WHAT IS NEW AT SSQQ
This is the June 2007 issue of the SSQQ Newsletter.
You are about to read the most
extensive Newsletter in history. Don't ask
what came over me, I just got into it and did a good
job.
There is so much cool stuff to read, I predict you
will need to come back several times to visit it
all.
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Let's start with two stories
about SSQQ Staff Members.
Maureen
Brunetti
recently hit her 20th year of teaching and taking
classes here at SSQQ. And what a long stretch
that has been! I interviewed Maureen for
a look back on her twenty years and added it to the
Newsletter.
Scott Ladell
was the leader of the Magnificent Seven at the Texas
Classic in May. Scott trained and danced with
six different women. Not only did two women
win their division, every one of the ladies danced
well and placed high in the standings.
Ballroom
Dancing
has been added to Thursdays
due to a request to be able to learn the five major
Ballroom dances twice as fast. This month I
added a picture of Dakota's Accelerated Ballroom
class as well. Andy Regnier was kind enough to
share it.
My new Martian Technique class was a big success in
May with over 40 students. I expect this
powerful group to simply get better and better.
You can read about the Technique class and all of
our other special dance classes in
June Dance Semester highlights.
We have two great parties in June. On
the 16th we have the
Me Das Fiebre
(You Give Me Fever) Salsa Party. Then the
following Saturday June 23 is one of my favorite
parties of the year, the
SSQQ Sock Hop.
SSQQ
Slow
Dance and Romance
has had a big month
- one new engagement and three weddings! In
particular you will want to read the story about the
Wedding of Bryan Spivey and Lisa Palmer. It
was quite an event.
The
Carnival
Conquest Cruise
scheduled for late
September caught on fire in late April. 33
people signed up in a period of 4 days. It was
a veritable avalanche of registrations that took us
to the Magic 100 number. The good news is that
all the Troublemakers are back on board, but there
is some bad news too. Marla has run out of her
allotted number of inexpensive cabins.
Although there is plenty of space left on the trip,
you will have to pay more if you decide to go.
Once upon a time, a friend of mine sent me a video
of a woman partner dancing with her smart collie.
That's right, partner dancing! The dog did all
sorts of amazing dance steps at some sort of
competition. This month I have added the story
of Kitty
Harvey, the SSQQ lady who trains
horses to Ballroom Dance. It's quite a tale!
We have four Story in the News features this month.
Two of the stories are absolutely incredible.
Long-time readers of the SSQQ newsletter are
probably well aware that I think our legal system is
great need of a fix. People can sue at the
drop of a dime. No matter how ridiculous their
claim, the party being sued still has to come up
with the money to defend themselves. The only
winners are the lawyers. And the people who
keep the system intact are the lawyers.
Meanwhile our medical insurance rises, our car
insurance rises, and so does our blood pressure.
Never before has my point been more obvious than in
the case of the
$67 million dollar lawsuit
filed by a JUDGE... that's right, a judge... over
some pants misplaced by the dry cleaners. Now
who's getting taken to the cleaners?
The second story in the news deals with a man who
died of thirst
in the desert last summer. What
makes this story unbelievable is that there was a
guide right beside him who had plenty of water, but
didn't bother to tell the man who was suffering.
This one is straight out of Ripley's Believe or Not.
Another story is about the man who was
misdiagnosed
with terminal cancer. So he went out and spent
all the money he had while he could still enjoy it.
Then one day he noticed he was still alive.
That's when he found out he wasn't going to die all
that soon after all. Except that now he was
flat broke. Now he plans to stick around, he
wants some of his money back. Do you think the
hospital should compensate him for their lousy
advice?
The fourth story in the news deals with a Houston
woman who was robbed in broad daylight at an
ATM machine
on Kirby. Her story serves as an important
warning to all the rest of us.
I added a story to the website
last month that you absolutely
must read and see. The World's
Four Most
Dangerous Roads
gives you a
first-hand look at the Siberian Road of Mud, the
Bolivian Road of Death, the Tunnel in the Side of
the Mountain, and the Most Dangerous Tourist Hike in
the entire world. I know you all think I am
guilty of too much hype sometimes, but this time I
am not kidding. This story is incredible. You have
to see it to believe it.
In February 25 brave SSQQ dancers headed over to
Chandelier Ballroom for a fun night of
Ballroom
Dancing.
Then in March our numbers grew
to nearly 40 people! We had so much fun
it became an instant tradition. Now we are
going to the Chandelier again on June 2, so
check your calendar! In the meantime, be sure
to read this cute story.
On a dark note, on Wednesday, January 31, one dance
student had their car towed by the Bellaire Police
and another car was nearly towed. The problem
was caused when the City redesigned the NO PARKING
zones on First Street without bothering to warn
anybody. Two of the women who were ticked and
towed - Maggi Dodds and Peggy Soloyov - fought back
successfully. In the meantime they went
through hell fighting an illegal ticket! You
should definitely read their story.
SSQQ Parking
Woes.
And now it's time to take a
good hard look at yourself. Just how smart are
you? Are you really as smart as you
think you are? My guess is you won't feel so
smart after you take the incredible
SSQQ
Intelligence Test.
Last month I introduced a new section called Letters
to the Editor. It was a spot for to put
letters that were not necessarily negative.
Well, this new spot was so popular I received not
even a single concept. Just goes to show you
that the nasty stuff is all you guys care about.
Tough. I put some more
Letters to the Editor
in anyway, including two letters from my friends in
California. You will enjoy hearing from
long-time friend and super-nanny Aprille as well as
our wonderful Lanita the Senorita who was called up
from the reserves. Her letter will tell you how
problems with the chemical weapons part of her
training landed her in the hospital. In
addition there are two interesting stories about the
mysterious disappear of bees.
Now for something cosmic. I put together a web page
on the famous Louvre Museum in Paris complete with
60 pictures of the Louvre, its artwork and its
sculptures. Now I have a problem - I don't
know who painted these incredible pictures! So
do me a favor and visit the
Louvre Museum
article and see if you can identify any of the
unknown artwork!
I know for a fact that many of you only care about
is the stupid
Complaint of the
Month section. Some people tell me it
is only thing they read. Do you have any idea
how shallow that sounds? You just want to read
about the human misery. Well, I disappointed
everyone last month by not printing any negative
letters and I am telling you people complained about
no complaints. That's how bad it is. So
rejoice, this month I made it up to you by printing
not one, but TWO complaint of the month letters.
I know you will be so happy!
Uh oh, guess what? I just remembered there are
not just two complaints of the month, there are
three complaints. Woowee! Check it
out... this time I complained about something.
When was the last time I complained about something?
Probably years ago, right? Wrong. This
time I really didn't like how SSQQ was treated by a
certain
cheapskate billion dollar company.
But not everything in this Newsletter revolves
around complaining and grumbling about law suits.
Sometimes I accidentally slip in a positive story or
two for all of you to ignore. This month is no
exception. With Father's Day around the
corner, I printed an exceptional story about
Fatherhood. The story was sent to me by Gareld
McEathron and I have to say it is some of the best
writing I have come across in a long time. Try
to stop being so shallow and add a little depth to
your reading material. Go visit
A Father's Day
Story right now!
Something else. I even updated the
June Jokes
and Picture Jokes.
Before I finish, let me say one more thing. It
is true I did a lot of work to get this excellent
Newsletter out, but I had a lot of help from the
SSQQ community. Look at it this way.
Maureen contributed her story about the 20 years.
Gary Richardson sent me the Louvre pictures.
Cynthia Diggs, one of Scott Ladell's dance students,
sent me the story about the Texas Classic. Are
you getting the drift her? Kitty Harvey
sent me the story about Ballroom Dancing and the
horses. A person at the studio told me about
the $67 million dry cleaning lawsuit. Carol
Gafford sent me the story about the ATM robbery.
The Intelligence Test was contributed by several
different people. Maggi Dodds and Peggy
Solovyov
sent in their stories about the Towing and Ticketing
Travesty on First Street. Gareld McEathron
sent in the Father's Day story. Aprille and
Lanita contributed stories about their adventures.
Judy Walsh sent me the story on the disappearing
bees. And you haven't even heard about the
biggest moron in history,
Larry Walters
(Letter Six)! If you read
nothing else in this Newsletter, read the Larry
Walters story. It is UNBELIEVABLE!
My point is simple. All I do is collect the
stories that all my friends send me, then turn
around and share them with the community.
That's my job - editing the material you send me and
creating something fun to read. But I couldn't
do it without your help.
So let me conclude by thanking all the people above
for helping me put out THE BEST NEWSLETTER EVER in
June 2007.
Rick Archer
Here are the
Chapters in this month's Newsletter:
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01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
xx
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THE SEPTEMBER CARIBBEAN DANCE CRUISE ABOARD
THE CARNIVAL CONQUEST
MAUREEN
BRUNETTI HITS 20 YEAR MARK AS SSQQ
INSTRUCTOR
THE 2006 NEW
ENGLAND CRUISE WRITEUP IS COMPLETE
THE PICTURES & STORY
OF THE LOUVRE MUSEUM
JUNE CLASS
HIGHLIGHTS AND DANCE PARTIES
THE
TEXAS CLASSIC FEATURING
SCOTT LADELL AND SIX SSQQ LADIES
BALLROOM
DANCING WITH YOUR HORSE
Story in the news: The $67 MILLION DRY
CLEANING LAWSUIT
SLOW DANCE AND
ROMANCE - 4 new stories!
2 STORIES IN THE NEWS:
MISDIAGNOSED MAN IS NOW HOPELESSLY BROKE/
HOUSTON WOMAN ROBBED AT ATM MACHINE
BALLROOM DANCING ON THURSDAYS. THE
CHANDELIER BALLROOM -
next visit June 2nd
PARKING PROBLEMS ON FIRST STREET
- Two Stories written by women who were
ticketed and towed!
STORY IN THE
NEWS: SURVIVAL BUSINESS DENIES MAN WATER IN
DESERT; HE DIES OF THIRST
THE SSQQ INTELLIGENCE TEST FOR SAMRT PEOPLE
THE SSQQ ARCHIVES: THE FOUR MOST
DANGEROUS ROADS IN THE WORLD!
NON-COMPLAINT
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. I HEARD FROM 2
LONG-LOST FRIENDS: APRILLE & LANITA!
A FATHER'S DAY STORY
COMPLAINT OF THE MONTH: ARGUMENT ABOUT A 15
YEAR OLD GIFT CERTIFICATE
COMPLAINT OF THE MONTH TWO: RICK ROLLS HIS
EYES AT HOW ONE COMPANY DOES BUSINESS
JOKE OF THE MONTH:
LETTY DOUGHERTY'S PICTURE JOKE
FAVORITE STORIES FROM PREVIOUS ISSUES
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01.
ANNOUNCING THE 2007
SEPTEMBER SSQQ DANCE CRUISE
CONQUEST 2007
Sunday, September 23rd
thru Sunday, Sept 30th
104
People going as of
May 12.
Well, everybody, get ready. The Sea
You in September Dance Party is on.
The whole gang is back for more!
The
Alpha Hussy is back, the Center of Attention
is ready to cause more trouble, Mr. Handsome
is back, and of course the Jammer - Gary
Richardson - is back to take more
incriminating pictures plus spin the DJ
music.
Something incredible happened on Monday,
April 24 - Everybody decided to sign up at
once! Marla signed up 33 people in the
space of four days.
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Marla says there is still plenty
of room. Register today and join all the fun!
Please complete the
Registration Form.
You may email, fax or
bring it to the studio and we will get you
onboard.
Contact Marla Archer at 713 862-4428 or
e-mail
marla@ssqq.com
with any further questions.
CONQUEST 2007
READ THE STORY OF THE
2006 CARIBBEAN TRIP
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CHAPTERS
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02.
MAUREEN BRUNETTI HITS THE 20 YEAR MARK!
-----Original Message-----
From: Maureen Brunetti
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2007 2:51 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: RE: #56
I realized I've been at the studio for
20 years. I started as a student
in April, 1987, when I first moved here
from Philadelphia. I'd been
taking lessons and competing there. I
almost didn't move here
because my dance package was not yet up
and I had a few more events scheduled…
oh well, here I am 20 years later!
Editor's Note: Maureen came to SSQQ as a big
part of our
Studebaker Generation.
Maureen's dancing was exceptional from the
very start. To this day, I don't think
I have ever danced with a woman who could
turn faster or better than Maureen.
She is lightning quick, faster than a
speeding bullet.
Maureen also just happens to be brilliant.
One of my favorite memories of Maureen came
on the 1998 Jamaica Cruise. During the
evenings, we played Trivial Pursuits. A lady
named Lindy was the dominant player.
After losing the first game by a narrow
margin, Lindy was a Trivial Pursuits
Godzilla in Game 2, beating my team on a
Sports Question (my turf) no less.
I was so disgusted at being beat by a girl
on a sports question that I decided to set
up a third match. I had brought a Trivial
Pursuits game of my own and offered "Silver
Screen" as the venue for the championship.
However when Lindy cleverly chose my
ex-wife, Judy Archer, an expert at old
movies, to be on her team, I figured it was
the fate of the Titanic for my team. We were
toast.
To my shock and joy, Maureen turned out to
be a regular Silver Screen Hot Shot in her
own right. Maureen single-handedly carried
my team to victory with one unbelievable
answer after another.
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One event that Maureen enjoys
thoroughly is the SSQQ Halloween Party.
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Maureen not only dances up a
storm, she regularly makes an appearance on our Top
20 List of Best Costumes. Now that I think
about it, I imagine Maureen has been at more SSQQ
Halloween Parties than anyone else, except me of
course.
In the picture on the left, Maureen appears with her
friend John Anderson, who love to appear ever year
dressed as lady.
Maureen has also made several of our cruises.
I already mentioned she was on our maiden voyage,
the 1998 Jamaica Cruise. In addition, Maureen
has joined us on the 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and
2005 SSQQ Cruise Trips. In all, she made six
of our first 10 cruise trips. That that puts
Maureen squarely in the Top 10 List of number of
cruise trips taken!
Maureen is an excellent instructor. She has
taught Swing and Salsa for many years. With
her incredible dancing ability and quick wits,
Maureen has no trouble earning almost instant
respect in every class she teaches.
I thought it would be appropriate to ask Maureen to
answer a few questions in celebration of her twenty
years at SSQQ, so I set up an interview.
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Maureen, you said you moved here from NJ…
when?
I moved from
Philadelphia in April, 1987 to work at
Hermann Hospital/UT in their new Pain
Management Center.
You said
in your email that you were taking dance lessons
before you got here. How did you learn to
dance?
I learned to dance standing on
my father’s shoes. I always danced freestyle and
then when disco was hot, partner dancing was back in
style.
I got serious after watching a dance competition on
PBS. I took ballroom dance lessons and did
some competition for about a year before I moved to
Houston in 1987.
How did you find out about
ssqq?
I met Stan Woods and Judy
Manlove (now Collins) at the now defunct
Studebaker’s and they both told me about SSQQ.
I came to the studio for the first time during my
second week in town.
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What do you remember
from the Studebaker years? Any interesting
memories?
It was so much fun to
go to happy hour to dance, get psyched and
then move on to class. This was before we
had regular practice nights. There was a lot
of good energy and Friday nights there were
great. Met, made and kept a lot of good
friends from that time.
How did you become
an instructor and when?
You had a couple who lived in Clear Lake who
taught swing on Mondays, Tom and Tonya Binig.
They had gotten married and moved down to
Clear Lake. One day they decided they
could not manage the commute any more so you
asked me to step in....and here I still am.
I think that was in 1994. I don't
remember the date any better than you do.
Where
you a member of judy’s first swing team in addition
to the second?
Yes, both teams. First team partner was Warren
Sloane. Chris and then Neal Pellis (pictured
above) partnered with me on the second team.
What are your memories of
the
swing team?
It was so much fun and so much work! Judy did an
amazing job of herding a very unruly and often very
ungrateful bunch. Performing was a lot of fun.
Preparing for exhibition makes you a better dancer.
You really have to work with your partner. I miss
that. Darius and I were talking about competing in
salsa before he got transferred to California.
What’s it like to see
people come and go; does it bother you?
Yes, it is sad to see people go. I miss lots of the
friends I made over the years. Some take a hiatus
and return. The course of life may change but I
think dancing is forever. Sometimes I wonder, “What
ever happened to…?”
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How has the studio
changed from when you started?
The volume has waxed and waned over the
years. Different dances become the rage.
It’s fun to see the changes and it’s a
challenge to anticipate and keep up with the
trends. There are so many dance related TV
shows these days. I think they have really
helped bring dancing back to the mainstream
and made taking lessons more attractive.
What
do you enjoy about teaching dance?
I love that people are making their dream to dance
come true. I love helping them learn a new skill
that’s the most fun you can have with your clothes
on. I resisted teaching for a while because I
thought that if I did my passion as a job I would no
longer enjoy dancing, but the opposite is true.
Teaching has helped me enjoy it even more. I like
learning new moves, new dances and keeping up with
the trends and styles. Swing has changed over time,
salsa too.
Then, of course, there’s the SHOES!!! I have more
pairs of dance shoes than street shoes!
Homer Simpson said, “There’s not a woman alive who
can resist a man who knows how to Mambo” and Mel
Gibson (on the Simpsons) said he “…equates the
decline of western civilization with the resurgence
of swing dancing”
So there you have it.
What are the difficult
sides of teaching dance?
It’s hard when it’s clear some have not even tried
to practice during the week while others have come
to the parallel classes and stayed to practice. I
love to hear that some brave, intrepid souls have
actually gone out into the world to strut their
stuff. The discrepancy puts the class a bit off
center.
The motivated ones are ready to move on and the late
bloomers need a bit more nudging and help. It’s a
balancing act to teach some, dance some, play the
right music, lather, rinse and repeat. I have to
adjust my teaching style to each new class’s needs.
And as you well know, it takes a tremendous amount
of energy to entertain a room of adults for 2 hours!
Hahaha
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Twenty
years is a long time. What does it mean to
you?
Hopefully it means I must be doing something right,
since they keep coming back week after week.
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CHAPTERS
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03.
THE
STORY OF THE 2006
NEW ENGLAND
CRUISE
The SSQQ New
England was both amazing and frustrating at
the same time.
On the positive side, we had our chance to
see the changing leaves in the fall and some
of the most beautiful scenery in the entire
country. Visits to Martha's Vineyard,
Acadia National Park, and New Hampshire's
White Mountains revealed breath-taking
vistas. New England is truly a gorgeous
place to live.
We also got a chance to see history come
alive with trips to Salem Village, New
Brunswick, and of course by roaming around
Boston.
However some of our excitement was tempered
by the inexplicable rudeness and
inefficiency of a cruise staff rumored to be
the worst in the Royal Caribbean fleet.
You will simply have to read the story to
understand the level of the incompetence we
ran into.
CURSE OF THE JEWEL
Plus we had a couple who crashed our group
even though we warned them not to. That
was a weird event.
According to one person who commented to me,
this was the most interesting cruise story
yet. The pictures alone are worth
taking a look at and the story is equally
good.
NEW ENGLAND
CRUISE
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CHAPTERS
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04.
THE PICTURES & STORY OF THE
LOUVRE MUSEUM
PLUS
THE GREAT SSQQ ART MYSTERY
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Back in January 2007,
Gary Richardson sent me a power point
presentation of the famous Louvre Museum in
Paris, France.
As you know, the Louvre has been in the
public eye for the past few years thanks to
the runaway best-seller
Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown.
So of course I knew about the Louvre, but
Knowing is one thing, Seeing is another.
When I took a peek at the pictures of the
paintings and sculptures in the Power Point,
I was astounded by the beauty.
The Power Point Presentation was my second
exposure to art in recent days. Back
in April, Marla and I visited the French
Masters exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts
here in Houston.
And, by coincidence, I am currently reading
The Messenger
by Daniel Silva, which uses a long-lost
painting Van Gogh to advance the plot of
this counter-terrorism thriller.
Since I was already in the mood, it didn't
much for this magnificent Louvre
presentation to push me over the edge.
Suddenly I found myself becoming an art
enthusiast. Better late than never, I
suppose. I immediately felt compelled
to share these magnificent pictures with the
rest of you. So I posted the pictures
on the ssqq web site complete with some
history about the Louvre.
However, in so doing,
I came to the realization that I wished I
knew more about the history of each
painting.
I poked around on the Internet one day, but
only came up with about ten titles out of 50
pictures. I was hoping that as the
rest of you visit the Louvre presentation,
our readers might recognize some of the
pictures and email the names to me.
Surely we have some art historians in our
midst, yes? For example, my friend Sam
Longoria, who has taken several Tango
classes at SSQQ, is an accomplished artist
in his own right with pictures on display at
galleries here in Houston. I bet Sam
knows the names of many of these paintings.
After all, we aren't talking about obscure
paintings. These are among the most
famous paintings in the world.
If you identify the name and artist of a
picture, send it to me. In our next
Newsletter, I will post the results of our
Louvre Museum identity quiz complete with
the names of the people who identified the
pictures!
Don't be surprised if you fall in
love like I did. One of these days, we
are simply going to have to ask Marla to
organize a trip to Paris. This Louvre
Museum is calling to me!
Teresa Chardola,
one of Linda Cook's favorite Salsa
assistants, has already offered to be our
guide. Teresa lived in Paris for some
time and speaks fluent French.
So let's all go!
LOUVRE MUSEUM
Send any
information about the paintings to Rick
Archer,
dance@ssqq.com
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05.
THE JUNE CLASS HIGHLIGHTS – CLASSES BEGIN
the week of Sunday, June 3.
Remember – if you miss the first week of class, you
can always start in the second week. The Second Week
Review will catch you up.
SSQQ
SCHEDULE
For even more detail on many
of the classes listed below, please visit the EXTRA
Special classes for
JUNE
include:
SUNDAY AT 4:30:
JUNE
HUSTLE
-
Scott
Hustle is the famous Disco Dance
from the 70s. It is also a cult favorite here at
SSQQ.
Hustle is best used to Disco music and soft R&B
hits. This flashy partner dance is a clever
combination of Swing footwork and Latin hip motion.
Taught on Sundays at 4:30, this dance was first
known as the "Latin Hustle" when it was the major
partner dance back in the Saturday Night Fever Disco
era.
Scott Ladell has worked magic with his Hustle class
in past years. In 2006, his class was so popular
that it went for five months. That was pretty
impressive. You will be pleased to note that this
accomplishment was no accident. Scott is
considered one of the
best Hustle teachers in the city and
has earned the
loyal following he has developed.
Scott's class in
May had 50 people in it.
SUNDAY AT 7: Dakota Wilhelm's
ACCELERATED BALLROOM FOXTROT
II.
One of the most popular
classes at SSQQ is Dakota's upper-level Ballroom
course. For people who are already Advanced
Ballroom dancers, Dakota aims to challenge his class
with the toughest patterns in a different dance
every two months. Currently he is working on
Foxtrot.
SLOW DANCE AND WEDDING LESSONS
Quick reminder that we will
no longer be teaching SLOW DANCE as a regular
four-week group class. That said, there are
special occasions like the First Dance at a wedding,
a fancy New Years Eve party, a romantic standard at
the Captain's Reception on a cruise, or a sultry
torch song at a nightclub where the ability to Slow
Dance would sure come in handy. If you are
getting married or would simply like to learn to
Slow Dance, Marla Archer can teach you SLOW DANCE,
WALTZ, or FOXTROT in a private lesson. Contact
her at
marla@ssqq.com
Marla teaches an average of 5 private
lessons a week to couples who need to learn how to
Slow Dance, Foxtrot, or Waltz at their Wedding
Reception. If you know someone who needs to prepare
for this important moment, read Marla’s story about
her Wedding Dance experiences, please visit:
WEDDING LESSONS
MONDAY AT 7: ADVANCED
SWING AND JITTERBUG
Advanced Swing and Jitterbug on
Mondays currently has four levels. You may
take these four levels in any order you wish.
The class covers all the double turns and fancy
patterns that Swing is famous for.
MONDAY AT 7:
MARTIAN
WHIP
Bryan and Lisa’s MARTIAN
WHIP on Mondays
is an elite class for people who wish to become
either top-flight social dancers or competition West
Coast Swing dancers. If you are an advanced
Whip and West Coast Swing dancer, this is the place
to be on Mondays! In
addition to this challenging class, Monday
Night Whip Practice became a serious rocking event.
Bryan Spivey and Lisa
became Texas State Whip
Champions in 2004. They were Regional
Champions in 2005. Then in 2006, Bryan finished in the Top 12 of
the National West Coast Swing Championships.
In other words, Bryan is currently one of the top 12 male
dancers in the country. Quite an
accomplishment!
Please note that permission is necessary to take
Martian Whip. Bryan and Lisa will audition all
newcomers at the start of class to see if you are
ready. Auditions are also held during Practice
Night on the fourth Monday of each dance semester.
MONDAY AT 7:
MARTIAN
WHIP TECHNIQUE CLASS
The Technique class is spread
over six different months. This is another way
of saying you can take Technique for six months with
little repetition in the patterns. You are
welcome to start any month you like. The first
month will be difficult, but if you survive the
first month, this class gets a lot easier.
The major goal of the Technique class is to train
students in West Coast and Whip syncopations, also
known as the Hitch technique. The Hitch is the
gateway to superior WCS dancing. Mastery of
the difficult syncopation on 1-2 (Walk Walk) allows
a wide variety of new footwork patterns to develop.
In addition to constant training in footwork and the
Hitch, we also cover all the major patterns in West
Coast Swing. Six months is more than
sufficient for this.
One big advantage is that the Technique class is
taught both on Mondays as well as Thursdays.
This gives you the opportunity to come twice for
added training or to do make-ups if you have to miss
a week. There is no additional charge.
Entrance into the Technique class assumes you have
completed Beginning and Intermediate Whip ahead of
time.
Tuesday
AT 7: TUESDAY SAlsa
Salsa at
SSQQ is phenomenal.
We offer Salsa Dancing three times a week: Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday.
In particular, our biggest Salsa night is Tuesday.
We have averaged close to 300 Salsa dancers on
Tuesday Nights for the past several years.
Tuesday is one big party.
Each Tuesday,
there is a Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced
Salsa class that average 80 to 100 people in each
class. In particular, Steve
Gekas conducts
his elite Advanced Salsa class.
Steve's Advanced Salsa class is considered to be one
of the top games in town.
Then after class is over, stay at SSQQ till 11 pm
for a free Tuesday Night Practice Dance. This
dance is one heck of a party.
WEDNESDAY AT 7: SHARON SHAW'S
ADVANCED WESTERN WALTZ WEDNESDAYS IN JUNE
Sharon (Crawford) Shaw's legendary Western Waltz
program begins anew in April 2007 with a Beginning
Western Waltz class, the first step in a five month
cycle. Yes, we know that Sharon announced her
retirement a year ago, but she had second thoughts
after so many people asked her to reconsider.
Sharon taught her first extended Western Waltz class
back in April of 2000. In that year, Sharon had over
70 people sign up for Beginning Western Waltz in
April. Due to the high energy of the class,
naturally we scheduled a follow-up Intermediate
class in JUNE. However there was no drop-off! Not
only did the same 70 people stick around, the class
grew a little bit as experienced Waltz dancers
joined in progress to share the fun. Soon the
students started begging for more levels. Sharon and
her friend John Jones added an Advanced level in
June. Then came Super-Advanced in July.
In 2000, Sharon and John stopped at four levels, but
when the same thing happened the following year,
they found a way to add a fifth month of Western
Waltz in 2001.
What makes the class exceptionally fun is that many
of the dancers stay after class to practice. Before
you know, all that practice pays off - the entire
room is wall to wall with beautiful Waltz couples
swirling and twirling across the floor! As a result,
many of the finest Waltz dancers in Houston claim
they owe their skill to Sharon and John's class!
Sharon's Five Month Western Waltz cycle in 2007
marks her eighth year of teaching the best Western
Waltz in the entire city. You do not want to miss
it.
WEDNESDAY AT 7 (AND
FRIDAYS TOO): SCOTT LADELL'S SUPER GHOST TOWN
Scott Ladell offers
parallel Ghost Towns on Wednesdays and Fridays. This
means if you miss one day, you can make it up on the
other. One of the top Western teachers in
town, Scott is likely to throw you a curve at any
time so watch out!
THURSDAY AT 7:
BALLROOM DANCING
HAS BEEN ADDED TO
THURSDAYS IN ADDITION TO SUNDAY.
FRIDAY AT 7: ADVANCED TWOSTEP
AND POLKA
Rick and Cher will teach
Advanced Twostep and Polka
in June 2007.
This class is a one-shot offer. Adv Twostep
and Polka covers everything you would ever want to
know about Twostep and Polka Circle Turns (clockwise
and counterclockwise), Advanced Twostep and Polka
patterns, as well as Synchronized Polka.
All of this material is offered from time to time in
Saturday Night crash courses, but since there is no
follow-up, sometimes it is tough to master the
material. This four-week class will have
plenty of review so these tricky moves have a chance
to sink in.
Do not take this class if you have not completed
Beginning Twostep/Polka. It will move very fast.
SATURDAY AT 4:30:
Saturday Salsa Explosion
Bjorn and Rebeca Bangstein
have moved their
Saturday Salsa Explosion on Saturdays to
4:30
pm. This Super-Advanced
Salsa class gives us four different levels of Salsa
classes on Saturday afternoons. Please note
Rebeca and Bjorn are going on vacation in July, so
take the Explosion in June or wait till August.
SATURDAY AT 4:30: RHYTHM AND BLUES TWOSTEPPIN'
Rhythm and Blues Twostep is
taught on Saturdays at 4:30 pm by Willie Bushnell
and Willie Green. Also known as "Swingout", Rhythm
and Blues Twostep is a popular dance used in
African-American nightclubs. Taught by Willie
Bushnell, R&B Twosteppin' is a partner dance similar
to Zydeco. The man and woman first dance in closed
position, then the man "swings her out".
g!
………………………
TWO
DANCE
PARTIES IN
JUNE
ME DAS
FIEBRE SALSA PARTY
Saturday,
June 16
9:15 pm -
Midnight pm
Cover charge $7
CRASH COURSES 7-9 pm
BEG SALSA - Olga
INT SALSA - Martin
CUMBIA/TEJANO - Linda
MERENGUE - Jill
ADVANCED SALSA PATTERNS - Jim
SALSA TIMING AND MOVEMENT- Alex
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THE AMAZING SSQQ SOCK HOP
DANCE
Saturday,
June 23
9:15 pm -
Midnight
Cover charge $7
CRASH COURSES 7-9 pm
SOCK HOP
PARTY LINE DANCES - Rick
BEGINNING SWING - Jack
DIFFICULT SWING ACROBATICS - Paul (Couples Only)
The GREAT GABINO'S FAV ADV SWING PTNS - Steve G
BEG WEST COAST SWING - Patty/Joe
BRYAN'S WCS STUNTS AND ACROBATICS CLASS - Bryan
Spivey (couples only!)
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(Special Note: we
will be teaching the
Line Dances for FREE on the
following nights from 6-7 pm: We will
start with a half-hour class on Sunday,
June 10, from 6:30 to 7 pm, then Monday,
June 11. We
will have another half-hour class on
Sunday, June 17, from 6:30 to 7 pm, then
a second Monday, June 12, 6-7. Just show
up. No charge.)
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CHAPTERS
06. THE
STORY OF SCOTT LADELL AND SIX SSQQ LADIES AT
THE TEXAS CLASSIC
Over the weekend of May
19, 2007, SSQQ Western Instructor Scott
Ladell danced with six different ladies from
the studio in a competition known as The
Texas Classic.
On Monday morning, five different people
sent me emails praising the work that Scott
did in preparing these ladies for
competition and complimenting all their
performances. Since the newsletter is
going out today, I didn't have much time to
write a more thorough story. So I will
simply share a couple of the emails to give
an idea just how special the weekend was for
Scott and Company.
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Abbie Barbley, Cindy Diggs, Scott,
Debra Hill, Eva Lue |
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-----Original Message-----
From: Cindy Diggs
Sent: Monday, May 21, 2007 8:17 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: SSQQ's Braggin' rights-- The Texas
Classic
Rick, I just want you to know
that the SSQQ studio earned some major braggin’ rights
at the Texas Classic dance competition this past
weekend! SSQQ Pro
Scott Ladell danced with six SSQQ students in
country western and hustle competitions, and there were
SSQQ competitors in Swing as well.
Debra Hill with Scott Ladell in Silver Newcomer: First
Place Overall
Cindy Diggs with Scott Ladell in Diamond Newcomer:
First Place Overall
Cher Longoria
(pictured below) with Scott
Ladell in Novice: Fifth Place Overall
Cher Longoria in West Coast Swing: Third Overall in
both Diamond & Open divisions
Susan Arevalo (pictured at right) with
Scott Ladell in Novice: Ninth Place Overall
Abby Barbley with Scott Ladell
in Intermediate Hustle:
First Place
Cindy Diggs with Scott Ladell
in Newcomer Hustle:
Second Place
Eva Lue with Scott Ladell in
Newcomer Hustle:
Fifth Place
Debra and I were shocked and thrilled with our wins in
Newcomer, and we were all impressed with the outstanding
results for
Cher and Susan in the
highly competitive Pro/Am Female Silver Novice Division,
which was the largest division in the country western
competition.
And Abby was the undisputed Diva of Hustle!
The competition in Hustle wasn't even
close. |
Susan Arevalo |
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Scott made us all look great!
Yikes, I nearly forgot! Joel
McCleskey and his wife
Ruth were competing in Couples, and Oh My Goodness, they
looked ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! I don’t know what their
results were—but I bet they were good—you will have to
get a full report from them!
There were other SSQQ competitors in Swing with our
amazing SSQQ West Coast Pro Brian Spivey, but I don’t
know their results either, so Brian will have to fill
you in on that.
Finally, I have to say that the many SSQQ students who
came to watch and cheer and support us as we went
through the competition were very much appreciated. It
made us feel good to have so many of the SSQQ students
there. It was a great experience!
-----Original
Message-----
From: Cher Longoria
Sent: Sunday, May 20, 2007 10:38 PM
To: Rick Archer Subject: Texas Classic
As you know Scotty had 5 students
in addition to Abbie and
myself this weekend in The Texas Classic.
We all did fabulous, Cindy Diggs and Debra Hill both
got 1st places.
Susan Arevalo and I danced
in the largest toughest division in the whole
competition. There were 18 of us.
I made the Finals (finals being the top 5),
so I was very pleased considering how tough the
division was. I danced in open and
Diamond swing and came in 3rd out of 11 both times.
Not bad considering I had about 10 years on
all the girls I was dancing against.
Susan came in 9th which for her was very impressive
being her first competition in an upper division.
Abbie got a 1st place in intermediate Hustle, and if
she should continue to compete she is unbeatable.
Her dancing was awesome.
Eva also danced in newcomer Hustle and came in 5th.
Over all I am so proud and honored to be apart of
such a great group of dancers. If I left anything or
anyone out I apologize. I am writing this on very
little sleep. In addition,
we had a big turn out of SSQQ students to
cheer us on. Maybe some of
them will be inspired to join us next year!
Rick, you should be just as proud knowing that we
all represented SSQQ in such a positive way.
And you definitely need to tell the world what a
great job Scottie did getting the entire group of
ladies so well prepared!
(Editor's Note: That is an
impressive showing to be sure. Scott Ladell
has been training students from SSQQ now since 2005.
Now you see the results of continued effort and
practice. The prolonged work on the part of
his students has really paid off.
If you are interested in competition or private
lessons, you can contact Scott at
scottladell@houston.rr.com
)
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CHAPTERS
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07. BALLROOM DANCING WITH YOUR HORSE
-----Original Message-----
From: Harvey, Katherine
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2007
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: Newsletter article
Hey, Rick!
I've got an interesting article for you.
I've trained horses for
YEARS, but I'm fairly new to dancing, and I'm having a blast!
And I'm seeing some very interesting parallels.
As a hobby – my 20 hours a week “hobby” – I train horses.
I’ve only recently taken up ballroom dancing, and now I know
what my horse feels like. I’m now
following my male partner, the leader in these dances.
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Here is a picture from the 1st year my friend
& I performed. She owns the horses, I train them.
The horses are a particular breed called Paso Finos. In Dressage
(that's the English style of riding patterns), there is a form
called Pas de Deux which translates to
'Steps of Two'. We call
ourselves "Paso Deux"! - -Kitty
(I'm the one in pink)
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The man has to choose where we go and how we get
there, all without saying a word. Hmm...
I just realized that’s what I do with my
horse and now I am in the same position.
Learning to dance is like training a horse, you work on straight
lines and big circles before you introduce the sharp turns and
side-stepping movements. I told my riding friends that I went
from “Green As Grass” to “Second Level” when I learned a twirl
in the ChaCha. Heck, we riders don’t even do a “turn on the
haunches” (as it’s called in English Dressage) until “Second
Level” (that’s the 4th tier out of 10 tiers of competition).
That means we’re nearly half way to the very best you can be
before we have to do a sharp 180 degree turn!
I told my horse friends I did a “pirouette” when I learned the
turn in Tango’s Promenade. Actually it’s more like half of a
western spin (as in Western riding) because your partner whips
you around on your one foot FAST. I also learned don’t take
Benedryl before a class that practices lots of turns; I sure am
glad I had partners to keep me upright.
And on that note, thank goodness for partners. In the beginning
you sometimes end up balancing against them when you get out of
balance – which is exactly what happens with young, “green”
horses. They loose their balance, too, and you actually end up
supporting them with the bit until they get their balance back.
Of course, horses are a lot heavier than a human being – OOF.
My lesson partners & I have to talk to each other frequently to
prevent each other from going out of step. That’s pretty similar
to what I have to do with the young horses. I use verbal cues at
the same time as my body cues. Eventually, the horse learns to
“listen” to my body cues, because in a competition you loose
points if you make a sound to your horse. When I push with my
leg, the horse moves away from it; when I lengthen the rein the
horse stretches out to maintain that contact. Sound like the
frame used in Tango?
When you are first learning to ride, it is exactly like taking
dance lessons because when there is a mistake, your first
thought is whether you made a mistake or your partner. When your
horse moves incorrectly, you are trying to figure out if you
made them move incorrectly or did they not listen to your
instructions. When I get to pair up with an experienced dancer,
it’s an incredible feel! Horses must love being ridden by
experienced riders! In riding lessons, the ideal situation is to
put a well trained horse with a beginner rider. The horse leads
the dance. Once the rider develops confidence and knowledge, the
rider leads the dance.
I would love to show my dancing partners how we riders dance
with our horses. The biggest difference in Ballroom Dancing
versus Musical Freestyles (a class where you ride to music) is
that in dancing, you follow the music. In riding, the music
follows the horse. Your horse has 2 left feet … literally. Many
horses learn the movement to the music, but you will never
notice your horse mumbling “rock.. step.. chachacha… rock..
step.. chachacha…” repeatedly thru its performance.
Kitty Harvey
Editor's Note: You can contact Ms. Harvey at
Katherine.Harvey@c-a-m.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Pat Mahaffey
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:31 AM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject:
Forget Dancing With The Stars...Watch This!
Rick, Just in case you have not
seen this. Your dancing collie mention
and the dancing horse story in the newsletter brought
this to mind.. Too awesome to not share!
WORDS CAN NOT DESCRIBE THIS VIDEO!!!!!
If you like
horses, (even if you don't) you will love this clip. This
video is of Andreas Helgstrand and his 9 year-old mare,
Matinee, at the
World Equestrian Games. It is the Musical Freestyle
Dressage competition, and they
pretty much wiped the floor with everyone. Turn up the
sound and watch this mare dance...
she is
amazing... she KNOWS where the beat is.
(
Click
Here )
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CHAPTERS
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08.
The 67 Million Dollar Dry
Cleaning Lawsuit
May 2, 2007
How's $67 milllion for a dry cleaning bill?
A Washington,
D.C., judge is suing an area dry cleaning business for
losing a pair of his trousers. The business owners claim
they have his pants, but he's pressing ahead with his suit.
From Nightline
By JIM AVILA, CHRIS FRANCESCANI &
MARY HARRIS
ABC News Law & Justice Unit
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Is somebody getting taken to the cleaners?
Plaintiff Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington, D.C., says in
court papers that he's been through the ringer over a lost pair
of prized pants he wanted to wear on his first day on the bench.
He says in court papers that he has endured "mental suffering,
inconvenience and discomfort."
He says he was unable to wear that favorite suit on his first
day of work.
He's suing for 10 years of weekend car rentals so he can
transport his dry cleaning to another store.
The lawsuit is based in large part on Pearson's seemingly pained
admission that he was taken in by the oldest and most insidious
marketing tool in the dry cleaning industry arsenal
-
"Satisfaction Guaranteed."
Pearson did not return numerous calls from ABC News for comment.
It's the kind of lawsuit that makes liability reform advocates'
temples throb.
"People in America are now scared of each other," legal expert
Philip Howard told ABC News' Law & Justice Unit. "That's why
teachers won't put an arm around a crying child, and doctors
order unnecessary tests, and ministers won't meet with
parishioners. It's a distrust of justice and it's changing our
culture."
The civil trial, set for June, has the scope of a John Grisham
courtroom thriller and the societal importance of a traffic
ticket.
Pearson plans to call 63 witnesses.
Defending themselves against the suit -- for two years running
-- are Korean immigrants Jin and Soo Chung and their son, who
own Custom Cleaners and two other dry cleaning shops in the Fort
Lincoln section of Washington, D.C.
The ABC News Law & Justice Unit has calculated that for $67
million Pearson could buy 84,115 new pairs of pants at the $800
value he placed on the missing trousers in court documents. If
you stacked those pants up, they would be taller than eight
Mount Everests. If you laid them side by side, they would
stretch for 48 miles.
Fort Lincoln neighbors are enjoying what they consider the
comedy of it all.
"The whole city is aware of this lawsuit," said Bob King, who
represents Fort Lincoln on the Advisory Neighborhood
Commissions. "Everybody's laughing about it."
Everybody except the Chungs, who have spent thousands of dollars
defending themselves against Pearson's lawsuit.
"It's not humorous, not funny and nobody would have thought that
something like this would have happened," Soo Chung told ABC
News through an interpreter.
Her husband agreed.
"It's affecting us first of all financially, because of all the
lawyers' fees," Jin Chung said. "For two years, we've been
paying lawyer fees. … We've gotten bad credit as well, and
secondly, it's been difficult mentally and physically because of
the level of stress."
Later, Soo Chung broke down in tears.
"I would have never thought it would have dragged on this long,"
she told ABC News. "I don't want to live here anymore. It's been
so difficult. I just want to go home, go back to Korea."
"I've been in the dry cleaning business for 14 years, but this
has never ever happened before. If anything happened to our
customers' clothing, we would always compensate them accordingly
and fairly," Jin Chung said through a translator.
The problems date back to 2002.
Pearson says in court papers that he took a pair of pants into
Custom Cleaners in Fort Lincoln that year, and the pants were
lost.
So Jin and Soo Chung gave Pearson a $150 check for a new pair of
pants.
Three years later, Pearson says he returned to Custom Cleaners
and -- like some real-life "Groundhog Day" nightmare -- his
trousers went missing.
Again.
It was May 2005 and Pearson was about to begin his new job as an
administrative judge. Naturally, he wanted to wear a nice outfit
to his first day of work. He said in court papers that he tried
on five Hickey Freeman suits from his closet, but found them all
to be "too tight," according to the Washington Post.
He brought one pair in for alterations and they went missing
-- gray trousers with what Pearson described in court papers as
blue and red stripes on them.
First, Pearson demanded $1,150 for a new suit. Lawyers were
hired, legal wrangling ensued and eventually the Chungs offered
Pearson $3,000 in compensation.
Then they offered him $4,600.
Still no dice.
Finally, they offered $12,000 for the missing gray trousers with
the red and blue stripes.
Pearson said no.
With neither satisfaction nor his prized gray pants, Pearson
upped the ante considerably.
The judge went to the lawbooks. Citing the District of
Columbia's consumer protection laws, he claims he is entitled to
$1,500 per violation.
Per day.
What follows is the beginning of thousands of pages of legal
documents and correspondence that, two years later, have led to
a massive civil lawsuit in the amount of $67 million.
According to court papers, here's how Pearson calculates the
damages and legal fees:
He believes he is entitled to $1,500 for each violation, each
day during which the "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign and another
sign promising "Same Day Service" was up in the store -- more
than 1,200 days.
And he's multiplying each violation by three because he's suing
Jin and Soo Chung and their son.
He also wants $500,000 in emotional damages and $542, 500 in
legal fees, even though he is representing himself in court.
He wants $15,000 for 10 years' worth of weekend car rentals as
well.
After enlisting neighbors and fellow customers, he sought to
expand the case into a class action suit, but was denied,
angrily, by District of Columbia Civil Judge Neal Kravitz.
"The Court has significant concerns that the plaintiff is acting
in bad faith and with an intent to delay the proceedings," the
judge wrote in court papers. "Indeed, it is difficult to draw
any other conclusion, given the plaintiff's lengthy delay in
seeking to expand the scope of the case, the breathtaking
magnitude of the expansion he seeks, his failure to present any
evidence in support of the thousands of claims he says he wishes
to add, and his misrepresentation concerning the scope of his
first amended complaint."
The case will now be heard by another judge in June
2007. Both Kravitz and the new judge declined to comment on the case to ABC
News.
Ironically, less than a week after Pearson dropped off the
missing trousers in 2005, Soo Chung found them, she says.
She
tried to return them to Pearson but he said they were the wrong
pants.
"So these are the missing pants, huh?" Avila asked the Chungs'
attorney, Chris Manning.
"These are," Manning said, holding up a flimsy pair of gray
trousers.
Manning's argument is based on both the receipt and the telltale
"three belt loop situation," as he explains it.
"When the pants were brought in, Mrs. Chung noticed the three
belt loop situation and in finding them realized that they were
Mr. Pearson's pants based on that."
He also said the receipt tag on the pants "exactly matches the
receipt that Mr. Pearson has."
Manning is angry with Pearson, saying the judge has terrorized
the Chungs for spite.
"They came to the United States hoping for the American dream,"
Manning said, "and Roy Pearson has made it a nightmare."
Here are three comments made by
people who read this article:
COMMENT ONE:
This just goes to show the continuing spiral downward for our
refusal to accept any responsibility. Instead we are asking
government to make our decisions for us and look where it
leads...67 mill for a pair of pants....millions for "hot" coffee
that now is mostly tepid, all because someone was STUPID enough
to put a container of hot liquid between their legs. What's next
? How long before we ask congress to take over our families
because of the stress of everyday life ? We can sit on here and
idly hope that someone does something for us to take care of the
stupidity we have helped perpetuate...but how many in Mr
Pearsons' district have called or written to have him removed
from office or disbarred for his behavior ? It's our country,
people fought and died for us to have rights. Why do we give
them away just so we can feel blameless....or just lazy ? It's
time to stop whining and act. We do have rights and one of the
greatest granted to us is the power of free speech. Stand up and
make yourself heard. Vote when the time comes. Let's do
something constructive for a change.
COMMENT TWO:
this is utterly disgusting. For once in my life, I am rendered
(mostly) speechless! I read his "reasoning" and "justifications"
for asking for such a ridiculous amount in compensation and
immediately felt nauseous. If this judge's pants were made out
of diamonds they wouldn't be worth that much! I agree with
hari_v in that the so-called judge should be made to pay the
chung's legal fees, and add that he should be disbarred. The
idea that someone with such an obvious lack of moral fiber is in
the position of power that he is currently in is horrifying.
COMMENT THREE:
I felt sick to my stomach when I first read the article a couple
of days ago. I felt disgusted and angry that a civilized nation,
if not the greatest nation ever to grace the earth (for good or
bad) could allow a justice and legal system to support such a
vindictive and malicious claim. Now, reading these messages, I
am equally stunned to read of those wishing to "hear Mr.
Pearson's side of the story" or "the media seems one-sided"
comments. Could that many people have lost all sensibility and
empathy for others? The only power that WE have, and I mean 'we'
to mean those generally without power - is to support the cause
of the Chungs, vocally and financially, and to put pressure on
those we elect to remove such vile people from position of
influence.
EDITOR'S COMMENT: For
starters, I agree with the statement made in Comment Three...
I felt
disgusted and angry that a civilized nation, if not the
greatest nation ever to grace the earth (for good or
bad) could allow a justice and legal system to support
such a vindictive and malicious claim.
And now I
will add my two bits.
I personally am mortified by this situation. I do not
think I am alone when I say that it feels like 'American
Justice' has become an oxymoron similar to 'Military
Intelligence'.
In this situation, you have a member of the legal community
beating the crap out of two small business owners who seem
practically helpless to defend themselves against this
monster. Then you have a legal community that will not
or can not rein in someone in their own profession who is
making a mockery of the justice system. Respect for
the legal community plummets further.
Let me tell you a story. A few months back, there was
a dance at another dance studio here in Houston. I
don't know the details other than a woman slipped and fell.
She went to the hospital to get an x-ray, then came back to
the same place and finished the night dancing. Then
she turned around and sued the dance studio for negligence.
There needs
to be protection against frivolous lawsuits such as this and
the one against the dry cleaners. What defense
do the dry cleaners have? No matter how the lawsuit
turns out, they are facing financial ruin.
When is our legal system ever going to create true justice?
What are members of the legal community going to do to
restore confidence in our legal system? RA
And what do you think? Email
to Rick Archer,
dance@ssqq.com
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09.
2007 SLOW DANCE AND ROMANCE
In May, we
had two weddings and one engagement annoucement.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let
me take the pleasure announcing the marriage
of Lisa Palmer to Bryan Spivey.
You definitely need to read the story!
Bryan and Lisa's
Wedding
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While I was attending the
April 28th Reception for Bryan and Lisa's
wedding, I noticed two old friends in the
corner of the room that I had not seen for a
while. So I went over for a chat.
They looked especially happy. Suddenly
I took an involuntary look down at the young
lady's hand. Lo and behold, I saw a
ring!
I soon discovered that Mark Sheppard and Marlies Whitmoyer were not only engaged,
they were getting married in two weeks!
So I am announcing their marriage under the
assumption that everything went as planned
last weekend.
Congratulations to both.
You can read more about their story at
2007 Romance
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This pretty girl just happens to be Marla's
lovely daughter Marissa.
Marissa Gorzynski began dating Glenn Hebert
in their Senior year of college up at Texas
State in San Marcos. Marissa, who
originally went to Kingwood HS, finished up
at Texas State in May 2005 as a summa cum
laude graduate. Glenn had a
couple more credits to finish and graduated
later that summer.
Glenn and Marissa continued their courtship
after college here in Houston. It was
so obvious how much Glenn and Marissa were
in love, it was just a matter of time till
this handsome young man got around to making
it official.
You can see Glenn and Marissa every Sunday
evening in Ballroom class as they prepare to
impress the world with their First Dance.
Their wedding is planned for June 2008.
Marla is already a complete mess in
anticipation of the blessed event.
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Picture from the 2006 SSQQ Rhapsody Cruise |
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Ben Liles reports that he
and his lovely wife Diana attended the
wedding of the beautiful Rita Davis and her
Waltz partner for life, Lewis Wagner.
Apparently Ben's wife Diana and Rita work
together at a local hospital, so Ben knows
more about the wedding than I do.
Ben added
that Rita and Lewis met in Sharon (Crawford)
Shaw's Western class.
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CHAPTERS
10. STORY IN THE NEWS
May 7, 2007, 6:07PM
Misdiagnosed man seeks
Compensation
2007 The Associated Press
LONDON — A man who said he spent his life savings after
being told he had months to live is seeking compensation
after doctors conceded they had got the diagnosis wrong.
John Brandrick, 62, was told two years ago that he had
terminal pancreatic cancer, Britain's Press Association news
agency reported. He decided to spend his remaining time in
style, quitting his job and spending his savings on hotels,
restaurants and holidays.
A year later, doctors at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in
southwest England revised their diagnosis: Brandrick was
suffering from pancreatitis, a non-fatal ailment.
"My life has been turned upside down by this," Brandrick
said. "I was told I had limited time to live. I got rid of
everything — my car, my clothes, everything."
Brandrick said he did not want to take the hospital to
court, "but if they have made the wrong decision they should
pay me something back."
The hospital said there was "no clear evidence of
negligence" on its part.
"Whilst we do sympathize with Mr. Brandrick's position,
clinical review of his case has not revealed that any
different diagnosis would have been made at the time based
on the same evidence," the hospital said in a statement.
(Editor's Note: I am not a
doctor so I don't know how similar are the symptoms
of pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis. I do
know that the man made legitimate decisions based on
a misdiagnosis that have now left him broke. I
think he is entitled to some money.)
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HOUSTON WOMAN ROBBED AT ATM MACHINE
(Editor's Note: I received this story, in
an email forwarded to me by Carol Gafford. I believe
the story to be true.
May 8, 2007
Dear
Friends,
First of all, I am fine ... but earlier today I had an
experience that I'm sharing with you so that you will be
careful.
After going for a run with Amanda today, I went to get cash at
the Sterling Bank ATM near the Taco Milagro on the corner of
Kirby and Westheimer. It's a busy area, and it was still
daylight. The ATM fronted on Westheimer. There were lots of
people out on the patio at Taco Milagro, just 50 yards or so
away.
I got out of my car, locked it, and went to the cash machine. As
soon as I had put my card into the machine and entered my PIN, a
woman came up and stood right next to me on my left, put a gun
in my side and told me that she wouldn't shoot me if I didn't
scream and gave her $800. I had only punched in $200, so she
grabbed that and told me to get $800 more.
My bank has a $400 daily limit (I have since learned), so after
trying $800, 700,600 and so on, I was able to withdraw $200
more. During this time she repeatedly told me not to scream or
she would shoot me, and asked many times for my PIN code. I
didn't speak to her and didn't answer her question, and all
kinds of things were going through my head
- mostly was she going to use the gun, but also would she steal
Andrew's car (which I was driving), my purse (which I was
holding), my rings (which I was wearing), the receipt which
showed our bank balance.
After withdrawing the second round of
cash, she grabbed the money, told me to stay where I was, and
took off. After ten seconds or so, I turned around and realized
she had run across the little side street just east of the ATM,
jumped into a car that took off just as I looked over that way.
I tried to see the license plate, but they were just far enough
away that I wasn't able to make out the numbers, although I did
make a mental note of the kind of car and the way they headed
out. I had grabbed my receipts as soon as I was sure she (and
the gun) were gone, and got back in my car to get home asap.
HPD came to our house and took down the case. I am pretty sure
they will be able to see the woman on the videotape from the ATM
because she was standing right next to me the whole time, and I
had the receipts that showed the exact times of the two
transactions.
All I can say is: be careful about ATM's.
The police said that
robberies like this are happening all over the city, in broad
daylight, in good neighborhoods. They look for easy marks (women
by themselves) and they have it down to a science. I am so lucky
that I wasn't hurt - and she didn't steal the car, my purse and
jewelry, etc. Maybe you will be more careful than ever before
and this - or worse - won't happen to you.
The entire episode
made me realize that every day we are in seemingly harm-free
situations that can quickly turn into dangerous situations.
Much love from Ella Lee Lane, NOT Ben Taub Hospital - Be
careful!
(Editor's Note: I printed this story as a warning to
everyone. There was a similar story at Christmas
time last year when a man robbed Christmas shoppers in
broad daylight in front of a Galleria store with
onlookers everywhere. There is always danger
wherever you may be, so pay attention.)
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CHAPTERS
11. BALLROOM DANCING IS
BEING ADDED TO THURSDAYS
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip E
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 5:20 PM
To: Rick Archer
Subject: Ballroom Curriculum H
Hello, Rick, I picked up the new (blue)
May-June schedule last night, and I see that
you're making quite a few changes to the
classes and schedules. So, I guess that
you'll be putting out an e-mail this week to
clarify things for us, especially the
ballroom classes.
Since I haven't taken these classes since
the days of "slow dance and romance" and
"intermediate slow dancing for the
holidays," I don't know that much about the
current offerings and prerequisites. For
example, I noticed that there's a new
beginning ballroom II, but I wasn't sure if
beginning ballroom I was a prerequisite for
it.
While I might not be able to take any of
these for a few months, I'd like to be able
to watch the schedule to see when might be a
good time to start.
Thanks, Philip E | | |
