Story Archive - April 2009

Swung Swung (04/18/2009)

I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom. - Bob Hope

The swing dancing came and went. And of course, I remember it as a lot of fun. The pain fades faster than the glory, so they say.

It was more of a cake walk than I expected it to be and that was good. Midtown Stomp runs it right. Showing up early for the beginners lesson put me in a big rotating circle with a bunch of men and a bunch more women; it was easily two-to-one women to men. Which I suppose makes sense, as it seems unlikely a group of dudes would think, "let's go swing dancing this weekend!" but I can totally see how a gaggle of gals would think that. So as the circle rotated I said hi to each new partner, exchange a few words, and did a little learning of one move or another.

Then the lesson ended, the band came on stage, and the nervousness set in. While normally I am the terror on the dance floor, this time I was hit with terror of the dance floor. Strange, I know. Now, dancing with my lovely hostess wasn't an issue; I loved every moment of that. She was a kick, taught me the Charleston step and showed off her moves. (Now don't tell her this, but it's hard not to be smitten by a good dancer)

But of course, from time to time she had other things to do or wanted to dance with someone who could do more than the basic step and few spins and so I would be abandon to fend for myself. I had to peek around the edge of the floor and look for ladies posting there, waiting for a guy to walk up and ask them to dance, and that is the nerve racking part. I suspect (probably) that it wouldn't be an issue for me if I were not a beginner. But the challenge is that I was dooming some poor lady to three minutes of dancing with a tenderfoot and that was a dreadful thought.

So I did grab a dance with one of the women I had met in the beginner class who was worse than me (I know, a bit cruel), but I couldn't get myself to grab a second dance from her. Trying to learn to dance with a beginner who has no rhythm was crushing. I also grabbed a dance with one the ladies who is paid to stand at the sideline looking longingly, but she corrected my errors every three-to-five seconds and that was just no fun either.

Anyway, it all went well and good, and as I improve it will only get more fun. Sorry to say there were no pictures this time. Hope to see you on the dance floor, but please don't laugh at me too much.

Through the Veil (04/15/2009)

The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules. - Gary Gygax

In the past week Dave Arneson passed through the veil. He wasn't as well known as Gary, but this was the guy who thought, "wouldn't it be fun if we could pretend to be another person and do actions in a fantasy world that was bounded by some set of rules?" Indeed, this man had an amazing influence on my life and the lives of many of my friends.

Over half of my social life in high school and a decent amount of in college was spent with a group of good friends and a set of polyhedral dice. I remember being invited to "hang out" with other friends in college and wondering what they were spending that time together doing. With a clear and wholesome game to play, my weekends in high school and college were spent without drugs; they were spent without alcohol; umm, they were mostly spent without girls. That's just how things worked, but it kept my soul clean and pure.

While those days of gaming are behind me, I have fond memories of them. I look forward to the day when I pry my children away from their total immersion video game systems, unplugged all the wires, sharpen a pencil and throw down some clickety clack dice.