As per the request of one of the DanceNet readers, here are copies of the past ramblings of the DanceNet Webmaster.
First of all, I had no idea that there was more than one line dance. Like the Shim Sham, it's choreographed and each routine is named, but the patterns can be used with different songs. That was interesting. Occasionally, the pattern is named after the song with which it was created.
Of course, I don't understand the point of going to a bar to dance by yourself. And I don't think it's easier to learn to move your body rhythmically without a partner. And I think having to memorize a bunch of patterns is much harder than learning to partner dance because the partner figures are much shorter and having a partner helps one remember what to do.
Of course, there were the usual Two-Step and Waltzes and it's interesting to see it done in a small bar as opposed to a large function hall. Kinda like driving around in Boston. :^)
It seems like yesterday when I wrote about how much fun I had at my 20th high school reunion and this past weekend, I went to my *25th* high school reunion.
This time I had a different experience. I had made a website for my class right after the last reunion and my email list of contacts was better than the one the alumnae association had so I got drafted into reunion committee. It was fun to find out all the intricacies in arranging a reunion (we shared the event with all the classes who were five years apart) that included group photos and bands and souvenirs. Calling up everyone on the phone was an interesting experience as I got to talk to people I hadn't seen in 25 years and dealt with people who had no interest in seeing their old classmates.
Again, as it was five years ago, it was all about reconnecting with old friends and making new friends. I got to dance with a woman who was one of the prettiest and most popular girls in highschool; all the guys in the class (including me) felt pretty stupid when she told us that no one had ever asked her out during our school years. :-) One special moment was when I made a good friend of someone I should have met 30 years ago.
It should be noted that I was a wannabe-nerd or second tier nerd in a school of really smart people and I was quite the introvert back in those days. I should have been one of those who might not have wanted to attend reunion. Some non-attendees might have been concerned with where their life went or how they might have aged over the years (I still have all my hair and it's still all the original color :-) ) but it's not about that. Any reunion is about maintaining or establishing contact with old and new friends. At our age, we've outgrown any social cliques or personality issues. I find it interesting to see who has "made it" and I can say I knew them before they became famous. :-)
I would highly recommend attending any high school reunions.
In the middle of some song, I felt some person slam into my back. Some newbie guy kept throwing an equally newbie girl out on a fast song and taking up way more floor space than they should have. I brushed off that first contact as an accident. During the rest of the song, I felt breezes whip by me as the female yo-yo kept coming close. Finally, they slammed into my dance partner and I got upset. I *probably* shouldn't have made that universal salute, but the guy needed to get a clue.
What did he do?
Well, it wasn't what he did...it's what he didn't do. He didn't protect his partner and *that* is the leader's job number 1, even before the job of making sure his partner had a good time. This guy hit my partner with *his* partner. Not only did he screw up his responsibilities, he prevented me from protecting my partner.
Sure, I felt bad when he said that he still learning how to dance so accidents will happen but it was still no excuse. Hitting someone "once" is an accident; "Twice" is an act of stupidity...especially since he *missed* us several other times and everyone else, too. Even if he was a beginner, he should figure out that it's not really nice to throw your partner into other people like a ping pong ball. And it's really *asinine* to hit a lot of people during the same song. If the girl was not a beginner dancer caught up in the excitement of the first night out dancing, she probably would have decked him for putting her in danger like that.
Still....I probably shouldn't have made that gesture. :^)
I finally got around to going through a folder of old email messages that I've gotten over the past few years....going back as far as 1998 with praise and criticisms on my management of this website (yes, Leanne, I still got *that* message). Occasionally, I feel grumpy about all the work I put into this website. It didn't take all that many old email messages (plus various comments) in order to recover my motivation. Thanks to all who wrote in over the years.
Oh, what the hell. It's been too peaceful here lately.
The end of the seemingly "40 days and 40 nights" of rain appears to be over...I think...and people are starting to show up in public in what they think should be "summer wear". As they do so, they seem to forget that such attire in this warmer weather might gather more notice and attention than at other times of the year when people might be more isolated and introverted. At these times, it seems like many people throw all caution (and self-esteem) to the wind as they dress and act as if they were in their own fenced-in backyard.
Certain "little things" that we might take for granted are so common that by themselves they draw little attention and little comment. People might be hungry but want to be outside so they might eat a meal while sitting on some park bench. Someone might put on those "slip-on" sandals because the person isn't going very far, perhaps to the corner store. It's warm so that it's appropriate to wear a t-shirt and shorts everywhere. And these days it's normal to be overweight, even the people we consider to be "thin" or "just right".
It's when you add all of them up that a spectacle is created.
I'm thinking of a certain guy who could have been my age but looked older, who was probably a lot heavier than me (and I'm overweight), with his stomach threatening to spill out of his t-shirt and break the waistband of his shorts, while stuffing a folded slice of pizza into his face...while standing in the checkout line at the supermarket. And yes, I don't think he could have tied his laces, even if he wanted to wear sneakers.
It's not nice to make fun of people who are overweight and are trying to lose that weight. That's not what I'm doing. I'm thinking of people whose only purpose in life is to be a bad example...and to scare us into changing our own behavior. Like the three overweight women at Minneapolis Airport sucking down a fudgicle at the departure gate. Or the guy who left me standing in a packed airplane because he took up half of *my* seat. Ultimately, I don't care what those people choose to do with their lives, but it's moments like that which make me wake up and give me the resolve and determination to change *my* own behavior.