Wedding Planning Imagine yourself in a large kitchen at the moment of a great dinner... See twenty chefs coming, going, moving with speed in this cauldron of heat, look at the great mass of charcoal, a cubic meter for the cooking of entrees, and another mass on the ovens for the cooking of soups, sauces and ragouts, for frying and the water baths.

Add to that a heap of burning wood in front of which four spits are turning,
one which bears a sirloin weighing 45-50 pounds, the other fowl or game.
In this furnace everyone moves with speed; not a sound is heard,
only the chef has a right to speak, and at the sound of his voice, everyone obeys.
Finally, the last straw; for about half an hour, all windows are closed
so the air does not cool the dishes as they are being served.

This is the way we spend the best years of our lives.
We must obey even when physical strength fails,
but it is the burning of the charcoal that kills us...
Charcoal kills us but what does it matter?
The shorter the life, the greater the glory.

Marie-Antoine (Antonin) Careme
(1783~1833)