posted 07-27-99
Debbie Does Gossip !
Debbie Awad, one of the original Whip Bad Girls, checked into the SSQQ Web Page a couple times last week and to her
sorrow found no gossip. Practicing the Christian Gossip Ethic ("Ya Gotta Give Gossip
to Get Gossip") Debbie sent the Grapevine the following story via email. The rest of
you in SSQQ Land are welcome to do the same.
I was checking for any updated gossip (as I frequently do) and I
read your lament of no gossip, so I decided to send you something (how’s that for a
run on sentence?). I wanted to make sure that you knew that Julie (SSQQ Staffer Julie
Downey) and her dance partner, Jeff, won a Whip contest at Backstreets on July 17. I
think the category was Novice, but I’m not sure. Also, Joanne (SSQQ Staffer
Joanne Spuck) came in 1st or 2nd at a Jack&Jill sponsored
by Houston Whip back in June. I know you don’t like dance competitions, but I thought
you might like to mention the accomplishments of your instructors. Personally, I’m in
it for the fun, but someday I might want to try a Jack&Jill. And despite the current
trend towards West Coast Swing, David (David Powell, aka the Cajun Whip Stud) and
I have agreed that we prefer Whip (especially the Hitch and Bump). Speaking of David, he
really misses SSQQ, as there is nothing equivalent to it in Baton Rouge. I know it gets
tiring for you sometimes, but your studio really does make a difference for many of us who
are returning to the social scene after a divorce. Not only learning to dance, but the
social atmosphere and the friends that I’ve made has really made a huge difference to
me. By the way, Ray and Sandra (I don’t know the last names), who were in my Western
Swing class last summer are another couple who met at SSQQ and got married. Ray is taking
a class on Wednesday (whatever’s in room 6). They actually met in the class, started
dating sometime in the fall and were married soon after that. They disappeared from SSQQ
and the Longhorn for a while, but I guess they’re making a little comeback now. Well,
that’s all the quasi gossip I have for you for now.
Well, Debbie, a little thin on the Dirt Side, but a very nice
note just the same. Now around the country the latest rage is Closet Swapping Parties. No,
not skeletons from your past or ambiguous sexual preferences coming to light, but rather
good old fashioned parties where a lady looks in her closet and picks out all the outfits
she hasn't worn in a year. Then the lady gets together with 20 other ladies doing the same
thing and everyone merges their clothes together. Then they SWAP clothes. One woman's rags
becomes another woman's britches. Or whatever.
You all out there could send your old tired
gossip to the Grapevine and we could SWAP it around. What's boring to you could be
titillating to another. Don't hesitate, press that SEND Button now ! If everyone
participates, we can Mouse our way to Gossip Paradise instantly !
dance@ssqq.com s'il vous plait. That means,
"Beam Up Some Gossip Rat Now".
And, by the way....I am wondering if the Ray and Sandra
couple Debbie is referring to could be Ray Jahn and the former Kelly Bennett who met at
SSQQ and were married on May 28 ? Does Sandra = Kelly ? Or did Ray marry two
women and we have uncovered Bigamy !?! What horror ! What mystery !
Perhaps they are Mormons ? Or Morons ? Or Morlocks ? (if you know what a
Morlock is, you are too old to be reading this stuff. Go take a nap). Or perhaps we
have an SSQQ marriage I am unaware of ? Someone has got to help me keep better track
of these things ! Please help clear up this terrible misunderstanding
immediately before reputations that are hanging in the balance become ruined !
The SSQQ Hoedown !
On Saturday, July 24, we had the Annual SSQQ Hoedown.
This is the dance where everyone does some Hick Dances like the Beer Barrel Polka, the
Honky-Tonk Waltz, the Virginia Reel, and the Barn Dance. Now all these dances are done to
Fiddle music and, quite frankly, some of the SSQQ Western Dance Elite were seen making fun
of these cherished dances. Yes, especially a group who hung around a guy who wears lots of
Hawaiian Shirts and a lady who Scuba Dives... these people were seen laughing themselves
silly at our Virginia Reel !
How on earth a guy who wears red underwear, tasseled
shirts, Elvis sideburns, and a six-foot tall Mad Hatter's cap to the studio can think a
dance where people do sashays and do-si-dos isn't cool escapes me, but everyone has a
right to their own opinion. I guess Ms Scoobie Doobie doesn't think we are masculine, but
let me reassure her, we are Reel Men ! As for me, I had fun. Corny these Fiddle
Dances may be, but I enjoy them.
The Barn Dance presented me an especially interesting
opportunity. This is a dance where the lady does a free spin one way to her next partner
while the man free spins the opposite way to his new partner. In theory, everyone catches
their new partner and moves right into the start of a new pattern. However, in practice
all sorts of crazy things happen.
At one point in the dance one woman from my left spun
the wrong way into me at the same time as a lady on my right spun to me correctly, but
unfortunately her male partner came spinning the wrong way to me as well. With their backs
turned, at this instant I had the choice of grabbing any of the three I wanted before they
ever knew what hit them. Or I could have two at once. Or all three ! Standing there
with my arms open, I smiled and said, "Gee, I've got more offers than Studio 54
!"
Now, how can a dance with this kind of action not be
cool ?
SSQQ makes a Jose Lima Salsa Video !
On Wednesday, July 21, 5 couples from SSQQ
met on the floor of the Astrodome to help film a Music Video featuring Astros Allstar
Pitcher Jose Lima, who is currently 14-5 on the season. People would let me sing too if I
could pitch like that.
Joining organizer Judy Archer for the event
were her dance friend Niko, Linda Cook, Timm Chavez, Neal Pellis, Maureen Brunetti, Martin
Anderson, Allison Labbe, Marty Shea, and Alyssa Lengyel. Although some of the dancers got
lost in the loading dock at the Astrodome, they all eventually made their way to the floor
of the Astrodome around 10:30 am.
The first thing they noticed is that it was
Hot down there. They practiced their Merengue for a while to a rough cut of the song, but
soon wore out. Judy said that dancing on the infield Astroturf wasn't all that bad. After
they tired out, they noticed it was even hotter and there was still no Jose Lima, so for
lack of anything better to do they wandered around the field, visiting the dugouts, the
bases, and the pitcher's mound. Judy discovered a small tube of grease buried under the
pitcher's mound, but a caretaker man came running out of the dugout and rudely took it
away. Judy asked if it was for the pitcher's hair during the game, so I said yes, the
Astros' pitchers take great pride in looking their best when they are out on the mound.
The video was being filmed as a feature for
Fox Sports Network's weekend "In the Zone". No one who is famous bothers to
stick to one thing any more. Dancers sing, Singers Dance, Singers Act, Actors Sing,
Athletes Act, Actors Dance, blah blah blah, and Athletes Sing too. Jose Lima is cutting a
Salsa Album of some sort, tentatively titled "Mucho Amore", a Latin version of
the SSQQ Barn Dance Fiddle Song from what I understand. All I know is that the Barn Dance
leads to More Amore than I can handle at one time.
Naturally Mr Lima was an hour late. This is
standard operating procedure for a Star. Keep the people who are volunteering their time
for free waiting in the hot Astrodome for an hour. No problema.
As Jose Lima walked out, the dancers noticed
he had on a very peculiar pair of shoes that had a weird heel and were open in the back
sort of like sandals. One of the Astros sitting in the dugout chortled, "Hey, Jose,
don't you make enough money to buy a whole shoe ?" Judy almost popped a button
suppressing a laugh. However, once he arrived, everyone got down to business quickly. Jose
Lima was introduced to the dancers whom he greeted with a nod. There was a crane-like
overhead microphone and cameras, but basically he just sang his song while the dancers
danced on the infield behind and beside him. They did 3 takes one after the other boom
boom boom and just like that it was over.
While the dancers basically collapsed, a
bunch of kids who were touring the Astrodome ran onto the field and mobbed Jose Lima. To
his credit, he patiently signed all their autographs.
In the meantime, Neal Pellis walked over to
Judy who was panting at the pitcher's mound and looking for some more grease. He beckoned
for her to come over to First Base with him. Judy went willingly, hoping to find lipstick
or something useful buried there. There he told her to stand on the bag while he announced
to the whole group, "I just got to First Base with Judy Archer !"
posted 07-16-99
The World is Changing !
One of the joys of having an eight year old
daughter is getting to go back to school again. My daughter Samantha has taken a recent
interest in learning the countries of the world. When I was a kid, I enjoyed Geography. I
think we had it at my school through the Sixth Grade. I would gather that was about 40
years ago. After talking to Sam on our daily trips to summer camp, to my surprise, the
World Map appears to have changed a lot more than I had suspected !
Sam will be sitting in the back seat of the
car looking at a World Atlas and ask me, "Dad, have you ever heard of Kazakhstan
?". At this request for information, I roll my eyes. I don't have a clue where
Kazakhstan is. Who cares...I go ahead and lie anyway. "Oh, sure, Honey, isn't that in
Asia ?" This almost always works. You see, my daughter doesn't have many
childhood myths left. She knows about the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa, etc, but
at our house we still pretend that Father knows everything. This myth too is sure to
crumble, but I take amusement in prolonging it as long as possible. So when it comes to
geography I have a system. If the country I have never heard of ends in "stan",
it is in Asia. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan (same idea), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Slowslowquickistan.
If the name of the new country is
unintelligible, it is in Africa. Djibouti. Eritrea. Tarzania. Zimbabwe. Swaziland.
Mobutuland. Botswana. Burundi. Here is one of my favorite new countries : Burkina Faso.
Ever hear of that one ? Nope, didn't think so. Yup, it's in Africa. Do you remember
its capital ? Ouagadougou. Just rolls off your tongue, doesn't it ?
In my conversations with Sam, I have learned
there are 5 Guineas in Africa... Gulf of Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea,
and Guinea Pig. Next to these countries are Gabon, Gambia, and Ghana. GGGGeee Whiz !
I know why Africa is called the Dark Continent. It has more countries no one has ever
heard of than anywhere else. It turns out these countries are all dirt poor. They are so
poor most people wouldn't trade them for 5 Guineas. That of course is where the phrase
comes from.
I get so confused by what is where. Besides
all those Guineas in Africa, making things more difficult to keep track of is the country
"Guyana" of Jim Jones fame and its counterpart "French Guyana". These
two show up in South America. Then there is "New Guinea" which shows up in the
Pacific. Except it isn't "New Guinea" anymore. Now it is "Papua New
Guinea". I guess some company named Papua paid them big bucks to advertise. It is
probably just a matter of time before we have "Microsoft United States" and
"Budweiser Texas" on the World Map. At the Olympics they will wave the National
Flag and the Corporate Flag together. Boy, I can't wait.
Plus some of these countries change their
damn names ! One day I asked Sam why she didn't name Rhodesia. "It's not
on the map, Daddy." Last time I checked that was a major country in Africa. Its
absence bothered me so I took a look. Sure enough, where Rhodesia used to be is now parts
of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, none of which I had ever heard of. When it comes to name
changes, the worst is Zaire. First it was Congo, then it was Zaire, then I heard recently
it was Congo again. Good grief. Talk about an identity crisis. After losing Rhodesia, I
decided to take a closer look at Africa. These dictators are the worst Country Namers.
Almost everyone country in Africa is named for some other country. Gambia. Zambia. Now
that's clever. Namibia. Oh boy, that's Nambia with an extra "i". Now you're
cooking ! Niger. Nigeria. They probably sat up all night thinking of that one. Mali.
Malawi. Please. Libya. Liberia. Can't someone try a little ? Personally, I think some
Atlas company pays these stupid countries to change their names. I have heard the
Encyclopedia companies are more corrupt than the Fashion industry. They hire ex-CIA
operatives to de-stabilize emerging nations, then pay the new dictator some big bucks to
change the name. Now that makes a lot of sense to me.
If Sam mentions a country where lots of
people have been killed recently, it is usually in the Balkan part of Europe. Yugoslavia
and Czechoslovakia have been sliced and diced into a bunch of new countries like Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (now that's a catchy name ! Who thought
that one up ? Certainly no African dictator), FYRO Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, but no
Serbia or Kosovo. I guess those two are located in what is still called Yugoslavia. Then
again, maybe they are countries now and my stupid map hasn't kept up with them. I guess I
better by a new Atlas soooooon !
So you ask what on earth is FYRO Macedonia ?
Well, that got me too. After much research, I found out that FYRO stands for
"Former Yugoslav Republic Of". I would not have guessed that off the top off my
head. Thank God Sam didn't ask about it. And thank goodness our Founding Fathers didn't
name us "FTCOE" USA. (Former 13 Colonies of England, get it ?).
Another place ripe with new geography is back
in the USSR. There are over a dozen spin-offs from the old USSR. I mean everywhere you
look on the map there are USSR escapees. Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, Ukraine,
Armenia, Moldova, Belarus, plus about six new Stan countries. This is so confusing I am
almost tempted to ask Russia to take them back.
Speaking of all these new ex-USSR countries,
I am reminded of my big disappointment at the Atlanta Olympics. I have always enjoyed
watching the gymnastics, but have tired over the years of the supreme butt-kickings our
USA Men's team has gotten from the USSR team. Now I never thought of them as the USSR
team. They were always "the evil Red Russians" to me. Life was easier in the old
days. The Russians were the Bad Guys. You had to see for yourself the infamous Olympic
Basketball Game in 1972 to realize the magnitude of the injustice. This game which the USA
won twice only to have the politicians intimidate the refs into giving the USSR a third
chance is probably History's most famous example of cheating in plain sight. After that,
the USSR was easy to hate at the Olympics.
So when it came to the 96 Olympics I rubbed
my hands in glee when I found out the Russian gymnastics team (according to Sports
Illustrated) had been "severely depleted" by the loss of several gymnasts to the
satellite countries. I always figured our Men got beat because there were so many places
for the Russians to draw their athletes from. With the USSR Breakup, now we had a chance
at the Gold ! WooWee ! Let's go kick some Russian butt. Remember 1972 !
Boy, was I Wrong ! Not only did our men
get beat by the depleted Russian team, we got beat by the Ukraine team, the Uzbekistan
team, the Belarus team, the Kazakhstan team, and the SlowSlowQuickistan team. The USA got
beat by every one of the stupid spin-off countries ! Now instead of our usual Silver
or Bronze Medal, we finished about 10th in gymnastics. Oh, great. "Bring back the
USSR", I cried !
Well, after all the frustration I have had
learning the New World Order, I have decided to share some of my pain with SSQQ Grapevine
Readers. Wouldn't you like to take the SSQQ Geography Quiz
? Let's see how smart you all are. I will print the answers next week along with a
profile of the best set of answers emailed to me.
posted 07-12-99
Things are kinda Quiet
I suppose no news is good news. I check those
emails every day and nothing particularly juicy has been dropped in the box. You people
beg me for some good gossip, but if you don't send me stuff, what am I gonna print ?
I can't go on making this stuff up forever. At least once in a while it might be
fun to publish a real story. What's Shaking ?
I would like to thank the following people
for joining the SSQQ Staff : Paula Blaisdale (Sunday 4:30), Tom Flaherty (Friday),
Ann Bush (Friday), and Neal Pellis (Monday). Welcome Aboard !
Unfortunately, I hired them for their dancing
ability. I doubt the Volleyball team will be improved much.
Death Valley 8
Gillian TiIbury and I are going to revive the
Death Valley class starting on Sundays in August. The patterns in this course are
difficult. We have 36 spots available : 18 women, 18 men. 16 spots are already taken. You
must see me for a tryout in order to take this class for two reasons. For one thing, there
is Limited Space. If your name is not on the List, don't bother to sign up the day of the
class. These rules apply to Staff as well as students. Second, this course is a reward for
people who have become excellent Western dancers. There is a definite skill level expected
of each participant...the Men need to be able to lead most Ghost Town patterns and keep
the beat. Women need to turn well. If you are interested in joining, see me at the studio.
The tryout lasts about two minutes.
posted 07-01-99
Rick Archer beats the Rap !
Ever get stuck with a ticket that cost $700
before ? I did... and with a little help from my friends, I beat the Rap !
At SSQQ, people consume a lot of soft drinks.
I mean A Whole Lot of Soft Drinks ! So where do all those drinks come from ?
Sams Wholesale Club. My carpenter Mr Salomon and I go to Sams about once every two weeks.
Everyone at Sams knows me. For 10 years people stare in shock as we bring up our train of
seven metal carts to the front counter. The Managers know me... they always tell me to
bring my two trucks up to the front door so their personnel can assist us in transferring
the drinks from the carts to the trucks.
On May 19, I finished loading my Pathfinder.
As I strapped on my seat belt I noticed a mysterious green envelope on my windshield. I
took a look : it was a $350 Fire Lane violation. I was absolutely stunned ! I had
been loading drinks in this exact area at the suggestion of the Sams Management for 10
years. No one had ever told me this was a Fire Lane. I got out of the Pathfinder. There
was nothing on the pavement to suggest a Fire Lane. No paint, no lines, Nothing. Then
about 20 feet further down I saw a sign. I couldn't read it because I was beside it, not
in front of it. Sure enough... the sign said "Fire Lane". Mind you, I had
to be standing right in front to read it, but there it was.
As I walked back to my Pathfinder I noticed
Mr Salomon's truck had a ticket too. You see, we park in the parking lot like everyone
else, then as I stand in line, he goes and brings the two trucks up right beside the door.
Then he comes back in and hands me my keys. In the time it took to come back in the store,
some civil servant who was probably just sitting in an air-conditioned car waiting for his
chance jumped out and wrote the tickets. Mr Salomon wasn't away from the trucks for more
than 5 minutes. Now we had 2 tickets totalling $700. You can guess how mad I was. In my
opinion, this was a pretty cheap shot.
It was a strange ticket. There was not even
an official court date like on other tickets I had received. It just said I had 45 days to
go downtown and "request an Instanter Hearing". Oh boy, go downtown and ask for
permission to go to court. Just my idea of fun ! What the heck is an "Instanter
Hearing" anyway ?
After letting the two tickets sit on my
kitchen counter like bird poop on a windshield, about three weeks later I decided to show
the tickets to a gentleman at the studio who is a Houston Police Officer (who has asked
that I not use his name due to the sensitivity of his position). Actually he is a
Detective in the Sex Crimes Unit at HPD. I have asked him about his job several times, but
he always gets very quiet so I am not exactly sure what he does up there. More about that
later.
The HPD Officer said he would take a look
into those tickets. A week later they reported the tickets were on the level. He didn't
like them either and offered to help me fight it. He took a camera to Sams and
photographed the location. After making a phone call, the Officer called me and explained
it wasn't two trips downtown but one. These violations are processed immediately by a
mediator, not a judge. Since the office was right across the street from his office, he
volunteered to go to the hearing with me. I accepted without too much hesitation. He gave
me directions to the Police Station downtown.
On Wednesday, June 30, I entered the new
police building at 1200 Travis. I was in for a couple surprises. You have to stand in line
just to enter the building. One at a time you go to a desk and present your driver's
license and state your business before they issue you a pass. The officer at the desk
asked me why I was there. I mentioned my appointment to see Officer So and So of the Sex
Crimes Unit. At this, the officer quickly looked up from his computer terminal and eyed me
carefully. "Mr Archer, Are you here to Register ?" My face drained of
color. I assumed he was asking if I intended to register as a Sex Crimes Offender. Oh,
Great ! I quickly reassured the officer my visit had nothing to do with any sex
crimes. With a frown, he issued me a pass and told me to go to the metal detector.
I took out my keys and placed them beside my
clip board, then walked through. Whoop, Whoop, Whoop the alarm sounded. The officer in
charge discretely put his hand on his hip pocket. He suggested I empty my pockets. When I
nervously tried to jam my hand in my pocket, he suggested I reach for my pockets a little
more slowly. I breathed very deeply and did what he said. There upon I brought out two
dimes and a penny. This time I made it through the metal detector successfully. Badly
shaken, I stumbled to the elevator. I have never committed a crime in my life other than
snitching some comic books in the eighth grade (I got caught and my career in crime ended
when the manager clubbed me over the head with a Batman comic book), but I was already
shaken enough to confess to practically anything.
I entered the 11th Sex Crimes Unit. My
Officer friend was the only person in there. He showed me the photos he had taken at Sams.
He asked to me explain where I had parked and what my thought process was. He suggested I
let him do the talking. It is not easy to agree to let someone else talk for me, but I
guessed he knew the right things to say so I agreed to shut up.
We walked across the street. The whole
process was very informal. We only had to wait maybe ten minutes. The Adjudicator took one
look at the pictures that the Officer had taken of the location and said the case was
dismissed because the lane was improperly marked. The Adjudicator was very nice about it
the whole process. Justice was served thanks to the clever work of my hero !
The Longhorn Jackass
Email reprinted with permission of
the Sender.
As you know, Tuesday at the Longhorn is "SSQQ" night. Well, last night seemed
like a typical night. Many of us were there, dancing and having a good time. Then came the
whip music. Normally that’s no big deal. There’s always a little two-step, a
little polka, a little waltz, a little swing, and then a whip set. That’s when I
always sit down to take a breather, since I have had absolutely no whip lessons. None. So
I was just sitting, enjoying the rest, when a guy came up and asked me to dance. "No,
thank you," I replied, "I don’t know how to whip." To which came many
"Aw, come ons," and "It’s really easys". All the time I continued
to say "No, thank you." He then said, "Well why don’t you just let me
show you a few steps." So taking him at his word (what an idiot), I walked to the
dance floor. BIG MISTAKE! First of all, those whip sets are long, and secondly, he
proceeded to throw me around like a sack of potatoes. I mean, he jerked me up, down, over,
and under, and I lost count of how many times my feet came up off the ground! I realize
that I’m no spring chicken anymore, but he would have destroyed the joints of a
20-year old with these moves! Not to mention all the nasty, sleazy moves he tried.
Everytime I would try to pull away from him or tell him to stop he would just laugh and
not let go of my arm. When that song was over I just stormed over to my chair and the
jackass had the nerve to tell me to save him a two-step. If I’d had my wits about me,
I would have ground my boot into his instep!
A fellow from ssqq told me he has seen that guy before at other
places and he does the same thing to other women.
Well, all I can say is I felt like whip got it’s name from
"whiplash"! I couldn’t even turn my head last night it was so sore. And
that’s coming from a woman who went through childbirth 3 times with no drugs - and
one of those was a 37- hour labor.! So I am no wuss. (I’m not really sure how to
spell that, but I’m still not one!) He just really ran me through through the mill.
Now you know why I just had to thank
SSQQ. It is an incredible place for many reasons. But it’s the respect for other
people that’s taught along with dancing that, and I think I can speak for many women,
that is really appreciated.
Sylvia and Jeff Get Married !
On Saturday morning, June 26, Jeffrey Tucker
married Sylvia Key. It was simple, very sweet ceremony at Unity Church. There were lots of
smiles everywhere !
Afterwards we walked over to the Reception
Area and had a nice meal. As Karen Day, Tony Catalano, Donna and her husband Paul Motard,
and I sat eating at the table, we couldn't help but listen to great dance music playing in
the background. I could detect several feet tapping under the table to the beat, including
mine. Finally someone asked me if I had loaned one of my dance CD's. I briefly considered
taking credit, but finally had to admit someone else was just as good at mixing music as I
was, maybe better.
Finally my jealousy got the better of me, so
I asked Sylvia who recorded the music. She said she did the night before the wedding and
this same morning. Good Grief ! As if she didn't have a million other things to do.
Jeff and Sylvia just bought a lovely new home
in the Heights and are in the process of moving in. Plus Sylvia just gave notice at her
job... she figured she would do just about every stressful thing she could think of all at
the same time.
Sylvia was a social butterfly at her
reception, flitting from table to table to socialize. She even squeezed in a number of
dances with all the incredible hunks she had invited to her wedding. She asked me to dance
too.
Sylvia and Jeff shocked me greatly by
announcing they were coming to the party at the studio that night. Everyone wanted to
Waltz ! They were nice enough to bring several delicious platters of food to share
with the studio that night. Sylvia and Jeff danced the night away. I think it was
the first relaxing thing they did all day !
They are off to Hawaii in a few weeks, but
for now you will probably see them at the studio. Be sure and say hi !
For a nice picture of the SSQQ guests,
click here.
Sad but true, Chris O'Rourke has retired !
Chris O'Rourke officially retired as an SSQQ
Dance Instructor at the end of June. He will be sorely missed. His friends at the studio
threw a huge going-away party for him at the Longhorn on June 29. I heard the floor was so
packed there was hardly any room to dance.
Chris started teaching Western for us in May
of 1994. A student before then, he learned quickly. Since he also expressed himself so
well, I thought he would make a natural teacher. I was right ! Chris became a great
teacher !
Although I may be wrong, Chris originally
started classes on the recommendation of his co-worker Mike Hitzhusen. They both worked at
American General at the time. Mike also became an instructor at SSQQ and met his future
wife Hannah Baker at the studio. (Side note : Mike and Hannah are parents now and living
in Atlanta).
A few years back Chris went to work for
Microsoft. He loves working there and has received several promotions. Unfortunately it is
these promotions that led to Chris' decision to retire at SSQQ. He has an increased work
load and travels frequently. It is getting harder and harder to make it to the studio on a
regular basis.
Chris is especially famous his bacchanalian
orgies at his house the Saturday after each New Year. Now that Chris is retired, maybe
some of the participants will come forward and reveal the true details of these events.
You would be impressed at how tight-lipped the party goers are around me. Security
regarding D-Day wasn't any tighter than the secrets of the Bashes at Chris' house up in
the Woodlands. The Woodlands is this beautiful arboreal paradise where the forest is kept
in a pristine state. It features deer, fauns, nymphs, satyrs, and nymphomaniacs.
That's the rumor I hear anyway.
I was so intrigued by some of the reports of
"excesses" that one year I actually visited myself. I was asked never to return
again. I didn't do anything bad, but apparently I had a major inhibiting effect on the
revelers. They couldn't wait for me to leave ! All night long people would come up
to me and ask, "You're not leaving soon, are you ?" I even heard one guy whisper
when he thought I wasn't paying attention, "The party will really get going as soon
as that old man leaves." As if someone thought I might print something naughty
they did. What ever gave them that idea ?
Chris has an interesting house. There is an
area out back that has string around it. Inside the perimeter is a sign saying
"Future Location of the Hot Tub". I don't know if Chris ever put that hot tub
in, but he doesn't need to. In the mist I thought I saw some people sitting out there
taking their clothes off anyway. What imaginations ! What a party ! Maybe I
will go in disguise next time.
Goodbye, Chris, we will miss you !
Sunday, June 27, is his last night. Be sure to drop by and say goodbye to Chris !
Sock Hop 99
The 1999 SSQQ Sock Hop Dance Party was
surprisingly successful. I say surprising because I have no way of gauging interest
anymore. In the old days, the phone would be ringing off the hook with questions. For this
party I had maybe 3 phone calls. Instead everyone checks the Internet if they have a
question.
Attendance was around 180 people. We tested
out the new dance floor with Whip tunes from the 50's, 60's, and 70's. It was a lot of fun
back there in Room 4.
But the real action was in Room 1. We Line
Danced, we did John-Paul-Jones, we danced to Shout, we went nuts ! There were so
many people who didn't want to go we finally had to throw 'em out the door. It was our
best dance party this year in my opinion. Other good ones include Swing Extravaganza I on
January 9 and the Sleazy Bar Whip Party on April 24. The Sock Hop is this year's leader !
Click here
for Pictures
Battle of the Sexes !
Recently I have received several scathing
pieces of humor that Bash Men thoroughly. The observations were so precise that I have
decided to share them with the entire land of SSQQ. I might add I am going to give the men
a chance to fight back, but I currently have no ammunition anywhere near the equal of the
stuff the women sent in. Even more pathetic, the only decent piece of Woman Bashing humor
was sent in by a woman. Go figure that. So, guys, if you want to let the girls have
a first-round Knockout, sit back and take your blows. But if you have any pride, you will
search those memory banks and fight back ! To see what horrible things the
women said about the men,
click
here. I might add that recently a champion emerged to defend the honor of
the men. It is true that women are definitely better Men Bashers than guys are at
returning the favor, but our hero definitely stood up for the boys. To read his scathing
critique of Why Beer is Better Than Women,
click here
Adventures of a Dance Teacher
Everyone wonders why I don't put more stuff
on the Gossip Page for a while. Well, during my two-week break from posting information, I
completed another writeup called "Adventures of a Dance Teacher". These are 20
stories from my experiences in the dance world during the 70's and 80's. While many of the
names will be unfamiliar to our modern readers, the stories are timeless. Together they
form a detailed History of SSQQ. Some stories are funny, some are serious, some are
personal, and they all are interesting. If you are curious to take a peek,
click here.
Vine Lines
This is a new section where I publish
interesting things that readers send in. Our first four entries include the Battle of New
Orleans which is a true story of a real estate dispute sent in by Leslie Wagner. One
Hundred People, sent in by Reza Taherian, shows what a typical village would consist of if
our entire population of billions was shrunk proportionately to 100 people. Robin Wagner
sends in the fascinating study known as the Wisdom of Dan Quayle. This, in my opinion, is
"Must Reading". My favorite quote : "For NASA, space
is still a high priority." -- Vice President Dan Quayle, 9/5/90.
I
believe nothing more need be said to make my point. Our final Vine Line is Computer
Billing Hell by Sylvia Key, an interesting story about how a bill for $0.00 caused a man's
life to go the pieces and shut down a bank's entire computer system.
If you would like to read one of the stories
above, click here. If
you have some interesting stories of your own to share, please send them to me at
dance@ssqq.com
Susie's HeartBeats Perform in Austin !
You would have been proud of
the group. Their performance this weekend was terrific!! I guess my heart to heart talk
with them after the lip sync show made an impression.
Anyway, after we performed, we were
invited to perform at Waltz Across Texas here in Houston in October, At Dallas Dance
Festival in November, at Red Draper’s Let’s Dance Invitational in Houston, for
the Texas Hoedown in Fort Worth, and even for a national UCWDC competition in New
Orleans!! The team was just beaming. Except for a slight bobble in one place with
Martin’s hat—there were NO mistakes. The other team that performed danced to
songs that seemed to be at half the speed of our routine. Red Draper said that he was very
impressed that our group actually danced challenging steps to really upbeat songs!! So
many teams just seem to "walk" formations to different types of music.
The only problem we had was that the judges said that if we ever
wanted to compete with the routine, we could not use Huey Lewis "Heartbeat of Rock
and Roll" as it is not a C&W song! I could really understand how Mike Fagan felt
when the crowd would come to its feet when he and Debbie performed and then the judges
would give them 3rd place because the routine didn’t fit all of the
"rules." East Coast Swing is one of the C&W competition categories, but you
can’t use a great rock and roll song to dance it to, you have to use a C&W song.
We decided to email Garth Brooks and ask him to re-record it so that UCWDC would accept
it!! Our routine really pleased the audience, but we would have been disqualified by the
judges if we had been competeing against the other team because our music would not have
met the rules. We have decided that we want the freedom to perform to the music that we
want to use and choreograph the way we want to, so we are planning to attend these other
dance festivals, but we are just going to do exhibitions. We are not going to compete.
Report of Serious Telephone
Harrassment
After this year's Sock Hop a woman in
attendance received a series of anonymous obscene phone calls both at her home and her
place of work. The calls often referred in some way to the Sock Hop. The woman is unsure
how her phone numbers were obtained.
At SSQQ we try to have fun, but let's face
it, no one is completely safe anywhere. If you know of any other incidents, please bring
them to my attention immediately. Only by working together can we protect our own
community. SSQQ has an excellent relationship with both the Bellaire and the Houston
Police Department. We may be able to get the police involved. Thank you.
Dance@ssqq.com
posted 05-20-99
Betty the Spy
"Harriet the Spy" is one of my
daughter Sam's favorite movies. It is the story about a young girl who peeks through
windows and around corners to watch people in action, then writes down her impressions.
She is quite sneaky.
Betty and Gary Richardson drove up to Denton,
Texas, over the May 15th Weekend to celebrate their son Chris' graduation from North Texas
State. Along with Cindy and Mike, Gary and Betty have now achieved their life-long dream
of putting their three children through college. That is quite an accomplishment any
parent would be quite proud of !
To Gary's surprise, Betty had a little detour
over to Fort Worth she wanted to take. It seems her Father likes to go Ballroom dancing
every Friday night at the Stardust Ballroom. This has been his hangout for 16 years. Betty
sees her father once or twice or year, but she has never seen him dance. She has this
secret desire to watch her father in action on the dance floor. One catch : Betty's Dad
doesn't know she is coming. He doesn't even know she is in town. That's okay with
Betty. She wanted to see what he was like in an unguarded moment.
So Gary points out that Betty doesn't even
know if he is going to be there. He has a hurt foot and hasn't been dancing for nearly a
month. Betty points out her father mentioned on the phone he thought maybe he might
try dancing again this week. Gary points out that Fort Worth is a long way from Denton for
a maybe. Betty says she doesn't mind. Gary points out he will have to wear a coat and tie.
Betty says she doesn't mind. Gary says he doesn't know how to Ballroom Dance. Betty says
she doesn't mind.
Betty gets Ready. She is very glamorous
in her beautiful black sequined evening dress cut high. Betty gets compliments on her
lovely legs. Gary enjoys this feature. She puts her hair way up the air so she is four
inches taller and puts on high heels so now she is six inches taller. She is ready to
dance. Gary puts on his tie and grumbles a little, but he sees the determined look in her
eye. Is Fort Worth Calling ? Yes, it is.
Betty and Gary arrive at 8:30 pm. They
find an inconspicuous corner spot at the Stardust and begin to watch for Bill, Betty's
father. Gary notices the crowd is in its seventies and eighties. He feels like a teenager
again for a moment. Promptly at 9 Bill strides in wearing a sporty light blue blazer.
Gary wonders if the coat can glow in the dark it is so bright.
Bill is quite popular. He dances every dance.
Once he looks over to the corner where Betty the Spy sits, but she quickly covers her face
by looking down. 20 minutes after the dance started, a John Paul Jones is announced.
(Now
if any of our Grapevine readers has a clue why these dances are named after this famous
Naval hero, please let me know, dance@ssqq.com).
Here at the Stardust they don't get in two circles like here at SSQQ, but rather just
trade partners whenever the whistle blows.
Gary gives Betty a nudge. This is the perfect
chance to make her move. She isn't ready. Betty wants to study her father in action some
more. Gary nudges again and points out there may not be a better chance for some time.
This makes sense, so Gary and Betty hit the floor. Gary is a little nervous because he
doesn't have a clue how to Foxtrot. It occurs to him no one knows his name either.
Okay.
After five whistles, Betty suddenly ends up
in her Dad's arms. His first remark is, "Oh, Aren't I Lucky ?" Gary is
watching Bill's reaction. Bill is clearly pleased to have such a young and pretty lady to
dance with. Ten seconds pass. He is clearly studying her. Then he says, "You know,
you look a lot like my daughter".
"Oh really ?" replies Betty,
smiling at him. With her hair up, she has changed her normal appearance quite a bit.
They dance the Foxtrot some more. Bill
doesn't take his eye off Betty.
Then Bill says, "You really do look a
lot like my daughter. I have two of them, but you look a lot like one of them."
"Oh really ? What's her name ?"
"Betty".
"Oh really ?" Another smile from
Betty.
Then about a minute after they start dancing
together, Bill asks, "Are you are Betty ?"
"Yes, I am !" Betty announces
with a grin. Almost at that moment, the whistle blew. Betty and Bill separate to
dance with new partners. Bill finishes the song in a trance.
After the song ended, Bill was still in
shock. In a daze, he walked over to his table. Gary and Betty followed him. Unfortunately
Bill's social graces were lost as he literally appeared to be stunned. The lion wasn't
used to being followed to his lair. Another gentleman sensed Bill's shock and pointed to
some extra chairs. Betty and Gary joined Bill at the table.
Not much conversation ensued. Bill was quiet.
Fortunately the music rescued the awkward situation as Gary asked Betty to dance. It
wasn't till 30 minutes after the initial encounter that Bill snapped out of his shock and
began to show his natural warmth. Once he did though, he started to smile and introduced
Betty and Gary to everyone in the building. During the three hour dance, Gary and Betty
danced nearly every song.
Gary wasn't really interested in spying. He
was more worried about not knowing how to Ballroom Dance. The Orchestra played a lot of
Big Band music. Gary quickly found he was quite popular ! He was greatly relieved
when he discovered his Twostep could pass as a Foxtrot. One 80-year old lady about 5
feet tall in a red dress called him "Sonny". This lady couldn't get enough of
Gary ! One time on another JPJ, the red dress lady elbowed another woman out of the
way to get another dance with him ! Gary complained that the women were fighting
over him. I felt sorry for him until he mentioned he had led a Twostep move called,
"the Big Bad Wolf Step." Well, to these women, that is like throwing a
match on dry timber in the forest. Gary did not sit down again. He danced the night away !
Gary found out his Swing dancing worked just
fine. And a Waltz was a Waltz was a Waltz. His only insurmountable obstacle was a Rumba.
One lady even tried to teach him how, but Gary's hips didn't move quite the right way so
as a public service he sat back down.
Then came a Polka ! Not George
Straight, but probably a Lawrence Welk Oom-Pah Polka. No matter. Betty and Gary did the
Whip ! Betty's hips worked better than Gary's ! In front of Daddy, no less !
Gary smiled when he remembered he could still outrun her father if necessary.
Everybody was watching and they started to clap ! Bill's eyes rolled out to the edge
of his nose... is this really my little girl ?
Fortunately, Bill took it the right way. He
said to Betty after she got off the floor, "I have never in my life seen anything
like that in my life. You are a great dancer !" I imagine Betty the Spy
smiled. She had too much fun that evening.
dance@ssqq.com
Rick Archer, SSQQ Dance Studio
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