Key West -- You know that song from Mame, the musical -- We Need a Little Christmas? I love that song. It's about needing to celebrate life and making the most of what we have. You don't have to wait for Christmas to do that. So I got it into my head that we should have a dancing party at our house. Times are tough for so many people but, hey, we can still have fun being together. And on Friday night, that's what we did. Sixty friends (not all of them dancers) gathered at our house for some pretty rowdy dancing. One thing I love about Key West -- the women get up and dance. We dance together as a group, or by ourselves, or whatever -- no waiting around for guys, no wallflowers. You feel like dancing -- you dance! Oh sure, there are guys who dance, too. But it's not a couples kind of place. Everyone is welcome on the makeshift dance floor. Best fun -- when Georgia Chase, who prepared a yummy buffet for us, spun me around for an upbeat swing number. Wow, can she dance!
George and I spent a week making a playlist. We tried to include something for everyone -- swing, doowop, rock, disco, R&B. Everything from the Four Seasons, to Stevie Wonder and Earth Wind and Fire (the last two for the Obamas) -- Abba for a friend who grew up dancing to them, Big Band with Ella Fitzgerald, and Otis Redding for quiet moments. Half the crowd stayed til we turned off the music at 11pm (didn't want to offend the neighbors).
George (not Georgia) left at 6:30 the following morning to visit Amanda in Albuquerque. He must have dozed off in the departure lounge at the Key West airport because when he opened his eyes everyone was gone. He raced up to the desk, learned his plane was about to take off, but someone took pity on him and held the plane. Me?-- I slept almost all weekend. No kidding -- I'd sit down to read and wake up three hours later. Then I'd have something to eat and go to bed. That's how tired I was.
Now we have Elliot, and his friend, Emily here for spring break. Elliot can't wait to show Emily all his favorite spots in Key West. And real work can wait another week, right?
Speaking of -- I've been spending time at the public library here reading microfilm on loan from the Newark (NJ) public library (researching my next book -- see previous blog). Everything I need is right there in those Newark Evening News stories from the early 50's. Talk about taking me back in time! The only problem is, the Florida History Room, where the microfilm reader/printers are housed, is moldy, dusty, and rife with all those nasty allergens that often come with historic documents. So far I've tried wearing a dust mask -- didn't work. Came home with swollen glands, laryngitis, and itchy eyes. My next idea is to pop an antihistimine before heading for the Florida History room. Maybe I just wasn't meant to do this kind of research. But no way am I giving up!
In the meantime, there's always dancing -- it works for me every time.
xx Judy
