marrying age the party works better when they ask me to focus on classics instead of the hot hits of the day. Sure, throwing in current smashes like "Call Me Maybe" or "Gangnam Style" are important as it gives their wedding a sense of time, but people, especially are large group of varying ages are more prone to dance to songs they know.
I had a blast Saturday night playing many songs I've rarely, sometimes never played before. That's why I still do it. The sense of not knowing where I'm going from song to song is exhilarating. And the guests leave with a sense of not having just attended another wedding reception.
Anyway, the next day I attend a wake in Westlake. A friend's mother had died. Well, these were more than friends. You see, my late father and their late father were best friends growing up in Lakewood. We were more like cousins, this family and mine, spending holidays together and other special events.
As I signed the guest book one of the funeral home staff and his wife asked if I'd DJ'd the reception at Westwood last night. We all laughed at the recognition of what a small world it is to be a part of a community for so many years. He complimented me on having had such a great time and that he was paying for it this morning.
In the receiving line at the wake I ran into actual cousins, bar owners and friends I haven't seen in quite awhile. It felt like a community reunion. I swear to God there must be a mere one degree of separation amongst those of us who have lived and stayed in the west shore community of Cleveland.
Some people may think that's too close. They like a sense of anonymity. Not me. I cherish that sort of bond and, besides, it keeps you in check. You can't go doing something too foolish without someone you know finding out.
Here's another weird thing. In the past five days four different people have told me I look like I could be related to so and so. These are all different people I'm supposed to remind them of, whether it be a judge, the groom or one of their friends.
Maybe it's more than degrees of seperation. Maybe we're so close knit that I am distantly related to some of thesed people. Ok, that's getting a bit too rural for me.
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