Dancing

I started going to dances when I was in the seventh grade at Clara Barton Junior High. The only “fast” dance I did was “the twist”. Tom Sneller and I were the only two brave guys back then. We’d twist away with the girls while Chubby Checker sang.

Most of the time the girls stood on one side of the room and the guys the other. The girls did a lot of dancing by themselves. If I worked up my courage, I’d ask Donna or Yvonne to dance. I liked them both and they liked me. During the second half of my seventh-grade year, I’d kiss Donna goodnight while we stood in the parking lot waiting for a ride home. I said a silent prayer hoping our rides were late because that was my first glimpse of heaven.

Donna moved the summer after seventh grade, so that left Yvonne and me during eighth. I slimmed down that summer, and she “perked up”, so I became a very enthusiastic slow dancer. You get my drift. Paul Anka sang “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and we danced as he directed.

I didn’t dance much during high school. The girl I spent the most time with during ninth and tenth grade, Karen, went to Kimball, and I went to Dondero. We couldn’t drive, so we were at the mercy of our parents. They drove carloads to Edgewater Amusement Park on summer nights. We had a bunch of friends that went together. Bill Graham and I wore white clam diggers and boat collared shirts on those nights. I don’t recall any dancing or kissing but we still had fun.

The class of 1965 took its senior trip via boat from Detroit to Mackinaw Island. Students from one of the Pontiac high schools joined us. I danced a ton that night and got to know some of my classmates better. I danced with Linda the most and spent the day exploring the island with her. We held hands and walked together throughout the entire four hours of island time.

As we were reboarding the ship, a couple guys were trying to get off. They had stayed up too late, fell asleep, and missed all of our time on the island. While they slept, I got to hold hands with Linda. I was clearly the winner.

The summer between my senior year and college my Birmingham girl and I were invited to appear on Robin Seymour’s Swingin’ Time. It was Windsor’s version of American Band Stand. I had been the president of a junior achievement company that year and she was the secretary. There was a “slow dance” contest on the show. We won and we did it on live TV. It’s the only time I ever won a dance contest.

The following fall I went to Western. That’s where I met Gary aka The Fox. While we were exploring different career paths, we had a common bond. We both liked girls. I think we went to every mixer held on campus that year. We paid fifty cents to get in and then roamed around the room checking out the ladies. It reminded me a bit of junior high. Girls danced together and guys circled the pack.

Upon occasion, Gary and I zeroed in on a couple of girls dancing together. We had an unspoken divide and conquer approach. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t. We always had fun. Girls had to be in by 11:00 during the week and 1:00 on the weekends, so we used our later hours to compare notes.

We spent much of our university time dancing with girls from Nazareth College. Gary danced with Sue the entire time. I danced with Mary Ann for several months and then met Aleta. She and I danced off and on for three and a half years. Ruth cut in on February 14, 1970. There were several months when I danced with Aleta one week and Ruth the next. My final dance with Aleta was Saturday, September 4th, 1971. Ruth and I eloped the following weekend when she told me she didn’t want to marry Mike.  She became my “until death do us part” partner.

The funny thing is Ruth and I danced but not as often as I would have liked. Our careers and raising our three children cut into our time together.

Once we retired, we danced again. We even took classes. We learned to Cha Cha, took a country partner dance class, and two rounds of line dancing. We danced in class, tried a bit in the kitchen, but not out in public. The only time we went to the Village squares to dance was when the kids were in town. I would have liked to go more often, but she wasn’t interested.

I joined a singles group last January. My first class was on the 8th. I’ve had the opportunity to meet some single women. What I see in the squares is much like junior high and the university mixers Gary and I attended. Females dancing and guys watching. Guys willing to step forward, have a lot of fun. That’s been me lately.

I’ve danced more in the last three months than I have in the last twenty years. While I’d prefer to have my old partner, that’s not an option so I’m doing my best to move forward. I’m thankful for my new friends. I like them and they like me. We have a good time together. I’ll miss them when I head back to Michigan, but I’ve learned a bit about myself while dancing with them.

If you want things to be different you have to do them differently. Ruth was my social chairperson and now I have to be my own. I operated that way for the first twenty-four years of my life and I’m learning to do it again.