Stayin’ Alive

We flash-mobbed their wedding.

In 1977, the Bee Gees released what was to become one of their signature songs as part of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The recording was done in France, at Château d’Hérouville, an 18th-century castle near Paris. Despite being labeled as a disco song, the lyrics address rather serious stuff: a man’s survival in the streets of New York: “Everybody struggles against the world, fighting all the bullshit and things that can drag you down. And it really is a victory just to survive. But when you climb back on top and win bigger than ever before, well that’s something everybody reacts to.” (Robin Gibbs / Wikipedia). Stayin’ Alive became a number one hit and an “almost irresistible dance tune” (Billboard magazine).

My friends’ first encounter, 36 years ago, was short. They lost track of each other. In 2010, they met again and found that their feelings had stayed alive. By 2025, both have crossed the 60s mark. At 60+, you know your game. You’ve built your world. You’ve fought battles, collected bruises and celebrated victories. Sometimes, it is a victory just to survive. You have made millions of decisions (some good, some better) and you’ve lived with the results. – In short: My friends know exactly what they want. After all they’ve been through, their gain is now bigger than ever before. They have found their north star in each other.

Schloss Halbturn near Austria’s capital Vienna was first built as a hunting lodge for emperor Karl VI. in the early 1700s (by architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt). Later on, it was structurally changed to become the summer residence of Archduchess Marie Christine and Albert von Sachsen-Teschen. It was for their wedding in 1766 that star painter Franz Anton Maulbertsch created the stunning ceiling fresco in the Sala Terrena (the middle hall facing the garden): The Allegory of Time and Light. In 1949, a fire destroyed most of the castle, leaving only the middle structure untouched. The ceiling survived. The rest was rebuilt.

My friends got married on May 2 – which happens to be World Tuna Day. The guest list features folks from France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, distant parts of Austria. Friends who reunite regularly or haven’t seen each other in years. For some, a sentimental journey, returning to the place of their first job experience. And then, there’s family. Brothers and sisters, pure love. The gorgeous kids who organize the flash mob. The mother of the bride, who (at 92 years) stays up until 3 a.m. to celebrate, and who looks better than most of us the next morning. Not everybody knows everybody. This wedding unites us, strengthens existing bonds, stayin’ alive, creates new ones. A wedding is not the business of just two people. It’s a dance of the elements. It’s alchemy, just like the love that changed my friends’ lives long before they spoke their vows in the presence of a priest and a bunch of fabulously dressed people. A wedding is the butterfly effect of love, affecting the world at large. Irresistible.

Needless to say, no tuna was served that day, and we danced as if nobody was watching. A song, recorded in a French castle, performed in an Austrian castle. Under the influence of music, miracles happen. You see, baby boomers have disco vibes in their genes, stayin’ alive, forever: Here’s to you, Regina and Hans.