Where a dancing fool intersects with Dancing With The Stars

A while back Elizabeth G wrote a post about not being a dancer. I didn't reply because 1) it was a crazy busy week for me so I was late in seeing it and 2) no one else seemed to get off on dancing either and Oh. Man. I love to dance.

I grew up in a family of dancing fools. We may not be all that adept at it, but my mom's side of the family in particular sure did like to get down. One of my earliest memories is of family picnics at Shadow Lake with my parents and Grandpa and brothers and a boatload of aunts, uncles and cousins. We'd swim and eat and play (kids) or visit (adults) all day long. Then when the sun began to go down, we'd move to the dance hall. Lots of western Washington lakes in those days hosted one. They were a bare-bones affair, just a one-story structure with a wooden floor and a juke-box. But we'd shake a little sand on the floor, shove quarters into that box and dance until we dropped.

My folks also belonged to a dance club called the Midnighters that met once a month in local community centers. I used to love it when it was their turn to be on the set-up committee, because I'd get to help hang streamers and decorate the tables. And my dad would lead me in a fox trot around the floor at least once before we left to go home so they could get ready for the evening's festivities.

When the soulmate and I were in our twenties we went out dancing every weekend and often midweek as well. It's probably one of the reasons I've got a hearing loss today, but that's another story. Still, we actually began scaling back, then stopped going entirely when the venues started playing their music so loud you had to yell just to be heard across a tiny table.

So these days I only get to dance occasionally. But I get my kicks vicariously watching Dancing With the Stars. I've never been a fan of reality TV and I don't watch the Tuesday night episodes in which a couple is eliminated. But I love watching the actual dancing. The improvement throughout the season can be amazing and it's just plain fun to tune in to view. And some of the talent is phenomenal from day one. In fact I was stunned to learn that (Cheeta Girl) Sabrina Bryan was eliminated Tuesday, which I just now discovered as I went searching for a picture. In all honesty, I'd never heard of her before this show, but her natural ability blew me away. I sure never saw her elimination coming.

Guess maybe I oughtta be voting instead of just watching, huh?

So what kind of activities do you remember fondly from childhood? Or do you have a passion that perhaps started young that lingers to this day?

And, hey? Anybody else out there watching Dancing?