New Meadowlands Stadium
March 27, 2010
I’d like to welcome you all here tonight, to what we hope will be the first in a long line of Stellato/Swengler family gatherings at major stadiums… In fact, when the time comes to celebrate the birth of their first child, Brian and Jenny have already decided on Madison Square Garden…
Brian – I’m so excited to be here, and so happy for you. And so proud of you. I’ve always been proud of you… Of your focus and self-confidence, your drive and your determination. The way you look out into the world, decide what you want, and go after it.
Since the first time you went to one of my band concerts and decided that you were going to play the trumpet. And a few years later, you did.
And when you first joined the marching band and decided that drum major seemed like a better gig than trumpet player, and less than a year later, you were drum major.
And when you told us that you were going to be a high school band director when you grew up. I was skeptical, because I’m older than you, and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. But here you are. All grown up. A high school band director. Well done, Brian.
It turns out that Brian brought that same focus and sense of purpose to his romantic life. He was looking for love and long term commitment when other 3rd graders just wanted to trade valentines.
I’ll never forget the first time Brian told me he wanted to marry a dark-haired Jewish girl who’d gone to Cortland. But then I explained that our Mom was already married – to our Dad. And we thought that dream might die. But he kept looking…
It didn’t take him long to know when someone wasn’t right. I remember he told me about a blind date he went on. They went out to dinner and ordered an appetizer that came with blue cheese. The date asked for the blue cheese on the side. “Oh – Do you not like blue cheese?” my brother asked. “No. I don’t like cheese,” the date said. “Check, please!,” said my brother, knowing his search would continue…
But then he met Jenny. It wasn’t quite love at first sight, for either of them. Especially for Jenny. She wasn’t looking for anything too serious, and liked tall blonde guys. And Brian was, well…
Their first date was coffee at Starbucks, the day before Thanksgiving. But they barely had time to get to know each other before going back to Jenny’s parents’ house, where they were greeted by her entire extended family. I saw him the next day and asked him how the date went, and whether he liked her. “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “But her grandmother is really nice!”
Three months later, by Valentine’s Day, they were booking a cruise together for July. And the day before they left on the cruise, he proposed.
I asked Brian when he knew for sure. He told me that there were a lot of little moments, but this one is my favorite: They were out to dinner, and he wanted to surprise her, so he said “Wait until you see what we’re doing after dinner!” “What?” she asked. “You’ll see,” he said. But the real surprise was that he had no idea what they were doing after dinner. He’d made the whole thing up. So after dinner, he started driving. “Where are we going?” she asked. “You’ll see,” he said. But he had nothing. Until they stopped at a red light. In front of a Target. “Oh my God!” she said. “Are we going to Target?” (clearly thrilled). And that’s when Brian knew that this was a woman he could spend the rest of his life with.
And so all of Brian’s choices, and all of his focus and determination – to play the trumpet, to be a drum major, to be a band director – were all leading him on a journey – from my parents’ house, to Delaware, to Southampton, all the way to Huntington High School, and a set of enthusiastic band parents named the Swenglers, and to a dark-haired Jewish girl who’d gone to Cortland named Jenny, who would turn out to be the one he was looking for all along.
Jenny – You’re everything Brian’s ever wanted. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re gorgeous. You shop at Target. You like cheese. You’re everything my brother’s ever wanted, and you’re everything I’ve always wanted for my brother. I’m so glad he found you. Well done, Brian.
So let’s raise a glass to Jenny and Brian. May they always find exactly what they’re looking for – together.
If he was looking for cheese, Target and CATHOLIC.. well, that would have been something. Sorry I missed him. Well done to you all!
xo
Posted by: xdm | April 03, 2010 at 10:33 PM