DANCIN’

I’ve written about singin’ and actin’ but never about my dancin’.  The description in my high school yearbook says something about being known for my dancing. Every Friday after any sports activity there would be a dance in our gymnasium to records.  We had DJ’s even then and a large amount of students always attended.

My mother had been taking ballroom dance lessons and she signed me up too. I learned to rumba, waltz, jitterbug and even to tango. In later sessions, I assisted the instructor by partnering with her new students and would get more lessons for free.

At school dances I was never without a partner. Some were good dancers and some were bad. One of the worst was a big and tall foot ball player and he always asked me to dance and as we did he swung my arm up and down like a pump handle. He then went on to Yale where he was captain of their football team and became a lawyer. We spent time with him at our 55^th school reunion and were saddened when he died the following year.

I also remember another young man, a year behind me in school, with whom I had a great friendship. He didn’t attend many dances, probably because he had a club foot and wore a platform shoe.  However, when he did come, he always asked me to dance. We were comfortable with each other and talked so it wasn’t too awkward for him. I hope he married someone who liked to dance with him, too. I never saw him after graduation and now I can’t remember his name.

After I broke my leg, I lost some of my balance so I can no longer enjoy dancin’. But I can still remember what it felt like to be so popular.