Friday, February 10, 2012

First Dance

It's Day four already.  Glad to see you here!






First Dance

It was early in the 60's, and Dick Dale and the Deltones were appearing, as they normally did, at the National Guard armory in Riverside's Fairmount Park.  My new boyfriend asked me to go with him and another couple.  What fun, double-dating with my best friend and his.  Surfing music was the rage, and Dale(no relation to Dick Dale) loved the fashion and dressed in plaid shirts, jeans, Huarache sandals and drove a low-rider Chevy I swear I could hear him start from the other side of town.  Loud pipes were just as fashionable as loud surfing music.

I was anything but a "Little Surfer Girl," but I sure loved the guy who was only missing a wood-sided station wagon (Woody) with a surfboard on top.

This concert was my first.  I was excited, but I don't remember being the least bit nervous.  Just had those tummy butterflies at the thought of slow dancing with the boy I adored.  I can't even recall what I wore, but I do remember that Dale's mother had tried bleaching his hair and it was a horrible shade of orange, but he didn't seem to mind, and thought he looked really cool.  I thought he looked more like Charlie Brown's, "The Great Pumpkin."  *lol*  But, I digress.  We arrived at the dance and the place was packed.  Despite the startling change to his hair color, I was still proud to walk in hand-in-hand with such a tall, good-looking boyfriend.  I dreamed of the moment the band struck up a slow song and we danced for the first time.

What had I been thinking?  Most surfing music wasn't slow...in fact I could only think of a few that were.  When the band took the stage, their first tune, Misirlou, was geared at getting the party started.  Zinging guitars and heavy drums sent Dale into a dancing frenzy.  He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the floor...mid floor of all places, as he went into his imitation of a surfer on a board, hands out for balance, leaping straight into the air with each imaginary wave that he crested. I recall being too stunned to move, and watching him probably with wide eyes and gaping mouth.  I realized, no one else was dancing either.  He'd taken the spotlight, and gained approval that shocked me.  The thundering applause at his crazy antics only spurred him to higher jumps and spins.

Oh, we finally got that slow dance, but by that time, he was a sweaty mess from never missing a dance.  I relinquished his partnership a few times, and although the rest of the masses had taken the floor, I never lost track of him.  He was the one head that leapt higher than the crowd every few minutes.  The smile on his face was unforgettable, as with my experience with our first dance.  I can't say it dulled my feelings for him...we got married a few years later.  I guess you could say, he leapt right into my heart.  :)

Join Me Tomorrow for "First Kiss."  Click the links below to visit the other sites in the blog hop:

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12 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing your story. What state was this "Riverside" in? I grew up in Riverside, CA, but I'm sure that there are more out there ... another author on the blog hop!

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  2. Morning! :) Great post, thanks for sharing! Irk, rhyming... I need more coffee...

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  3. I love your stories, Ginger! You've made me smile every day this week. Thanks! Happy hopping!:)

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  4. I'M NOT AN AUTHOR BUT I GROOVED IN THE 60'S AND 70'S!! LOL

    linda_bass@sbcglobal.net

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  5. Louisa,
    I went all through school in Riverside, CA. My favorite place of all there is Delia's Grinders. Ever have one? *lol*

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  6. Thanks everyone for visiting today and sharing my memories.

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  7. Ginger...What a wild story. Thanks for sharing. Frankly, I'm not sure how I would have reacted. I may have slowly backed away and admitted nothing about knowing him.

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  8. LOL now THERE is a story to tell the kids! Looking forward to what you have for tomorrow. You're such an entertainer. :)

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  9. Great interview. Deb P
    r.d1@myfairpoint.net

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  10. I am old enough that dances in school weren't all that common. We did have Sadie Hawkins dances, now that I think of it, but I usually went with a bunch of girls.
    My first real dance was the Junior Prom when I was a sophomore. The class had decided that everyone would attend. My best friend's older brother didn't have a date so I was drafted. Don't remember much about the 'date.' He took me to my Junior Prom the following year. We dated for two years, but I think it was more because neither of us had anyone else we were interested in.
    I'm glad you had better luck with with your date.

    librarypat AT comcast DOT net

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  11. Great story. So not what I expected.Love it.

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