A few days before my most recently scheduled flying lesson,
my instructor, Andy Foster (see the post: I’m
Flying!) notified me that the plane would be out of commission for six to
eight weeks because a bird attempted to fly through the windshield during a
fellow student’s takeoff. Thankfully, the pilot is fine—the bird, not so much. But
it did manage to knock out a chunk of the windshield, which, unfortunately,
means a lengthy repair process.
Since flying is high priority on my “bucket list” thrills, I
was at a loss for an equivalent substitute. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough,
Kellie Pickler won that Mirror Ball Trophy, ending the current season for my
all-time-favorite television show, “Dancing with the Stars”. I lost two fun
activities at the same time. Yikes! I was in a tail spin!
But it didn’t take me long to figure out a solution. I
called the Fred
Astaire Studio in Webster to sign up for private dance lessons—not that
boring Waltz and Fox Trot stuff—I went for the Latin dances, like the
Cha-Cha-Cha!
I knew I was on the right track when John Elsbury, the
owner, phoned to schedule my first visit. With his English accent, he sounded
just like Len Goodman, head judge on “Dancing with the Stars”! John told me I
would be dancing with his son, Craig, a dance competition veteran. Ooh, La-La!!!
John forgot to tell me, however, that his son is a couple of heads
taller than my height-challenged five-foot-four, but we managed just fine.
Here we are at left, sizing each other up—looks like I lost
that round!
But it was great fun, and I gave it my best shot, while
Craig patiently attempted to teach me the steps to the Rumba, Salsa and
Cha-Cha-Cha.
Olé!
During my very first session, we taxied out to the dance
floor, revved up our engines for maximum Latin hip-action, and twirled our way
down that gleaming wooden runway.
I might be temporarily grounded—but that won’t stop me from
flying!!
Thank you, Craig, for making me feel like a Dancing Star!!
To learn more about my life-long love affair with dancing and the joy it brings, read the post: Dancing for Joy. And just keep dancing!
