[caption id="attachment_1709" align="alignleft" width="190" caption="Photo by Tim Shaffer"]
[/caption] While the weddings section of The New York Times often resembles a scary eugenics experiment involving inbreeding among the ruling class, it occasionally delivers a sweet and pleasant surprise. This week's featured Vows, for example, opens thusly: "Before asking Anne Miller out on an official first date, Michael Davoli knew he had to make two major disclosures. 'I was terrified how she might react,' he said. 'I didn’t think she would break up with me, but it was one of those things. You don’t know. You can’t help but be afraid.'"
One of these disclosures was that the 34-year-old United Federation of Teachers lobbyist has Tourette's syndrome. The other involved a dicier situation: "Two weeks later, in his apartment, after a couple of great dates, he revealed his other potentially deal-breaking issue: he is an avid follower of the rock group Phish. He has made pilgrimages to 183 of the band’s concerts since 1992, and attending the shows often means traveling, camping and following the group in much the same manner that fans pursued the Grateful Dead."
“'Tourette’s is a pain, but it doesn’t make life unbearable,' Ms. Miller said. 'The Phish thing is far and away something more we have to negotiate than the Tourette’s.'"
The groom, who attended a Red Rocks show three days earlier, sported a Phish-logo kippah at his wedding.