I want to expand on something I said to April two nights ago. We drove to Lafayette, Louisiana, for our friend Leah's we-totally-got-married party (weekend via Instagram). Last November, Leah and Josh were married in a civil ceremony. I saw photographic evidence. It was simple, elegant, and beautiful. Then this past weekend, they hosted a Cajun dance party at the Blue Moon Saloon, inviting friends and family to celebrate the happy union. There was crawfish. There was beer. There was an incredible band Feufollet.
At one point in the evening, April and I sat on a bench, watching everyone dance. One older couple, who clearly took dance lessons, glided around the floor. Leah's sister and brother-in-law bopped around in a way that reminded me of this. Leah and Josh spun around in the center. It was a sweet moment.
I thought about Mark Twain's "The Lowest Animal," a scathing critique on the human condition, where he lists all the unique atrocities no other animal except humans commit. (Yes, I think about Twain in random places.) Then I leaned over to April and said:
"Some may say that humans are the only animals that commit murder and terrorist acts, that we're the only animals that torture our own kind. But I think it's worth mentioning that we're also the only animal that throws parties, that takes dance lessons, that places chocolate in small glass jars as wedding favors, that has art walks, and that claps at the end of songs."
The next day, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, a horrific act that leaves us all angry and heartbroken. Whoever was behind it is a sick human being. But I hope we don't forget that the idiots and psychopaths don't get to define us as a species. There are so many more good people in this world. I saw some of them dancing at the Blue Moon Saloon, celebrating a wedding. It's a small but necessary comfort when confronted with a cruel, senseless world.
