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23 February~2007
There are several ladies I dance with regularly at the Rose, but I tend to like to dance with new partners a lot. There is a special magic in dancing with someone for the first time.
It's not uncommon for them to say they arent very good. "That's ok," I always reply, because the fun is not getting the steps perfect, but in enjoying the the music and their warm embrace as we move together to it. I have taught many ladies how to dance on Saturday nights.
You never know what it will be like when you ask a pretty stranger to dance. The only ones that make for a long dance are the ones that never learned a sense of rhythm. It is plain tough to teach them how to dance when they are rocking to the beat at a different time then you are. When that happens I slow down and start again, and they often pick it up.
Last night in two consecutive songs I had the good fortune to dance with very skilled ladies, whom I had never met before. The first was a tall slender blonde, who had an incredible feel for the beat. It took almost no effort to lead her into turns, and the interaction between us and the music of the live band in those four or five minutes was not something that a person can forget easily. At the end I spinned her twice from left to right then slipped my right arm around her waist and dipped her over into my left arm.
Right after that the band played Johnny Cash by Jason Aldean, (enter userid of 'music' and password of 'music') which is a song I love to dance to. I asked a nice looking woman sitting at a table with friends if she would like to dance. I was thrilled to find out she also knew how to do a fast triple step, and our timing was near as good as the previous dance. At the end I held her and she smiled and said 'yeesss, that was fun, but I am breathing hard.' I said so am I but didn't really notice it. When I went over and leaned against the rail I then realized I was a little. When it is good all worries and cares melt away, and you forget about yourself, becoming absorbed in the music and the moment.
A couple of years ago I came into a dance with a sore leg, but decided to work through it. It was pretty easy to ignore because in a little while the pain in my leg had actually disappeared.
It is true that the years slip away when you dance. I stay in shape, and the best dances are with ladies who also are athletic and agile. That is only part of it though. The other is the renewal of the music, which is touched upon in this song by Michelle Shocked: ("Backwoods folks is old and brittle,But they sway like a tree to the sound of a fiddle)
(enter userid of 'music' and password of 'music')
The dances in November and December seem more warm and lively. There is just something right about getting together this time of year with people of a like mind, all intent on celebration and laughter and music. It is all very positive and life-affirming.
A year or two before she left my exwife gave me an card on our anniversary in November that had a picture of a couple dancing surrounded by other couples on the dance floor. Inside it said 'May Your Hearts Keep Dancing Always," - Happy Anniversary, Love, . . . . She crossed the 's' out of hearts.
I have stayed true to my love of music and dancing, and in so doing have continued to be touched by the joy that her and I shared circling around that hardwood floor on Saturday nights. It has helped make me a very happy person, and I see myself dancing for many years, God Willing.
I would like to say that I hope she has continued to dance also, but that brings up some bad memories - of seeing her at our regular dance hall with her stiff-faced boyfriend after our marriage ended.
A friend told me that she has made her choice, and you just have to open your hand and let her go. It has been a long process but I think I am starting to do that. You just continue on and look for what remains in your life to be grateful for. That is what being strong is all about.
It didn't take long before I was open to renewal in the feel of the melody in my partner's embrace, and the melody of beauty in each day on this earth.
There arent many things more healing than those, at least for me.
Also listen to Sixteen tons by the Cactus Brothers, which is a good two-step, and The Mountain by Steve Earle, which is a great waltz. ((enter userid of 'music' and password of 'music')
