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************************************************************ This section of our website is for use by those that have something they would like to publish. We will consider all material submitted and will withhold name on request.************************************************************ The EPIC
of the BED PAN ************************************************************ JOKE OF THE WEEKA little old lady was walking up and down the hall in a nursing home. As she walked the hall, she
would flip up the hem of her nightgown and say, "Supersex". ************************************************************ Heard at the water fountain, "My husband and I split up over religious differences, he thought he was God and I didn't". ************************************************************ The following was received from a caller who indicated he was not the author, (the author had asked to remain annonymous). It is being published on the website as "food for thought" for dancers and callers.************************************************************ Was it a Square Dance or a Wrestling Match?Were you the 'Jerker' or the 'Jerkee'? It was advertised as a Square Dance, but it had many of the traits of a wrestling match. Yes, there are different strokes for different folks, but when people’s shoes leave their feet after being jerked off the floor by someone, then it may be time to re-label square dancing. There are many lists of rules, suggestions,10 Commandments of Square Dancing, Rules of Etiquette, and other 'What Not to Do' list. With all this guidance, why are dancers being jerked off the floor when it is just a 'Right and Left Grand’? It is amazing that Square Dancers don't have a much higher shoulder dislocation than the general population, or maybe they do and it is not reported. If you have ever danced, using no hands, then you know there is a great benefit in the use of hands. There just needs to be a 'happy medium' between 'no hands' and 'there goes the shoes again'. Do dancers ever read these lists and remember them? Do they think that once they are told they 'graduate', there is never a need to re-assess their dance styles? Are Callers remiss in teaching this aspect of square dancing? If Callers do not stress this when a person begins their square dance adventure, then how does one acquire a 'soft' style of dancing? Have you ever heard a Caller talk about pacing oneself when dancing? It seems that when a person begins square dancing, there is a feeling they must 'hurry, hurry' to complete the call. This often means they then have to wait a short time for the next call. This creates a 'go', 'stop', 'wait', 'go', 'stop', 'wait' flow, which is very tiring when compared to a smooth continuous pace to the Callers routine. (This is assuming the caller has a smooth continuous calling routine.) Dancing at a fast pace is needed when the caller has chosen a routine that is some what faster than other routines. That just means the dancer needs to speed up to match the pace by moving faster and not by pulling harder on the hand of the dancer they meet. A dancer must move forward by walking forward, not by pulling themselves around the square by pulling on the hands of other dancers. Sometimes there seems to be very little consideration given to other dancers. There are some horrific expressions on some ladies faces when they are met with a body slam and a swing, with feet leaving the floor, when it should be just a touch of the hands. Then we also have the situation of not dancing often enough to keep our dancing skills up to par. After graduation, a dancer needs to venture out to other club dances to continue to improve their skills and to enjoy the friendship of other dancers. Most dancers are eager to help one improve their skills if the dancer is putting forth an effort by attending many different club dances. It takes a lot of practice to develop a dance skill that will allow one to fully enjoy the opportunities presented by the square dance community. If you find that no one will square up with you, is it because you don't bathe or is it your dancing technique? If callers find a problem calling to the floor, is it the dancers fault or is it because the callers have not done their job through the years and given good instructions to the dancers on the many different aspects of square dancing? There are many reasons why Square Dancing is declining. Could one reason be because people are not into wrestling????????????? ************************************************************ The following appeared in the Cedar Creek Pilot, May 3, 1990. The author presented her observations of Square Dancing in a very unusual and humorous manner. She was a delightful lady who seemed to enjoy watching Square Dancing and then expressing her thoughts with a different twist. Cedar Creek Pilot, Thursday, May 3, 1990"BYSTANDER FINDS DANGER IN SQUARE DANCING" By LOU DANIELS.
I’ve been having a lot of fun lately, going to watch the square dancers at
the various square dance clubs. Why nobody gets killed or has a fractured skull is beyond me.
I guess I go for the same reason that people go to the auto races.
(If there’s gonna be a wreck, I wanna be there to see it!) My pal, Betty, decided that she would like to take up square dancing but after
watching them one night I told her that she had better either “up” her life insurance or forget the whole thing.
Looked risky to me! These square dancers are nice people, don’t get me wrong.
I think they just like to live dangerously. To demonstrate how kind and friendly they are, they always greet each other with
what they call a “Yellow Rock”. This is a big hug which enables the men to pick the
girls up off their feet and whirl them around over their heads. The girls squeal, the men
guffaw, the evening is off to a great start. The ladies wear something that looks like an open umbrella only there are
two handles sticking out the bottom instead of one. (These are their legs, you dummy!)
I think the flared out skirts are intended to make everybody look like they have a 16 inch waist.
It doesn’t always accomplish this purpose but am reasonably sure that this is the intention.
The men generally wear jeans and long sleeved western shirts and all look extremely manly
in comparison to the frilly girls. Once the music starts and the caller takes his place, all the dancers rush out on the floor
and form groups of eight. These are called squares or diamonds or something like that, and
each dance is called a top. (Or is it a tip?) Anyway, everybody looks expectant and ready to go. Suddenly the caller gives a call and all hell breaks loose. It’s like somebody stepped on an ant
bed and all the survivors are scurrying around trying to get out of the way. How anybody knows
what they are doing is beyond me. When he calls, “Bend the line,” I would expect that a straight
line would suddenly curve and maybe become a circle or something. No such luck. Instead of a
curve the dancers all end up in a straight line facing each other.
I think this call is intended to confuse the bystanders and all the square dancers are in on it. Pretty dirty pool! The Do Sa Dos and Promenades are fairly easy for me to recognize, but when they get
into Box the Gnat, Spin the Top, and Rollaway half sashay, I have no idea what anybody is doing.
Every once in awhile the caller will inquire, “Anybody hurt?” which leaves me with the distinct
impression that this is certainly a possibility. I did see one man go down like a pole axed steer
once but everybody continued dancing politely around him until he regained consciousness
and then welcomed him back into the group and didn’t seem to hold it against him which
I thought was pretty decent of them. Betty seemed to fit right in and took her lessons with a group of square dancers known
as the Bean Pickers in a nearby town. These folks have what they call, “Guardian Angels”
who are really the experienced dancers who are kind enough to kinda adopt beginners and
put them through their paces until the students learn all the calls themselves. It wasn’t long before ole Betty was out there doing the Ferris Wheel, Pass Thru, Shoot
the Star, and Grand Square with the best of them I kinda learned the calls but never
had any idea what they were gonna do when that particular call was made. Somebody at the Back Yard Swingers, another club we attended, said there are more
than a hundred calls to learn. Since I can’t even remember names for more than five minutes
at a time I figured it was a good thing I never got involved in square dancing. It only takes
one clutz to bolix up the whole square of eight people, which seems like an unenviable position to be in. But all kidding aside, most of these dancers are incredibly good at what they are doing.
If they were each carrying a little chunk of bread in their mouths I could easily gain
the impression that these were a bunch of ants scurrying through all the various tunnels
and patterns and only running into each other occasionally. Lots of laughing and whooping goes on and everyone seems to really have a ball.
When the dance is finally over all those still able to stand up face each other with
loud “Thank Yous” and everybody gets another Yellow Rock. I trust you remember what I said this was at the beginning of this Column. If you don’t remember, forget about Square Dancing. They’ve got 99 other calls to remember too. Drop in at Lemonade Hall some Saturday night and watch the dancers.
Bring your hard hat and shin guards!!! You’ll enjoy it!!! End ************************* Questions or comments about this site? Contact us at DancingWithJimAndGwyn(at)hughes.net Stay YoungJim & Gwyn Haynes |