Meet the Bridal Party: Mark (Groomsman)

Margaret says:
Mark was one of my first friends at Carnegie Mellon. We both found yourselves in a pre-college program at CMU the summer before our freshman year. We were young, awkward, and not so wise on the world but neither of us would ever admit that... but through college and beyond we grew up together both as architects working on design projects as a team, and as people spending a good deal of time pondering the mysteries of the world late at night.

I cannot do justice here to the friendship that Eric and I have with Mark individually and as a collective unit given that it is the 11th hour. But just know that we feel very blessed to have Mark in our lives as we are certainly better people because of him. Mark challenges us to rethink what is possible for one man to accomplish. He instills in us the passion and hope that can only come from the magic that occurs when he assembles a group of people to work for a collective cause. Wise words, outrageous stories, and supportive gestures all make Mark our go-to guy. His presence in our lives reassures us that no matter what we will make it through and be better for it.

Mark and Margaret at Nick's wedding

Mark says:
So there was a fire escape balcony that clung to the side of this brutish brick studio building adjacent to panther hollow. It, not unlike, my new life in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1996 stood on the periphery, a hundred feet above solid earth, bolted, but seemingly unattached. It’s funny. I think about that time and the lifetime since and I recognize how important part of that metaphor has been to me.

A bolt.

A short, crazy, ridiculously strong bolt. That is Margaret. She was the first friend I made in Pittsburgh. No exaggeration; the absolute first one. And she kept me grounded. The same unyielding bond when times were up, and when times were down. In fact, the story of my time in the realm of the class of 2001 architecture anthologies will seem mercurial and distant, save the accounts of one small brown girl.

And for that experience, for that friendship, for that bolt, I am continually grateful.

The 30/36 Pennsylvania Ave Bus Route carves up the streetscape of the Nation's Capital in a tremendous cultural zigzag that connects old and young, wealthy and poor, first day new job rookies and office cubicle icons. It is as much a representation of the diversity of city as you are likely to find. In its almost brutal acceptance of people on their own terms, it reminds me of unabashed friendship, and of relentless loyalty.

And of Eric.

One part problem solver, one part co-conspirator. That is who he is. Appreciating the complexities of his character came long after college in the throws of underwhelming job descriptions, canal bike rides, bi-annual moving boxes, and impromptu do-it-yourselfisms. The funny part is that whether or not starting down some obscure path of internal or external growth was a good decision to begin with, Eric will see it through with you to the bitter end. Constantly reminding me that merit exists not in the duration of time you spend with someone but the quality of their presence.

And for that honesty, that trust, that friendly bus ride through life's peculiarities, I am continually grateful.