Dancing on Roller Skates

So one of my favorite things to do is make a trip up to New York to go to Central Park. My favorite thing to do in the park is watching people dancing on Roller Skates. I love the music that they play, which is usually Disco, Funk, and Old School Hip-Hop. But more importantly, I love being around people who love life. Every weekend, when the weather is warm, people originally from all over the country, from the homeless to the Wall Street exec, with roots from both the Slaves to the Pilgrims, get together to just enjoy life and dance on Roller Skates. It is just so great to be around people who love life like this.

I remember a little Beef and Beer fundraiser that I went to for the Boys Club in my neighborhood. While I was there, I got to talking to a group of people in their 50’s who had grown up together in my neighborhood. We got to drinking and talking about how it was when they were coming up. Then we hung out afterwards at one of their houses. We drank some more, and talked some more. They played music from their day ranging from the Temptations to the Rolling Stones. There was such a great spirit about these people. Hear I am, this 23-year-old kid, and these 50 something’s are partying it up, and their love for each other and for life was amazing to watch and be a part of.

I just got back from vacation in Freeport in the Bahamas. By some weird stroke of fate, it also happened to be Spring Break. I met a lot of cool and fun people both at my Resort and at Port Lucaya Marketplace, which is an area with Bars, Restaurants, and shops in the main part of town, along with the party spot, Count Basie Square, which is an open area with a stage that is right near the Marina. Anything named for Count Basie has to be cool, but I digress.

So, on St. Patty’s Day, it is raining, so most people are under the cover in open air Bars. I was having fun watching this family near me. A group of kids came down and were getting festive with their parents on Spring Break. How freaking cool is that? The one guy, who I identify with a lot was joking that he should use the pickup line “come meet my Mom”. “Let's Hear It for the Boy”, which is a song that was played in Footloose came on, and I joked with him that he looked like the guy from Footloose. He asked, “Who, Kevin Bacon?” To which I said, “No.” Then his sister quickly replied, “No, Chris Penn!” This family just knew how to have fun, and it was great to be around them.

Later that night, the music is playing, but it is raining, and I decide, Fuck it, I’m going to go dance, and I did The Electric Slide in the rain, along with danced closely with an attractive young lady, the close part being her idea and not mine, which was definitely a first. Then later on, I was hanging with a group of guys and girls from Virginia, and they did what they call a “Dance Off”. Now, it isn’t raining anymore, but there aren’t that many people in the square, and the music is not really playing anymore, but we did it anyway. The whole thing was like a dance challenge where we would do moves and then they would. One of the moves that we did was shaking our pants off in front of them. I had boxers on, but still, this is a big step for me, Voodoo Punch or no Voodoo Punch. In another move, we took are shirts off, twirled them like a Cowboy and then put them around the girls necks. I’m not sure whether the girls flashed us or not, but they came close to doing it. Now, these people all knew each other, so everything was cool, and it was fun to be a part of that.

The next night, I got to hanging with these guys from Mississippi of all places. We were joking around, watching the show. And then later, one of the guys pulled me on stage, and I asked him what was up. He told me, “let’s go dance with some women.” And I did, and it was a fun, yet tasteful night.

See on this Vacation I had a lot of time during the day to reflect on my life. I also had a lot of time at night to party. I realized that even though I have been a homebody for most of my life, there was always this guy who loved life and wanted to get out of his shell trying to get out. I think that it started when I was 15, and I went to the Dominican Republic for a month and a half. There is no such thing as staying in your shell there. You come home from work, all sweaty, and before you even get in the door, they are talking about how you have to rush off and get ready to go to some function. They might say something like, “Oh, we are taking a trip across the country, and will leave in half an hour.” Meanwhile, all I am thinking is, “can I get my fucking foot in the door before you talk to me about plans?” On New Years, we were supposed to have a little dinner, which of course, in a few hours, turned into a party with food, booze, and 50 people. You see, in the DR, there is no shell. These people love life, and staying inside a shell to them is considered a diss. If you do, you better be ready to have that shell cracked, or you will not survive.

Fast forward to junior year in High School. I have an opportunity to graduate in 3 years by taking what is called Double English, which is 2 years of English packed into one year, each half being harder than normal. My Mom, of course, didn’t want me to do it because I have had problems with reading comprehension in the past. I, of course, don’t let up, and my Senior Year of High School, I was a college freshman.

Before I graduated college, I didn’t know what a Database was. My new boss gave me what he affectionately calls “the list”, which is a list of things about Databases, SQL, ADO, and VB that I needed to know. Supposedly, I was the only one who actually learned the list. Now I manage databases and write reports that effect people’s lives, and I can do things that can save Millions of dollars.

Fast forward to the Bahamas. I never really was a dancer. I always felt self conscious about it. Now, I am partying it up and dancing with the Co-eds. I even like to dance now. I think that I am better than I was before, because I have more confidence, but the Jury is still out on whether I am good or not. But the point is that I realized that I wanted to come out of my shell. Now that I look at all my actions as a representation of me not wanting to get out of my shell just yet, everything seems clear, and I will not make the same mistakes again. It is time to get out and enjoy life, and perhaps, one day, even dance on Roller Skates.