Saturday, April 16, 2011

From the archives • Carew Tower Magic Shop

Doing the things that I like

Spring is in the air and this afternoon feels like, full on summer. Just a beautiful 89 degree day in the Valley! That's what I've been waiting for. . . some heat! With the weather getting nicer, it's time to kick hedonism into high gear. More swing dancing and more golf. Got a call from Chris Korn last week, he said his friend Melissa was in town from St. Louis. He said she liked to swing dance and asked me if I wanted to go out dancing. I love swing dancing! Something I picked up in Seattle. I told him there was a place in Burbank that had live music and swing dancing on a Monday night. We agreed to meet and have some fun. Monday nights are my Friday Night, as I take Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. It had been a good work week and I felt like getting loose.

Chris had mentioned that Melissa was a world class swing dancer and had competed nationally or internationally. I was starting to sweat thinking about it. I hadn't been dancing in a year or two and was nervous that I was going to make an ass of myself. I told Korn that I felt like I was going to session with Marlo with only an Elmsley Count to show. A cocktail and a cigar later, I found myself having the most wonderful time. One of my dance partners in Seattle (Carrie) was a dance instructor (owns her own dance studio). She taught me everything I know about dancing. I remembered that when I danced with her, she made me look so good. Melissa did the same thing. I hold my own out there, I'm a strong lead and I execute all the moves I know. Cool thing about dancing is, you pick up a few things each time you do it.

I danced the majority of the night with Melissa, when other guys asked her to dance; I asked other girls to dance. I scored bonus points for this as I'm usually shy about asking women I don't know to dance. One girl said, "I can't dance with you, you're too good". This cracked me up and I assured her that she was going to do just fine. The joint was jumping! Dance floor full, bar busy and smiles from ear to ear. We even got Korn out there in the dance floor and Melissa showed him the ropes. By the look of these pics, I'd say he was doing just fine!

Polly has expressed some interest in swing dancing. Carrie gave us a lesson up in Seattle, and we've been to the place in Burbank a couple of times. That would be great to add a regular Monday or Tuesday night of dancing to my summer of fun. Polly is on hiatus till the middle of July so we might be cutting a rug!

Getting up the next morning to golf was a little slow, but I got it together and met Alfonso for our regular Tuesday afternoon round of golf at Verdugo Hills Golf Course. I don't know which I like better, dancing or golf. Glad I don't have to choose. Golf in the daytime, dancing at night. . . It's just the way God intended it. I really like golfing w/ Alfonso. He's a great magician, friend and golf coach. My game has really been improving!

We golfed on Monday and Tuesday. For the Tuesday round we played with Aye Jaye and another clown named Craig. Aye Jaye in the pic retrieving a ball he painstakingly hunted. It's nice to have friends and it's nice to have activities that share that friendship. I'm a lucky and blessed man.

True Dat!