I'm a little shy about going on outings. Call it another PD related wrench thrown into My Machine of Life. Occasionally I give up my post within the comforts of my humble dwelling to venture out into The Unknown for a bit of razzle dazzle. Last night my wife took advantage of my desire to mingle by bringing me to a local cabaret/dinner club to see a local blues band who were playing in the back room. It was a good chance to break in my Holiday Celebration Manners.
After paying our fees we settled in. The room was decorated for the Holidays. Snow flakes. Candy canes. Twenty or so tables with chairs. Most of the tables had little reserved signs. There were several tall tables along the rear wall. No chairs.
My wife asked me "Do you mind standing?"
"I'm Good. I can use the wall as a resting area"
Being slightly self conscious, I spent some time practicing my posture. As I was running through my routine I looked up and saw a commotion at the entrance of the room. The commotion turned out to be a small entourage of people escourting an older lady. who was using a walker to make her way through the crowd to a table. The Lady With The Walker was stooped over, nearly folded in half. The crowd parted as she walked with a quiet dignity and slid skillfully onto her chair. As The Lady With the walker was working at getting comfortable, sliding and jerking a bit, I nudged my wife and pointed in The Lady's direction.
"Look. One of us" I said. Us meaning Parkinson's restricted.
The band came out and broke into a blues number. They sounded great. People started dancing. A few years back I would go to the dance clubs and spend most of the night on the dance floor. Showing off mostly. But, the last time I tried dancing it looked like I was stomping grapes. PD had taken away my magic. So, I wondered how well my happy feet were working. At some point the band broke into a slow blues ballad. I placed my hands on my wifes hips and said "Let's dance". Let's see. Arms here, hands there. Go. It was interesting. My wife kept trying to lead. The Boss. We tried it both ways: She steps one direction, I step the other. The Struggle continues. Good for us. I closed my eyes and listened to the song. Lost love. Misunderstandings. Refrain. Nice song. My wife's hair smelled delicious. I opened my eyes and looked accross the room. The Lady With The Walker was up on her feet and dancing with her caregiver. She looked so content.
And I'm thinking "Welcome to The Dance".
Dance for PD
More from the Bucket List Tour.
One minute you tap dance the next you trip....
