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Love Rollercoaster

Sat., July 7, 2007

Joe and Andrea's roller coaster wedding cake.

I’ve been friends with Joe since junior high and for a while there in the late-’80s and the ’90s, we’d go to Cedar Point every year. As we left the park at the end of the day, elated and with that compressed-muscle feeling that we were still aboard the coasters, my tradition would be to buy a souvenir map of the park. We enjoyed unfolding it and considering where among the sparse or forested plots of lakefront property the next great ride would be built.

With work and distance, Joe and I don’t hang out as often as we used to, but in the interim, those maps grew fuller, as did Joe, when he met a remarkable woman, Andrea. I realize now that it’d be trivial yet interesting to chart the parallel progress, matching additions to those maps with milestones of their relationship. For instance, the year they saw Gosford Park together, Wicked Twister appeared. I’m sure that means something.

But to the point, Andrea liked roller coasters as much as Joe. More improbably, she shared his passion for reality television, odd eBay purchases, Broadway musicals and their soundtracks, obscure facts of American history and geography, and the sort of murder-mystery parties where at least one guest ends up “dead” on the floor in the kitchen. Both Joe and Andrea are funny, smart and sensible people, yet assuredly not the same person. She provides the brassy counterpoint to his lower register, and I don’t think I have to worry about them buying matching embroidered jean jackets anytime soon.

A guy can make questionable choices in girlfriends. The friends who know him best may find her annoying or inappropriate but remain silent because of their loyalty to him. It happens. But that’s not at all the case with Andrea and Joe and it’s my impression his friends suspected she was The One before he fully reached that conclusion himself. When he called to let me know of the engagement, I said something like, “I was wondering when this would happen, by which I mean all of us were wondering.” This much I didn’t expect: he proposed to her on the Magnum XL-200, which didn’t shock her as much as the fact he’d been carrying the ring in his pocket all day, including aboard rides that went upside-down.

“It’s insured!” he was quick to point out.

At Joe and Andrea’s wedding today, the metaphor of marriage and roller coasters was a theme. It’s true: both are thrilling, with twists and turns, unexpected or otherwise, with dizzying highs and lows. And in this metaphor, friends and family are there, too, because everyone has season passes. We’re “along for the ride,” you might say, and at the end of the day, everyone gets funnel cakes.

Bonus mp3: “Love Rollercoaster” by The Ohio Players (1975).

Tags: Friends, Music, Ohio, Photo | Photo of Joe and Andrea’s wedding cake by Jason. | Comments have been closed.

On July 11, 2007 at 6:38 p.m., Joe wrote:

What a very nice entry. It made me tear up. But I know there are a number of people of the female persuasion out there that will be disheartened that they did not appear in your blog, since there apparently was some sort of bet among our friends and now no one has earned a free drink. Oh, and we are having a fabulous time in London, thanks for asking.

On July 11, 2007 at 9:25 p.m., Jason wrote:

So are you having a fabulous time in... oh, wait.

Yeah, I was surprised at all the young ladies who asked, “So what’ll it take to get mentioned in your blog?” It was like a setup for a really nerdy porno. I didn’t even know I had a Toledo posse, much less one so sassy.

I’d say Jen was the most persistent, so she should get the free drink. Does being mentioned in a comment count? If not, I may be able to crank out a bawdy limerick in her honor.

On July 12, 2007 at 6:44 p.m., Alicia (Andrea's sister) wrote:

What a beautiful summary of their relationship! I'm sure my mom will want to scrapbook that somehow...
Love the "bonus Mp3" too, can't believe they didn't play that at the reception.