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The following is the toast I delivered as best man at the wedding of my brother Damon Kachan and Natasha Clarke. It was a picture-perfect wedding. The two were gracious, looked great, and were the envy of everyone. DZK
I'd like to thank Damon and Natasha for asking me to say a few words here tonight. I'd especially like to thank them for selecting me for this role. I must confess it was with real surprise that they asked me stand up for them like this. I was very flattered. Those of you who know Damon or Natasha or my family may know Damon and I were maybe not the closest two brothers can be growing up. So it wasn't just flattery, but a huge honor to be asked to be here, at the big table like this tonight. I'd like to thank him, thank both of you, for selecting me. I never guessed, growing up, that I'd be up here in front of this microphone--in front of you--paying tribute to my little brother and his bride. At least certainly not before I, the older brother, was married! This is an interesting point: growing up, I guess like most older brothers, I was always conscious of the age difference between us. Any of you with brothers and sisters know what I'm talking about. How a couple of years difference seem like such a big deal growing up. The older one gets the bigger room, the cooler toys, the first generation clothes (no hand-me downs!) The older one usually gets the first girlfriend--though I don't say I really remember that point about the two of us. Well, my point here is that the age difference, a whopping two years, means so much growing up, yet it means absolutely nothing now, doesn't it? I mean, growing up I'd never thought about going out with a girl my BROTHER's age. It just wouldn't be right! Now, I'm having a heck of a time finding any Natasha's age still available! As best man, tradition obliges me to share with you some appropriately embarrassing or otherwise insightful glimpses into Damon's earlier years. I'm going to do my best not to embarrass the little guy or his new bride much. Actually, I suspect they asked me to do this here tonight because I don't know any of the good dirt on them as a couple through their university years. Good thing too, otherwise I might accidentally mention something embarrassing from one of their wild drinking binges as students, for which they were famous. Or other juicy incidents--none of which I really should talk about here. Growing up, Damon was the troublemaker. (Who'd have have thought?!) He was also the sports player of the family, a top-notch hockey player. Some of you might not know this, but he a very promising player before an injury; among his teammates were people who went on to play for the NHL. One of his teammates was Tony Iob, here in the audience, who now plays professional hockey in Europe. Not only did he play hockey, he had lots of friends, and was never home--often because he was up to no good (I'd guess with some of you in the room right now, though I'm not supposed to know about the things you did!) Yeah, his grades weren't the best at times, and I know the little guy was sometimes compared to me, but I've always suspected he's the one who had more fun growing up. And this is important. He's never really known this, but I've always sort of envied him. As much as people compared the two of us, I sometimes wished I could be more like him. Be good at physical sports, have more of an irreverent attitude. Be able to talk back to Mom and Dad! Times like tonight, especially, I wish I was a little like him and Natasha. I'm sure all of us here tonight feel the same way, whether you're married already, or like me, are thinking into the future of that special someone, I think we'd all like to be a little bit like Damon and Natasha tonight. At this point, I'd like to do something a little non-traditional. I'm not quite done with my little toast yet, but I'd like to play a song for you that I put together for this evening. It's a special song, and I hope you like it. When it's done, I'll come back up, say a few more quick words and we'll move to the next stage in our program tonight. [ Seated at piano ] When we were looking at the hall all those months ago, Damon seemed serious when he asked me play the piano at his wedding. Now, I'm not a formal pianist, but I've written and produced a fair amount of music over the years and figured I'd take the opportunity to put together a small piece to mark the occasion. I hope you like it. [ Song: A Little Bit Like You ] [ Back at podium ] So yes, it's true, as much as you might look to me, sometimes I look to be a little bit like you, you guys. And I think that goes for all of us here tonight. By the way, I did that song after I was advised that you can never do anything TOO sentimental or weepy at a wedding, and that that's what weddings are for! I know I haven't talked much about Natasha here this evening, because I haven't had the pleasure of spending as much time with her as I have with Damon. I'm looking forward to doing so, however. So I'll have some good stories to share with you all when I see you at anniversary parties! In closing, I'd like to thank the two of you again for inviting me to share today with you like this. In some sense, I suspect Damon asked me to stand up with him here today as an acknowledgement that, while we've never really talked about it, I think we're both know we're closer than we think. And now I'm pleased to welcome to Natasha into the middle of all of this, and be a part of the good times I know our family is going to continue to have. I'm looking forward to seeing you two often, as well as the rest of my family--Mom & Dad--and others among you, the distance from San Francisco notwithstanding. My fellow guests, please raise your glass and join me in a toast to a very special couple, a very special brother and a very special new sister, and their many, many years of happiness to come! |
