On the whole, Friday wasn't one of my better days. It took me forever to pack everything I'd need for the weekend, schlepp it onto the bus, and make my way to camp. Once there, there was a minor crisis involving the camp newspaper, as predicted, although I no longer remember just what the problem was. At any rate, it was resolved, and I went back to the family home in Far Rockaway, which I had to myself for Shabbos.

Later in the afternoon, I went to a party store in the area and spent about twenty bucks on shtick for the wedding, including -- but not limited to -- a bunch of inflatable musical instruments, a cheap tambourine, a beach ball, and some funny hats. Great place, that party store. It was my first time there, but it certainly won't be the last.

So, briefly, then:

• My brother's wedding was called for Sunday afternoon, in Boston. (Technically in Brookline, but that's close enough.) The rest of the family spent the entire weekend there, leaving early on Friday, and returning on Monday morning. I hate sleeping away from home, and didn't want to spend any more time there than I had to, so I decided to go there on Sunday morning, and leave immediately after the wedding, on Sunday night.

• My brother chartered a bus to bring a bunch of family and friends from Far Rockaway to Boston and back, charging riders twenty bucks a head to recoup the costs. My original plan had been to take a plane to the wedding, and then take the chartered bus back, the rationale being that I don't travel very well, and didn't want to have been on the road for four hours or so before launching into a wedding.

  However, it was pointed out that I'd be better off taking the bus both ways, primarily because it wouldn't cost me anything. Not to mention that I wouldn't need to find a ride to the airport in New York, nor have to make my way from the airport in Boston to the wedding hall, via mass transit. Plus, they could use somebody to collect the money on the bus. So that's what I ended up doing.

• Putting me in charge of collecting the money on the bus and generally making sure everything was running properly was an interesting choice, as I was probably the person least suited for such an endeavor. But I was, after all, the only member of the immediate family there... and any port in a storm, I guess.

• In general, weddings are my thing. It's not so much that I enjoy weddings, as it is that I consider them my job. Weddings in the circles I run in tend to thrive on shtick, and I've accumulated a whole bag of tricks over the years. I planned to go all out for this one.