May 20, 2005

The Friday night bus was late. The Friday night conversations were well under way. ''I remember our wedding day,'' Chantel Lewis Campbell, a 32-year-old from Brownsville, Brooklyn, said to several friends at a crowded bus stop last week. ''I wore a veil and a gown, even a garter. He wore a white collared shirt and a tie, and those ugly green pants.''

ROUND-NUMBER birthdays, like one that crept up on us the other day, can be a time to pause and reflect. O.K., that's enough stock-taking. Let's talk now about New York and some of its charms that remain constant even if your hairline doesn't.

Filibuster fight roils Senate for second day, with lawmakers cuttingly criticizing their opponents and bitter partisanship gripping chamber; looming showdown on judicial nominees disrupts Senate's legislative business; Democrats refuse to agree to usually routine request to allow for extended committee work beyond allotted time; they argue that magnitude of filibuster debate merits full attention of lawmakers; shifting bipartisan group of senators races against clock to try to resolve issue before next week's showdown on Republican-sought prohibition of filibusters; all parties say differences appear almost irreconcilable; photos (M)

Article on visit to Virginia's wine country, some of which incorporate historic buildings and properties that have been preserved and restored by their owners; describes Barboursville Vineyards, with ruins of house designed by Thomas Jefferson, and Waverly estate, owned by Flemer family for more than century; list of wineries; photos; map (M)

Joe Girardi is not the first baseball man to compare managing to playing chess. But how many have a lifelong passion for both? Before he was old enough to play in the Little League, Girardi knew how to play chess. He was 5 years old when his 10-year-old brother, John, taught him the game. Girardi was never good enough to beat his brother, but he still plays. He still plays the mental game of baseball, too.