Dancing with the Stars. Who were the real stars? The dancers/teachers are the real stars. The amazing work they do with some - shall we say "dance challenged people" makes me think that even I could dance like a star.
I have enjoyed this show from the first season. My mom and I watched it that season - last season I kept it up and watched alone many times. This year the man I am dating and I watch it while we talk on the phone. We have both commented that we would like to learn to dance like that. ( I am sure it would be a variation - that hopefully would allow the uneducated in social dance to muse, "Hummm they dance pretty good together."
A bit about my dance challenged history is in order here. I was reared in a traditional Southern Baptist Church, but thankfully it was after the 1960's when I started being interested in dance. Prior to the "age of Aquarius" dancing was frowned upon by my church. When I was a teenager dancing was not encouraged, but accepted. - I often wondered how they dealt with the story in the Bible of David dancing before God. Anyway that was not really what we were doing as teenagers. We were doing the Twist of the late 50's (I can still Twist!) the Monkey of the the 60's and the Hustle of the 70's. - oops I think I just revealed my age. In my high school we often had dances sponsored by the Future Homemakers of America of which I became president and later a teacher/adviser. These dances were designed to provide the youth of our small town a safe chaperoned place to have fun. And FUN we had. Later as a teacher I discover that there really was a teaching objective tied to this activity that demonstrated how to plan and prepare food and decorations for a large group gathering. But teenagers we were there to have fun.
One of my favorite dances was the TWIRP dance. It was a version of a Sady Hawkins dance where the girls ask the boys. TWIRP was an acronym for The Woman Is Required to Pay. I asked Larry Gerlach to my first TWIRP dance and to my surprise he said yes. I purchased our tickets ($1.00 each) and drove in my 4 door brown Ford Maverick (another Blog on that car later) and picked Larry up for the dance. He lived on the total opposite side of the county as me so I spent all day preparing for the dance and made sure I left in enough time to pick him up at the designated time. I went to the door, met his parents and chatted with the for a while, told them the time I would have him home, and opened the car door for him. - I took this TWIRP thing seriously.
We had a great time at that dance and at many others. I don't even remember who I went with to any of the other dances except my Proms. Thank goodness I grew up in a time when dancing did not really mean you had to know the steps. Some of my friends could Shag and I loved to watch them. Our FHA adviser and her sister - in - law would Jitter Bug for us and we all thought it was great and never even considered it to look "gay" as the teens of today would say.
Later as I was in college my cousin/roommate and I took Social Dance as one of our Physical Education classes. Neither of us is athletic and as it turned out that must have been a requirement for dancing because we were not much good as the Two Step, the Waltz, and of course not the Tango or Mambo. But we had a blast trying to learn to dance. We laughed and laughed at each other and marveled how we could have 4 left feet.
Later when I was a teacher sponsoring the dances in the 80's my students would ask me if I could dance, I told them I dance like and "old white lady". The students I had black and white all seemed to have an inborn rhythm that I did not have. But they were gracious with me and my husband was a trooper and we would dance with them. Sometime one of the boys would take me under their wing to give my husband a break and try to teach me a new dance step. I never did get instep with Line Dancing , although I love to watch it. But I had fun trying and again I laughed and made the folks around me laugh.
The man I am dating now and I met on the dance floor of our 30th high school reunion. We did know each other in high school, but never dated. We had a great time dancing and although we are not Kelli Monaco or Emmet Smith in our minds we are and we have fun dancing, and talking about how we would like to learn. One thing we did discover is that on that dance-floor at our 30th high school reunion. We really liked each other - enough to go out for breakfast afterward, begin a constant email correspondence that lead to a date two months later, more emails, phone calls, a meeting half way between Ohio and Georgia, Kisses, hugs, more phone calls, and plans to continue our relationship. And oh yes the best part - when we hold each other and sway - our version of the Viennese Waltz - we Laugh!
After all ... isn't dancing for entertainment and to make you feel good?

Coffee and the women in my family

This is my first blog (posted on another blog on 04/25/2007) and I do not know why I chose coffee as the theme. I once heard Chondra Pierce refer to it as "Pentecostal Whiskey" (in her Tennessee accent). Chondra is a Christian Comedian - www.chonda.org. Check out her web site, or listen to one of her CD's and you will see how funny she is. I rephrased it to "Baptist Whiskey" since I am Baptist by denomination and we claim to not drink. (I'll leave the comments, jokes, questions, and put-downs to you.) I am not a coffee snob. I do like specialty coffees such as Starbucks and I like flavored coffee from time to time. But good old fashion Maxwell House regular blend coffee is the subject of this blog,
I really like coffee. I especially like it first thing in the morning when I am having my morning devotion. The caffeine helps to stimulate my brain back from the lull of the nights rest. The warmth of the dark sweet (yes I use real sugar) liquid warms my throat and my insides. The lingering of the slightly bitter coffee mingled with the sweet taste of the sugar and the ever so slight taste of the creamer (very little for me) seems to be a subtle symbolism of what the day will hold.
When I was in college my roommates did not ask me anything until I had had my first coffee. My husband and then my sons learned the "Mom's quiet time" was a synonym for "Mom's first cup of Joe" My middle name is Jo and my mom and I take our coffee pretty much the same way. As a child she made me coffee milk or "soaky" as she called it. Her mom did the same for her and we are passing it on to our niece. As "real southern men" my sons changed to ice tea for breakfast like their uncle. I guess coffee is the binder of the women in our family.
As far back as I can remember my mom has had impromptu gatherings of family women folk around the bar (not alcoholic bar - dinner bar) in her kitchen. A pot of coffee was made and some she would seek out what ever little tidbit of treat she had available to accompany it. When I was a child I would sip my coffee and listen to my aunts, cousins, or mom's friends discuss everything of significance in their lives. It was at the gatherings that I learned about faith in God, how to be a supportive friend, what proper manners were for a southern lady and what was not. Who could be trusted to do a job, keep a secret, or give good advice. I learned how to rear my children from the advice and mistakes that were discussed. I learned to appreciate the raucous cackles if a good off color joke that brought tears to our eyes from laughing so hard; and many of the recipes I cherish were copied on note cards as they talked about what they had or were preparing for the next event.
From time to time men had coffee there and listened or participated in the discussions, my dad and my husband were two of the best coffee klatch participates, but my brother has his moments as have male cousins and uncles. Funny I don't really remember their advice or comments as much as I do what the girls said. It seems in my memory that they were better listeners than talkers in these gatherings.
Sadly many of my aunts have passed on to heaven. I miss them. I miss their laughter from off color jokes, their recipes, their advice, the gossip, and the wealth of family stories they shared. Today my mom and I have coffee quite often, just the two of us. We enjoy our time together to share woman to woman about relationships, children/grandchildren, church, health issues, political events, and occasionally an off color joke that might, if the coffee is brewed just right, bring us both the glorious joyful tears.
Maybe coffee is the nectar of the goddesses and not just Baptist Whiskey.