Humpday Happenings...

As a rule, I don't usually watch all these "reality" shows, with the exception of a little-known show called BOOT CAMP a few years back (and for the obvious reasons...lol) simply because (imho) they don't reflect the reality I see out MY windows.

But I just had to make an exception with the show Dancing With The Stars. And aside from seeing more skin that should be allowed on primetime TV ( in a tasteful manner I might add), I find that neophyte dancers with professional partners a welcome relief from a lot of the video tripe gracing my screen these days. Helio Castroneves and his partner Julianne Hough were this season's winners, and I have to say that I was rooting for him since the very beginning.

Why? Because he's short, as in vertically-challenged...like ME, that's why. Not to mention he's one helluva driver. And Julianne isn't all that hard on my 55 year old eyes either. I saw that over the course of TEN WEEKS, Helio has become a ballroom dancer I am in envy of.

In other words..."he done good...he done REAL good".

Now I confess to being a bit of a dancer in "my day". There were those Friday nights where I and my "partner" (who I was madly in love with, although it was unrequited) would light up the floor at the "Fountain Room" club in Oaklyn, NJ. I often wonder what ever happened to Barbara. And it wasn't only those disco moves of the late 70s that intrigued me. I could slow dance her around to any spot on that floor, without injury to toes, shoes, or other dancers. Must have been all those days in elementary school doing the BOX step and square-dancing (yeah, people USED to actually make schoolkids do that back then when girls were "yucky").

Today, what passes for a slow dance is nothing more than two people literally HANGING on one another while swaying in ONE DAMN SPOT. THAT is NOT slow dancing. But it is funny to watch...reminds me of the marathon dancers from the movie "They Shoot Horses, Don't they?"...after the 23rd hour...LOL!

I was doing the "Saturday Night Fever" gig long before it was in vogue, AND one night earlier. There was the shoes...ahh, to dance in leather-soled shoes that cost more than a week's pay. Had to do the "layaway" thing with those. And with wooden floors, leather is a MUST, unless you like sudden stops and the inability to make a simple turn without squealing like a Corvette peeling away from a green light.

Then there was the skin-hugging slacks (gabardine of course), and the obligatory leather jacket and satin shirt to complete the ensemble. Neck chains were optional.It was a time when people were not AFRAID to dress...and dress damn well (aside from leisure suits)!

And surprisingly, when you displayed an ability to "trip the light fantastic", women would come up and ASK you for a dance (one of the best things to come from the WOMENS MOVEMENT). Had I been a gigolo, I probably would have "scored" a lot sooner AND a lot more often. But to me, it was all about dancing. I know...missed opportunities, but using dancing as a way of "notching one's bedpost" was nothing short of a form of rape.

And Bobby don't play that tune.

Yes sir...that was a time when they had NICKEL DRINK NIGHT, buffets, live music, and an air that the world was headed in the right direction. If people had to smoke some reefer, it was done discreetly...out in the parking lot (along with other things), and I can't even recall a fist fight, knife, or gun fight at any time. And weapons were a lot EASIER to come by than they are now. I guess "we" just weren't succumbing to all THOSE evils.

We had plenty of our OWN to go around.

It's different today...you're more than likely to be shot in some parking lot over some stupid thing, or word spoken, or glance. People pretend to dance to suck-ass noise that poses AS music that they pretend to enjoy while imbibing in overpriced drinks, while wearing clothes we'd laugh you out of the club if you wore them.

They come to clubs already tweeked, and looking to score more, and ready to kill at the drop of a hat. What the hell happened to the GOOD times?

The song says THE MUSIC DIED sometime back in the 50s. I think that after a revival, it died AGAIN in the 80s. And I don't see anyone breaking their ass trying to resuscitate this patient. But at least I can watch some GOOD dancing on some "reality" show, cheer on and congratulate some damn fine dancers, and remember back to when the music WAS alive...and well.

And in this case...for an hour...it STILL is.