START OF THE HEADLINE STORIES SECTION

THE JULY SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/schedule.htm

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JUNE 2004 SCHEDULE
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/extra.htm

SATURDAY NIGHT PARTIES IN JULY
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/calendar.htm

STORY FOUR: THE STORY OF THE BEST SOCK HOP IN SSQQ HISTORY

STORIES AND PICTURES FROM THE 2004 SOCK HOP

SSQQ STAFF UPDATES FOR JULY 2004

QUESTION: WHAT DANCE CLASSES DO I NEED TO TAKE TO PREPARE
FOR THE SSQQ SEPTEMBER DANCE CRUISE?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Stefani Callihan"
To: Marla@ssqq.com
Sent: Monday, June 21, 2004 12:23 PM
Subject: advice please!

Marla!

I'm really looking forward to the cruise and would like some dance advice, please.

I am new to the SSQQ scene, and although I have a lot of dance experience, it's all solo, ballet, etc. I am just completing the advanced swing class, and those are the only classes I have taken. I would really like to be able to dance a variety of dances by the time the cruise rolls around, and take all the classes I can fit in during the cruise.

Since new classes start in July, I have three months to take classes to get ready for the cruise. What classes would you recommend I take prior to the cruise?

I appreciate your assistance.  Thank you,
Stefani

REPLY (RICK ARCHER)

Side Note: For all you people planning on dancing with us on the SSQQ September Dance Cruise, there are many opportunities for Ballroom Dancing on this trip. For starters, there are two fabulous Ballroom Dance Parties in the "Shall We Dance" Lounge complete with the ship's orchestra and free cocktails.  One is the "Welcome Aboard" Party and the other is the "Welcome Back" Party. (Note: please forgive, but the second party is only available to people who have cruised on RCCL at least once before.)  These classy events are often dominated by the SSQQ group since very few of the ship's passengers can even begin to complete with our trained dancers. Our group puts on quite a show by dancing Foxtrot, Swing, Cha Cha and Waltz to great music.  Adding to our fun is a huge crowd of well-dressed onlookers surrounding the circular dance floor who watch in awe at our excellence. Do we feel guilty hogging all the attention?  Heck no, we revel in it!  Our fellow passengers love watching us dance!!

In addition to the two big parties, each night there is a live band that sets up in the Atrium at the very center of the Rhapsody. The band plays everything from Foxtrots to Waltzes, Rumbas, and Cha Chas. Since as I mentioned the majority of the passengers can't dance , our group has the floor to ourselves. Indeed, it is common for people to line the railing on the deck above simply to watch the dancing in Atrium below. Sometimes our dance group becomes as big an attraction as the Band itself!! 

"Intermediate Moonlight" on Mondays in July is the perfect class to take to prepare for the Ballroom Dancing that occurs every night of the trip!!

However since it is an "Intermediate" class, I wouldn't just jump in unless you have some serious experience with Twostep (similar to Foxtrot footwork and timing) or Western Waltz (Ballroom Waltz has the same timing as Western Waltz, but you need to learn Waltz patterns that don't travel!)

Another classes useful to prepare for the trip is any level of Swing Dancing. Much of what the bands play are Big Band classics.

Many of the SSQQ group gets involved in after-dinner dancing and after-hours dancing.  The Rhapsody provides a live band for social dancing every night in the "Shall We Dance" Lounge after dinner. Unfortunately we have yet to find a good dance band in our previous two tries aboard the Rhapsody.  Maybe the third time is a charm!

The band usually tries to play Western music although some of it is hard to recognize.  Even worse, one band played every song at the same up-tempo speed of 130 beats per minute. Experienced dancers recognize this as the LEAST FAVORITE TEMPO for dancing. 

My point in writing this is the most fun dancing is often in the wee hours of the morning to the SSQQ Jukebox. We bring along a boombox and hook it up to a computer that can play thousands of songs.  Starting at Midnight or sometimes 1 am, we get the "Shall We Dance" Lounge to ourselves and start smoking the place.

And you say, "There's no way I can stay awake till 1 am!!"

Wrong. You forget that many of our group can time-shift. It doesn't matter what time you get up.  Some people dance till 4 am, then get up the next day at 11 am.  Who cares??

So like the kids in "Dirty Dancing" who specialized in hot steamy dancing after all the resort people had gone to bed, many of the SSQQ Dusk till Dawn Dancers don't actually perk up till the Midnight Hour. The phrase "Dance the Night Away" truly applies to some of the vampires in our group who run for cover about the time the sun rises.

And look for them to dance Western, Swing, and lots of Whip.

SENORES AND SENORITAS AKA THE SASS CLASS!!
(By the way, did you know the price of the class drops to 36 men/26 ladies permanently after the first month??)

The SSQQ SASS CLASS is the brainchild of Milt Oglesby.  He believes there is a lot of interest on the part of "Senior Citizens" (defined as anyone 50 and above) to find opportunities to dance and socialize with people their own age.

I don't know why I am so worried about being delicate. After all, I am 54 and a card-carrying AARP member. Therefore I feel I have every right to speak of this group as "us" and not "them".  That said, I will simply say this isn't exactly the Hip Hop crowd but rather the Hip Replacement crowd.  After that crack, I am sure they love having me represent them!!

But let's face it, growing old ain't for sissies and a twisted sense of humor is our main weapon in the battle against the ravages of time.  Another main weapon in the battle is Dancing.  Social dancing is good for the spirit, good for the exercise, good for the concentration, and good for the waistline. It's also a great way to visit with friends.  And rumor has it that dancing is a potent defense against Alzheimer's, but I forget who told me that. ;-)

After several months of planning, Milt's first Sass Class got off the ground this past June 2004.  Attendance was excellent: Milt told me there were well over 20 people in attendance.  There's 21 in the picture and that doesn't include the countless volunteers.

Milt correctly anticipated there would be more women than men. I don't mean to be indelicate, but demographics show that women begin to outnumber the men after everyone turns 50. I would prefer not to discuss the reasons behind this shift in the ratio, but Milt found a good solution. He went out and recruited several of his friends here at SSQQ to volunteer to be "Leads". 

That clever idea seemed to make things go much better.  Milt forgot to list all his volunteers, but I know at least some of their names: Susan Arevalo, Susan Waring, Phyllis Porter, and Gareld McEathron. If I left anyone off the list, blame Milt.

Milt told me they were a very well-behaved group for about ten minutes, then cut loose and got rowdy for the remainder of the month. To put it lightly, they did everything possible to live up to the name of their name.  One of the few joys of aging is getting to the point where you no longer give a D___. about decorum and this group was definitely out of control most of the time.

Just between you and me, Milt can be a real pain in the you-know-what with his smart-aleck remarks in class, so I am thrilled that he was surrounded with 20 students all behaving just as badly as he does. Karma in action!!

The Sass Class covers the basics to all sorts of dancing.  There's plenty of music during class and after class Milt has half an hour of free Practice Time at the studio where everyone hangs out and dances with each other for the fun of it.

Milt's goal is to graduate each group to another level while opening the door for newcomers with an easier class.  As with many great adventures, I expect Milt will change a few things along the way.  I have little doubt Milt's original vision will end up looking like a winding Colorado river with all the twists and turns he will make as he gets more experience. 

Milt's eventual goal is to get all his students familiar with the basics of several types of dances so they will become more confident social dancers.   

In July, his Numero Uno Assistant, Susan Arevalo, will take the new beginning students and he will take the "original 20" on to a new level. Milt's goal is to have 75 to 100 Seniors in this SASS program in December.

After the great start he had in June, I wouldn't bet against him!!

The following is a note from Susan:

Hi Rick,

I think the class was a great success. We had 20 students but needed more men. Milt has a natural talent for keeping the class moving and having fun at the same time. I'm sure everyone enjoyed themselves. I hope I do as well with the new class next month.

I see this class becoming a place for seniors to come and have fun, meet people, and learn to dance, a social skill, all at the same time. In the months to come I hope we can get several levels going at once and maybe see a little flexibility at that time where if a person felt like one week he needed a level 1 class, say in Swing, but the next week he'd like a level 2 class in C&W that they could easily switch.

Next month I will be teaching the level 1 (with Garald as my assistant), while Milt teaches level 2. I believe the plan is too continue to add on to the dances we've started with levels 2 and 3, but then we'll get to a place where we'll let the students vote on what dances they'd like to learn the next month. I hope this let's us keep a continuing crowd of familiar faces coming to dance on a Saturday afternoon, with new recruits working their way up the levels.

Susan Arevalo

UPDATE: BELLAIRE'S FIRST-EVER SKY BRIDGE

June 29, 2004 Update:  The area around the former Door Warehouse building has been completely encompassed by a chain-link fence. Obviously something is afoot.  In the meantime, the parking lot has eroded to a series of potholes. Hopefully an upgrade to the parking lot will be part of the plans for the massive overhaul of the area.  RJA

The Previous Article from the June Newsletter:

For the past two years, I have watched with some concern as important real estate changes have taken place around the Bissonnet shopping center SSQQ calls its home.

Last year I noticed when the tenants in the quiet building next to Charlies BBQ were told to vacate the premises. After they left, that building was expensively remodeled and is now home to "First Street Surgical Center". You cannot have missed the iron gates and gorgeous landscaping that now adorn its premises. So clearly this building went upscale!

A big SSQQ story from a year ago was the illegal towing of SSQQ cars from the abandoned Door Warehouse building at the edge of the SSQQ parking lot. After the Door Warehouse went bankrupt, the space was up for rent, but instead was purchased by the same people who also own the First Street Surgical Center. The good news is the towing threat seems to have disappeared. There are no threatening signs on that building anymore and no incidents in over a year.

Two months ago I was informed by my landlord that he had decided to sell the 4803 Bissonnet to Dr. Varon, who just happens to be the owner of the First Street Surgical Center and the Door Warehouse building. For anyone who has ever played Monopoly, Dr. Varon appears to have accomplished a Monopoly of his own on the First Street/Bissonnet corner.
 

Now comes further news that the Bellaire City Council has approved plans for First Street Surgical Center to put up a Sky Bridge that will connect the Surgical Center to the Door Warehouse building. In other words, you will still be able to use that little secret passage street that runs between the Surgical Center and Door Warehouse, but there will be a sky bridge above your head. The new owners of my building have not met with me yet so I am uncertain as to the long-range plans. The rumor is they intend to not disturb the leases of anyone in the 4800 Bissonnet Shopping Center. It has been suggested the reason they bid so aggressively on this property was to acquire rights to the parking lot which would in turn support their investment in the Door Warehouse building.
This all remains to be seen. Another rumor is the addition of a second story to the Door Warehouse building to meet the Sky Bridge as well as added parking under and around the Door Warehouse building. Further rumors have extensive new landscaping being added to our shopping center by our obviously well-heeled new landlords. That would be nice. Now if they could just fit some of the potholes in our parking lot… but let's give them time to ease in to the difficult task of managing three extensive properties all at once. I will keep you posted of new developments. In the meantime, here is a story that I have reprinted from Kathleen Ballanfant's excellent local newspaper, "Village and Southwest News":

CITY COUNCIL APPROVES BELLAIRE'S FIRST SKYBRIDGE
By Michelle Leigh Smith
Reprinted From The Village and Southwest News

Bellaire will soon have its first skybridge, requested by the First Street Surgical Center. Council voted unanimously to approve the request after reconsideration of a previous direction given to the Planning and Zoning Commission to determine whether the concept of sky bridges should be allowed in the City of Bellaire.

Mayor Pro Tem Phil Nauert proposed an amendment directing City staff to grant the permits for the skybridge since there was no existing rules on the books about skybridges and secondly, to direct P&Z to look into drafting skybridge guidelines.

"I could not support this amendment," said Pat McLaughlan. "I see the City of Bellaire would be receiving no consideration for the abandonment of street right of way.

Siegel explained that the amendment was not to abandon the ROW. The ROW stays in our possession. I understood I may be a little slow, but I'm having a real problem understanding what it is these people want. The first few pages of the brochure are concentrated on the Skybridge. They show extensive landscaping with palms and fountains. It sounds like if they are doing this extensive landscaping over the entire parking lot that they have an interest in the entire center where Radio Shack is located. I think we need to deal with it in an integrated manner. Cindy interjected, "Can I try to explain. The issue is about the Skybridge. They have bought this whole area, including the center. They bought the Door Warehouse, they are putting $8.5 million in. The center will be upgraded and they will add a new professional building where the Door Warehouse is."

Council voted Nauert had a point of order. "Public discussion is closed. I don't think it's in our purview to tell them what to do with the center. What an egregious extension of our effort beyond what is legally allowed us. It is an opportunity only for us to make a mistake. I would like us to continue only with discussion of the matter at hand."
Davison said, "I think the one element that we're missing is fact that we didn't do our housekeeping. I agree that in the absence of an ordinance we should grant this."

Jeffrey asked if the city would be giving up any utilities underneath the property.

"I think the way it is looks good," Jeffrey said. "I think it will add tremendous value to our City."
Nauert's amendment passed 6 to 1, with McLaughlan dissenting.

The ordinance then passed unanimously.

TO BE CONTINUED IN OUR NEXT EPISODE OF 'AS THE STUDIO TURNS'

JOEL MCCLESKY AND VICTOR MARQUEZ DOMINATE AT DANCE COMPETITION!!

CAN YOU IDENTIFY THE MYSTERY LADY??

CHANGES: SSQQ PHASING OUT SATURDAY SWING CLASSES STARTING IN AUGUST

THE MYSTERIOUS CHANNEL 13 SSQQ FEATURE