Tom Brown
12-24-2006, 12:15 AM
... so I went to an old time dance tonight. Some friends of mine were going there so I fell into step. One of my friends, a 300 lb native man named Al, was working at a the local veteran's club. They were having a senior's night. Going to the club was the only way we could keep the group together. No problem. Should be interesting.
I was surprised at how many non-seniors were there. There were a few dozen of us.
They had a guy playing music. He played the accordian and guitar. Of course, not at the same time. Actually, he was damn good with a great voice. He could weeze out Lady of Spain like an Auschwitz survivor and he could crank out a solid version of Dwight Yokam's Little Sister too. ... and he played it all.
... so we're sitting off to the side when one of the old prunes on the dance floor, cobbling away at an old time waltz, has his pants let go and start to fall. They had been hanging from one hip like Wayne Gretzky for several previous bars of the song but now they were starting to work their way down his legs. I think the guy was oblivious. He must have been 90. Within a few bars, Al had that elder gent's pants back on, his colostomy bag tucked in, and the guy didn't break frame or miss a step. No one seemed embarrassed or put off in any way. It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Many of those seniors were half dead with ailments and mobility problems but they all seemed pretty happy. I guess happiness is making the most of what you have. :)
One of the ladies brought in a bunch of home made Ukranian sausage. I think she deep fried it in a pool of molten butter. It was some of the best sausage I've ever tasted. After finishing a plate of high gloss sausage, I could light a match by breathing on it. No problem... the 90 year old ladies still came over to ask me to dance. They were digging the Tomster.
One of the guys in the group left for a while to do some Christmas shopping at Walmart. We have a store that is open 24 hours for the Christmas rush. He said it wasn't as crazy busy as he expected.
I hadn't gone for groceries in several days on account of hating the Christmas busstle. I was trying to nurse my rations through to Christmas but I was coming up a little short and the crowds didn't sound too bad so I headed to the 24 hour Walmart after the dance. It's 1 am and I'm shopping at Walmart. Weird.
When I walked in, they were playing Tchikovsky's 1812 Overature on the PA system. It was festive as all hell.
You know who shops at Walmart at 1 am on the 24th of December? Freaks. That's who. Half of them were pierced up with shit in their faces, most people in the store were wearing army boots, and the place had the general air of a soup kitchen. It wasn't exactly the kind of atmosphere that's conducive to grocery shopping but now I'm set for several days with three cans of tuna and some day old bread.
..... gotta love Christmas. :)
I was surprised at how many non-seniors were there. There were a few dozen of us.
They had a guy playing music. He played the accordian and guitar. Of course, not at the same time. Actually, he was damn good with a great voice. He could weeze out Lady of Spain like an Auschwitz survivor and he could crank out a solid version of Dwight Yokam's Little Sister too. ... and he played it all.
... so we're sitting off to the side when one of the old prunes on the dance floor, cobbling away at an old time waltz, has his pants let go and start to fall. They had been hanging from one hip like Wayne Gretzky for several previous bars of the song but now they were starting to work their way down his legs. I think the guy was oblivious. He must have been 90. Within a few bars, Al had that elder gent's pants back on, his colostomy bag tucked in, and the guy didn't break frame or miss a step. No one seemed embarrassed or put off in any way. It's one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Many of those seniors were half dead with ailments and mobility problems but they all seemed pretty happy. I guess happiness is making the most of what you have. :)
One of the ladies brought in a bunch of home made Ukranian sausage. I think she deep fried it in a pool of molten butter. It was some of the best sausage I've ever tasted. After finishing a plate of high gloss sausage, I could light a match by breathing on it. No problem... the 90 year old ladies still came over to ask me to dance. They were digging the Tomster.
One of the guys in the group left for a while to do some Christmas shopping at Walmart. We have a store that is open 24 hours for the Christmas rush. He said it wasn't as crazy busy as he expected.
I hadn't gone for groceries in several days on account of hating the Christmas busstle. I was trying to nurse my rations through to Christmas but I was coming up a little short and the crowds didn't sound too bad so I headed to the 24 hour Walmart after the dance. It's 1 am and I'm shopping at Walmart. Weird.
When I walked in, they were playing Tchikovsky's 1812 Overature on the PA system. It was festive as all hell.
You know who shops at Walmart at 1 am on the 24th of December? Freaks. That's who. Half of them were pierced up with shit in their faces, most people in the store were wearing army boots, and the place had the general air of a soup kitchen. It wasn't exactly the kind of atmosphere that's conducive to grocery shopping but now I'm set for several days with three cans of tuna and some day old bread.
..... gotta love Christmas. :)