| At the age of 70 I retired. Happy days were | | | | Cha-Cha, Waltz, and I was in heaven. The only |
| ahead. I could do what I want, when I want | | | | problem, since I was sure I knew how to |
| and if I want to do nothing that's okay too. | | | | dance, was thinking this was going to be |
| I watched daytime TV, did the crossword | | | | soooooo easy! It turned out that I was the |
| puzzles, read the newspapers, and kept in | | | | only newbie in the class and I also realized |
| touch with friends and family through email. | | | | there's no partner to lead me around the |
| I played some games on the computer and | | | | floor. At first I thought I must have turned |
| checked out the internet. Of course, I ate a | | | | stupid in my old age, but then realized that |
| lot because the food was there. When I did | | | | line dancing is mostly memory and my memory |
| wander out, it was the mall or the | | | | was not too sharp anymore. I was going to |
| supermarket where I could buy lots of goodies | | | | stick with it! The dances are a number of |
| to keep me happy. When you're retired, | | | | sets that are repeated during the dance and |
| wandering aimlessly through the stores, | | | | you have to be aware of the sequence, what |
| spending money foolishly is not what you want | | | | steps come next. Fortunately, I did not take |
| to do. So what do you do? I didn't want to be | | | | myself too seriously. Someone once said |
| one of those old people sitting around | | | | "dance as if no one is looking" so that's |
| waiting to die. I could see myself falling | | | | exactly what I did. I laughed a lot, |
| into a depression. Would you say I needed a | | | | persevered and promised myself I would not |
| new challenge in life! The day of awakening | | | | give up. I finally did it! It all fell into |
| came with a phone call from a friend. "The | | | | place. The moral of the story….. dance |
| Parks Department has a Community Center | | | | class is much less expensive than doctors and |
| nearby; they have all kinds of classes; let's | | | | psychiatrists; it gives you a natural high! I |
| go check it out." Now, I thought, what could | | | | lost weight; I lost inches; I started to eat |
| I possibly do there? What I did find there | | | | healthier when I saw the weight loss and my |
| was a low impact aerobics class that would | | | | memory has improved tremendously. I'm |
| help me take off the weight I had managed to | | | | exercising my brain by learning something new |
| put on. I joined the class, had a good time | | | | with each dance. I learned so well, that at |
| and met some really nice people. They were | | | | the age of 75, the Parks & Recreation |
| all discussing the line dance class they had | | | | Department offered me a job teaching line |
| joined and what fun it was. When I was about | | | | dancing. My students always compliment me on |
| 10 years old, my brother who was five years | | | | my youthful looks and demeanor; something I |
| older than I, used to practice his jitterbug | | | | don't mind hearing. I just read that Socrates |
| on me and I grew up dancing during the | | | | learned to dance when he was seventy because |
| wonderful era of the big bands. I didn't get | | | | he felt that an essential part of himself had |
| to dance much later in life and forgot how | | | | been neglected. Isn't it funny that with all |
| much I enjoyed it, With a bit of trepidation | | | | the aches and pains that come with age, I |
| I joined the line dance class. It wasn't just | | | | don't feel a bit of pain when I dance? It |
| country music anymore. They taught Mambo, | | | | must be that 'natural high'. |