What an interesting day. Several developments. My stay here got officially extended. I’ll leave on a 6:45AM flight on Saturday, 11/23.
The lunch bunch went to Olive Garden today, at my suggestion. Me, Sam, Lavoy, John, Casey, and Sue. Casey and I had a funny exchange about raspberries. We both hate them. I said, “But would you wear a raspberry beret?” He said, “Not even one I’d bought in a second hand store.” This went right over Sue’s head. (She was sitting between us.) 🙂
Casey said he would be meeting me at Crazy Horse for two-stepping and line dancing tonight. I asked him if he knew how to two-step, and he said, “Yes.”
“Lead of follow?” I asked jokingly.
And he totally shocked me when he replied, “I can do both.” That was all I needed to know. No straight man knows how to follow.
Right before we left Justin came in and said he might join us, too, with his girlfriend.
I checked my voice mail messages when I left work, and there was the most wonderful message from Robert. It totally warmed my heart, and put me in the greatest mood.
I got to Crazy Horse at about 6:50, so I could learn the first dance taught. It was a line dance called the Wackie Walker, or something like that. I didn’t like it, and I’ve never seen it done anywhere else, so I’m not capturing it.
The second dance taught was a couples dance, and I danced with “Christine.” She was there two weeks ago Wednesday, and I danced with her then (as one of the many partner) in the Barn Dance. We learned the <something> Cha-Cha. Damnit! I hate that I can’t remember the name of it! I see this dance all the time.
Woman’s left hand in man’s right hand in front of him up and to the left.
Woman’s right hand on her shoulder in the man’s right hand.
Right foot heel touch, then cross to the left, then cha-cha-cha.
Step forward left foot rock, back cha-cha-cha.
Right foot forward and half-turn to the right, cha-cha-cha.
Quarter turn to the left and rock left right left, quarter-turning back to the front on the last left.
Cha-cha-cha on right foot shuffling forward.
Cha-cha-cha on the left foot shuffling forward.
Cha-cha-cha on right foot shuffling forward.
Cha-cha-cha on the left foot shuffling forward.
I love this dance.
Casey didn’t arrive until after the lessons, at around 8:30. Turns out it took a very long time to turn Sam’s car in. Sam’s leaving today, and not coming back. This was a change that he was delighted about. He’s going to do AIX testing back in Raleigh
As soon as Casey did arrive, and we started talking, he said, “My boyfriend and I…” Yippee!
I did several line dances. Casey did the Electric Slide, and maybe one other. We were commenting on the hot cowboys. All of a sudden, when the last two-step came on before we were going to leave, he says, “Would you like to dance?”
I was absolutely stunned. I ended up not having the nerve to do it. I was so impressed that he asked, and I really surprised myself with the decision not to do it. I spent a lot of time examining what I was afraid of. I knew I was going to regret not doing it. It came down to fearing two things:
1) that someone from management, or one of the bouncers, would have come out on the dance floor and asked us to leave, and
2) that we hadn’t danced together before, and I wanted us to be good (as if we have to represent the entire queer nation).
I’m thinking the fear was really more of the second item than the first. Because, when they were teaching that couples dance earlier, two women were dancing together, and the instructor actually said (into the microphone), “We have two women dancing together, are there two men who’d like to dance together?” Unfortunately, Casey hadn’t arrived yet at that point. I didn’t hear any collective groan from the audience at her question.
Casey has an incredibly logical and intuitive mind. I had commented on it last week at work when I showed him this cool search engine web site called www.kartoo.com. He took to it like a fish to water. I, on the other hand, struggled with it until I heard him verbalize his interpretation of the data it was presenting. It was really quite impressive how it was so intuitive to him.
That quick logic showed through again tonight, when he asked me to dance, and I said I was afraid the management would ask us to leave. He said, not missing a beat, “So, we’re leaving after this song anyway.” Brilliant.
Oh well. I told him that I was going dancing in N. Hollywood at Oil Can Harry’s on Friday, and he’s welcome to join me. He said on the way out that he was thinking about calling his friend in Austin to ask him to overnight his boots out here. I hope he goes. If he does, and we get some practice dancing together, I would definitely dance with him next Wednesday at Crazy Horse.