MYSTERY OF THE TEXAS TWOSTEP

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED SIX:

AFTERMATH

Written by Rick Archer 

LIMBO MONTH TWENTY EIGHT
OCTOBER 1981
 

PLAYING STUPID
 

"Experience is a comb that Life throws you after you have lost your hair."

I definitely learned my lessons during the Halloween Party from Hell, but in the ensuing days all my hair fell out.  Just kidding.  This party reminded me of my favorite Nietzsche quote, "that which doesn't kill you makes you stronger."  This party nearly did kill me, but at least I can say I learned my lesson.  It is a shame that I always have to learn things the hard way, but I am pleased to report that the mistakes I made at this party were never repeated again.  For example, we never served punch again.  In the future, I would serve beer and wine, but no hard liquor.  In addition, I made a vow to never drink again at my parties.  Determined to remain alert at all times, I concentrated on being the consummate host.  I greeted people, thanked them for coming and made sure they had a good time. 

So what happened next?  Following my long night, I deliberately set my alarm for just a couple hours of sleep on Sunday morning.  Despite my exhaustion, I had damage control to attend to.  I made a beeline back to the studio hoping to catch the end of Glen's rehearsal.  By retrieving the large speakers I had left behind as my so-called reason to return on my day off, Glen did not suspect the real reason I had shown up.  And what reason was that?  I assumed Glen would scream at me for the behavior of my guests during the Jungle Fever performance.  Better to let him chew me out now than let his anger fester.  As expected, the moment Glen saw me, he wasted no time.  Glen had an entire list of issues he was upset about.  To begin with, Glen was furious to learn that his young ladies had been frightened by the mob of lustful men. 

"I am so angry at you!  What kind of party did you throw?  I cannot believe your men made cat-calls.  Those poor girls were convinced some of those men were about to grab them and haul them off to some back room."

I wanted to suggest Glen put more clothes on his dancers, but thought better of it.  Instead I kept my mouth shut and absorbed the tongue-lashing as best I could.  In addition, Glen wanted to know when the decorations were coming down.  I answered today.  Now it was time for the issue I was most worried about.  Sure enough, Glen brought up the condition of the Ladies Room.  I had cleaned it as best I could, but without adequate supplies, there was nothing I could do about the horrible odor. 

Since I knew I was going to be in trouble, I had given my defense considerable thought ahead of time.  I could have brought supplies with me, but to do so would have indicated foreknowledge of the problem.  That would have been a serious mistake.  I had three things working in my favor.  First, Glen had no idea about the Midnight Bacchanalia or Julia's problem.  For all Glen knew, everyone had gone home shortly after Midnight.  My second advantage was the thorough job of cleaning the studio thanks in large part to Julia's help.  I intended to claim 'The Gang', meaning a dozen students or so, had done a good cleaning job the studio [a serious fib].  Finally, my best excuse was the common knowledge that Boys do not typically visit the Ladies Restroom.

Glen marched me straight to the Ladies Restroom.  "What in the hell happened in here!?!  This place reeks of high heaven!"

Putting on the most innocent face I could summon, I replied, "Oh my gosh, you're right, this place smells horrible!  Some woman must have thrown up in here."

"You're damn right someone threw up in here and I demand an explanation!  I swear to God this is the last party you will ever throw at my studio!"

I cringed when Glen said that.  Fortunately I had learned his bark is worse than his bite.  Time for damage control. 

"I am so sorry, Glen!  This is terrible.  But I have no idea what happened.  No one told me about it."

Glen's eyes narrowed.  "I don't believe you.  I want to know why this restroom stinks worse than a cesspool."

Glen was right about the smell.  It took all my self-discipline not to squeeze my nose.  Playing stupid, I swore up and down that I had no idea what had happened, but made sure to agree this horrible odor was completely unacceptable.

"My guess is that just before we all left, some woman must have thrown up in here.  She did the best she could to clean up afterwards, but there was no spray for the smell.  More than likely she was too embarrassed to tell me."

"So you left without knowing about this problem."

I nodded.  "Yes, sir, that is correct.  But I agree this smell is unacceptable, so let me do something about it.  I will go to the store, buy freshener and disinfectant, then come back and clean the room until you are satisfied everything is back to normal."

My offer to clean the place was beyond a doubt the smartest suggestion I ever made in my life.  Glen eyed me suspiciously for the longest time, but in the end he calmed down and accepted my offer.  On my return from the grocery store, I spent an hour doing my best to make the Ladies Room presentable.  I didn't care.  I would do anything to stay in Glen's good graces.  Unfortunately, although the smell was reduced, the problem did not automatically go away.  It would require an excessive amount of groveling to change his mind, so every day for a month I voluntarily went into the ladies restroom to spray some more.  The smell lasted almost as long as radioactive fall-out, but in time it finally went away.

Although Glen was somewhat mollified, I was not out of the woods yet.  Not by a long shot.  Now I had to deal with an army of deeply offended women.  Every night for the next week women who had been at that party harassed me.  They were furious about the semi-naked dancing girls and determined to let me know about it.  Women have long memories.  Any time the ladies were grouchy about something, they typically brought up the subject of Jungle Fever to put me in my place.  The persecution continued all the way to Christmas.  Considering I have never handled criticism very well, I seethed every time the subject came up. 

One night I complained about all the criticism to my friend Doug.  He listened carefully and nodded.  Doug replied, "I know it's hard to take so much criticism.  But the way I look at it, sometimes criticism is a disguised compliment."

Doug's response caught me by surprise.  "How do you figure that?"

"The fact that they would tell you to your face indicates that they care a lot about the studio.  If they didn't care, they would just leave and not come back.  Instead they love the studio so much that they go to the trouble of telling you how to make the place better."

"Yeah, but some of the things they say are downright cruel."

"Okay, maybe so, but I bet that if you listen to them politely and don't argue, once they cool down they will laugh about it."

I decided Doug was right.  Since there was not much I could say in my defense, I kept my mouth shut and took my punishment.  I had tried as hard as I could to make this the best Halloween party ever, but felt like all my work had backfired due to my inexperience.  Nor did it help that circumstances beyond my control, i.e. the Wizard Punch, had made things much worse.  I felt very discouraged. 

VICTORIA CHEWS ME OUT
 

I suppose Victoria had her share of spies at the Halloween Party.  Someone told her about my undisguised flirtation with the beautiful gypsy Elizabeth.  On the Tuesday night following the party, Victoria dragged to me her vehicle after class for some serious Car Talk. 

"I hear you were hot and heavy with some hussy named Liz at the party."

Oh great, just what I need, another chewing out.  I suppose I had been rather reckless in the amount of interest I showed in Elizabeth. 

"I don't what you are so upset about.  Yes, I had fun dancing with Elizabeth, but I never lost track of the promise I made to you [add it to the list of lies].  I stuck to dancing and made sure things went no further.  I went home alone, you have my word."

Which of course was both the truth and a huge lie of omission.  Why not use my bad luck at the end of the evening as a way to spin things in my favor with Victoria?

Like Glen regarding my restroom fib, Victoria was skeptical.  "That's not what I heard.  I heard you two were joined at the hip all night long.  What's the story?"

Just as I had prepared what to tell Glen about the Ladies Restroom, I did the same for Victoria.

"Okay, Victoria, you have my apology for the flirtation, but no lines were crossed.  I admit I had too much to drink and maybe I let loose for a while there, but nothing happened.  Afterwards I went home alone like a good boy.  People danced and had fun, so what's wrong if I did the same thing as everyone else?  You have nothing to worry about."

Victoria was not convinced, so she turned on her Radar Intuition for a truth scan.  Since I told the truth about going home alone, I had nothing to hide.  Oh, lucky me.  I was so miserable at losing Liz it was easy to keep a straight face.  As a result, Victoria detected no signs of duplicity.   After concluding I was telling the truth, Victoria officially declared Liz off limits.  According to her, I still belonged to her until she decided what to do about Michael.  Victoria pointed out I had made a promise and she expected me to honor that pledge. 

What Victoria did not know is that I had crossed my fingers behind my back.  In truth, I would trade Victoria for Liz any day of the week.  I was more than ready to revisit this issue if I could get Liz to go out with me.  Did Elizabeth really hook up with Fogo?  To be honest, I do not know.  My friend Christina said she walked out him.  Okay, but that doesn't mean she went home with him.  My problem was that I did not have her phone number nor did I know who did.  I had met Liz once before.  One Sunday about a month ago she showed up at our afternoon volleyball game in a city park.  I had no idea who invited her, but Liz turned out to be the best female player present.  Unfortunately I did not see her again until the Halloween Party.  She had never taken any classes, so she was not on our mailing list.  Since I had no idea how to contact her, Limbo Captivity was back in effect, probably till the end of time. 

After chewing me out over Liz, Victoria decided to rub it in regarding my poor judgment regarding Bob's Punch and Jungle Fever.  Victoria had fun playing a mean game known as 'I told you so.'

"Seriously, Rick, how could you have been so stupid to invite Glen's dancers?  I warned you, but you wouldn't listen.  Did you know those girls would be wearing those skimpy outfits?"

"No, Victoria, I did not know and that is the truth.  Those outfits were a complete surprise."

"Well, I hoped you learned your lesson.  And what about Bob's punch?  I heard his alcohol turned the party into a drunken catastrophe.  I warned you, didn't I?  I told you not to get Bob involved in this, but no, you never listen.  Obviously you still haven't learned how to run the studio without me.  I guess I better stick around.  You would be lost without me."

Ouch!  That really stung.  The sad thing is that she meant it.  How would I ever get free of her?

FAREWELL, FAIR ELIZABETH
 

It was hard enough to discover Fogo had stolen Liz from me.  Women who look like Liz don't stay unattached for long.  Would I ever get get a second chance?

I had met Liz once before.  Sunday afternoon volleyball was a well-established tradition for the Gang.  One day she showed up out of nowhere.  While we played, I noticed she was a very good athlete.  After I complimented her, Liz shared that she was a former field hockey all-star in college. 

Trust me, I believed her, especially after we collided.  As we played volleyball, Liz and I went for the same ball.  Liz had been trained to get the ball first and worry about anyone who might get in the way afterwards.  Unfortunately, due to my blind left eye, I never saw Liz coming.  I was totally blind-sided.  When we collided, it felt like running into an oak tree full speed.  Except in this case it was a 'moving' oak tree to add to the impact.  I had never been hit that hard in my life, even when I briefly played football.  I really got my bell rung.  Due to her good looks, I had pegged Liz as the soft, delicate feminine type.  Guess again.  After the collision, I kept Liz on the side of my good eye for the rest of the day.

There was some definite irony here.  Once upon a time, I used to knock girls out of the way to get the ball during volleyball games.  So I assumed this my Bad Karma circling back to give me a taste of my own medicine. 

So did I ask Liz out after the volleyball game?  No, but I did manage to conduct an interview after the festivities.  She explained she was head nurse at some hospital, how she liked to folk dance, and how her favorite hobby was knocking men down during volleyball games.  hahaha.  Liz was an extremely confident woman.  She was easily the most impressive woman to enter my life since Patricia three years ago or Jennifer two years ago.  I had long wished to meet a woman who was equal to the best and brightest St. John's prep school girls I had grown up with.  Smart, educated, beautiful and athletic, Liz would have been a match for any St. John's girl.

So why didn't I ask her out?  I wanted to, but I still had this stupid Limbo problem to deal with.  If Victoria ever discovered I had a new Madame X, all hell would break loose.  So I did the next best thing, I invited Liz to the Halloween Party.  In other words, her presence at the party was not a surprise.  I have a hunch Liz was on a shopping mission at the party.  That would explain why she was in play all night long.  I had seen her in the arms of at least a dozen smiling suitors. 

When she arrived at the party, I was intimidated by her beauty.  Keeping my distance, I watched her from afar for the first hour or so.  To my surprise, Liz turned out to be quite a dancer as well, no doubt a function of her interest in folk dancing.  The combination of her beauty and provocative gypsy dancing had a potent effect on my desire.  Finally I worked up the nerve to ask her to dance shortly before the Jungle Fever performance. 

Her first words were "What took you so long?"  Good question.

Our dance together was electric.  As befit her role as the gypsy temptress, Liz cut loose with a frenzy best described as a mating ritual.  That is when I knew I was in the running for her charms.  Too bad Jungle Fever interrupted.  Although we did not get a chance to dance again, I think I made a good impression.  The highlight came when Liz placed her hand on my shoulder during the group photograph.  That was one moment I would never forget.  I thought we were on the verge of something special.  But then I passed out.  Right now I wanted to kill myself for letting Liz get away.  It was really tough to be philosophical about this.  Women like Liz don't come along very often, so this really hurt.  Losing a prize like her after being so close grated my soul no end. 

I still couldn't believe I blew it by passing out.  It was really tough to forgive myself.  Making matters worse, rumor had it that Liz was dating Fogo, my main nemesis that night.  Plus Victoria re-entered the picture to make things more difficult.  Once I was sober again, I decided it was better to leave Liz alone while Victoria worked things out with Michael.  Why?  Because I thought Victoria was about to set me free any day now. 

Dumb move.  Yes, Victoria would eventually set me free, but when the time came Liz was nowhere in sight and I did not have her phone number.  In the months to follow, every time I was free to date, Liz was attached.  Or vice versa.  You know how that works, right?  Sometimes the Timing is always wrong. 

However, I never forgot about her.  In 1983, I decided to try again.  I asked Liz to attend a St. John's class reunion with me.  Of all the women I knew, Liz had the confidence necessary to mix and mingle with society's elite.  To my distinct pleasure, Liz said yes with a warm voice.  Aha, maybe this was my chance. 

Unfortunately Liz stood me up without a word.  Never answered her phone that night when I ready to go pick her up.  I am not sure what went wrong, but I later learned Liz had just begun dating a bridge buddy of mine named John Varvaro.  Once she realized that John and I would probably talk about her during our Sunday bridge game, why invite a headache by starting something with me?  In other words, it was a near miss. 

Like they say, Timing is everything.  Liz married John a couple years later, so add her to the list of special women who got away.  Story of my life. 

JANN CHEWS ME OUT
 

As news of the screwball Halloween Party circulated, it did not take long for Jann Fonteno to track me down.

"Hey, Rick, I heard you had a wild and crazy Halloween Party."

"I'm sure that is not all you heard."

"You're right!  A little birdie told me you pissed off a lot of women by bringing naked dancing girls to excite all the men.  Such a naughty boy!"

When I failed to reply, Jann grinned broadly, then added, "Surely that isn't true.  I thought you were too smart to be that stupid.  I've decided not to believe the rumors."

"Oh, shut up.  You know damn well it's true.  By the way, where were you?  Unless you had a very good disguise, I didn't see you there."

"I wanted to come, but my cousin begged me to drive up to Austin to help her with her own Halloween Party."

"Too bad you didn't make it.  I could have used you to help keep me out of trouble."

Jann gave me one of those wry smiles of hers.  "So I gather."

I wasn't sure what Jann meant by that remark, so I remained silent.

"So, Richard, out of curiosity, can you explain to me why the Ladies Room stinks to high heaven?  If anyone would know the answer, it would be you."

I suppressed a guilty look as best I could.  There was no way I was going to tell the truth in a million years, not even to a trusted friend.  Well aware I would never hear the end of it, Julia's sad story would have to remain a secret.  I was keeping a lot of secrets these days.  My brief fling with Jennifer at Christmas, my near-miss with Ammonia, my near-miss with Crazy Jane, my near-miss with Elizabeth, and now the crazy story with Julia. 

"I don't why the restroom stinks.  Beats the heck out of me, Jann.  You might be surprised, but I don't spend much time in the women's restroom.  So far no one has told me anything [a bald-faced lie].  I suppose Bob's punch got someone sick."

I don't think Jann believed me when I said I didn't know.  She responded by changing the subject. 

"I heard the costumes were incredible.  I heard one girl was the spitting image of Elvira."

"That was Carol Gafford.  She heard that I had paid a convenience store guy $30 bucks to buy a life-size cardboard image of Elvira.  One night she asked to see it, so I was happy to oblige.  Carol was amazing, she was a dead ringer for Elvira.  Other than the dancing girls, Carol was easily the most ogled woman at the party."

"Speaking of the dancing girls, I heard you got into much trouble."

Crossing my fingers behind my back, I replied, "Nonsense.  Everyone loved the dancing girls."

"Oh, is that so?  That's not what Judy Price said.  She told me those girls were practically naked."

"Well, maybe, but based on the applause the girls impressed everyone with their amazing dancing ability."

Jann laughed.  "Oh, I am quite sure that had to be the reason for their enthusiastic reception.  By the way, what was your costume?"

"I came as a sailor boy.  I bought the white jazz pants and blue shirt in Glen's apparel store."

"So who was the pretty girl you were with, the one with the gypsy outfit?"

Instantly on guard, I said, "Her name is Liz.  What do you know about her?"

"I've never met her.  Jim Fogo told me about her.  Fogo is my gossip buddy.  I think he has a big crush on her.  Once he found out how vain she is, Fogo spent the night taking one picture after another.  Jim claims he took 20 pictures.  He won't say for sure, but I get the feeling he got lucky that night."

Seeing my flash of jealousy, Jann quickly added, "Uh, but that's just a guess."

Ah, Fogo.  That figures.  Well, there you go.  No doubt Fogo was the recipient of some extraordinary good luck thanks to my demise.  Full of despair, I just wanted to shut down completely.  However I did my best to hide my jealousy and hurt feelings.

"Fogo followed Liz around like a puppy dog.  Every time I looked, he was taking another picture of her.  I am sure that is how they connected."

"Was Liz the same girl who flattened you playing volleyball a month ago?"

I smiled ruefully.  "Yeah, same girl." 

"What did Victoria have to say about Liz?"

"I told her I went home alone like a good boy and Victoria believed me."

"Is that the truth?"

"It's none of your business, but, yes, it's true."

"I also heard you got kind of drunk at the party.  That's very surprising considering your lofty reputation as Mr. Boy Scout.  Tsk tsk.  Chasing women, drooling at naked dancing girls, getting drunk.  What happened to your halo?"

I frowned.  "I may have had a drink or two.  Who told you a mean thing like that?"

"Fogo.  In fact, Fogo said you passed out cold on the couch.  That's why I believe your story about going home alone."

I winced at the memory of my humiliating loss of consciousness.  That plus being reminded about losing Liz to Fogo, I was feeling unusually touchy at the moment. 

"Gosh, Jann, you of all people should know not to believe everything you hear, especially not from a bullshit artist like Fogo."

Jann gave me another knowing look, then changed the subject.  "Fogo said everyone went insane towards the end.  Why do you suppose everyone got so drunk?"

"Beats the heck out of me [another bald-faced lie]." 

"Fogo claims you went in the Drink Room to look for Bob right after the Group Photograph.  Fogo noticed two empty bottles of Bob's Ever Clear right on the top of the trash can next to the Punch table.  Since you were the only person in the room, Fogo thinks you poured those extra bottles into the punch."

Oh, great, now it's my fault!  See what I mean?  I get blamed for everything.  Why is that?  All I knew is that right now I was in the doghouse with the whole world and Fogo's nasty rumor about me spiking the punch was making my reputation worse.  I felt like a cockroach looking for somewhere to hide before the inevitable doom. 

FOGO HANDS ME SOME PICTURES
 

Sometimes first impressions are wrong. 

In the days that followed the party, I despised Jim Fogo.  Not only did Fogo steal my girl at the party, now he was blaming me for Bob's Everclear mistake.  I was in enough trouble as it was without Fogo's big mouth adding to my woes. 

To my surprise, a few days after the party, Fogo handed me a package.  When I opened it, there was a collection of 40 pictures from the party.  I was flabbergasted at how well his pictures had turned out.  At a time when I was enveloped in a post-party funk of gloom and doom, Jim's present was responsible for a dramatic uptick in my fortune.  I could not have been more grateful. 

I had noticed Jim taking pictures at the party.  At the time I sniffed with contempt.  Well aware that Fogo was using his camera as a ploy to get attention from pretty girls like Liz, I dismissed it as a cheap ploy.  However, once I saw how effective his technique was working for him, I begrudgingly admitted the guy was slick.  If you can't dance, use a camera. 

Fogo's Halloween photographs improved my attitude in a hurry.  To be honest, I was naive about the power of photography.  In fact, I did not even own a camera.  Looking at each picture, I began to cheer up a little.  My guests obviously had a much better time at my party than I had realized.  Tickled pink over the big smiles and great costumes, Fogo's pictures gave me an idea.  If I was impressed by Fogo's photos, maybe the participants would be too.  So I decided to create a permanent poster and hang it on the wall at the studio. . 

Which pictures should I use?  If the party had ended at 11 pm, this would have been the greatest party in SSQQ history.  Hmm.  Maybe I should omit the pictures of the naked dancing girls.  Based on the controversy, why immortalize a sore subject?   Avoiding the risque Jungle Fever photos would help sanitize my shaky reputation.  But then I changed my mind.  Fogo's pictures were awesome!  Why not put the talent and beauty of these gorgeous dancers on full display?

While I was at it, what should I do with the drunken Bacchanalia pictures?  Jim had included some of those too, including a picture of me passed out (which I promptly destroyed).  Maybe we should skip those pictures.  By omitting the evidence, I could keep the embarrassing Orgy a secret.  Good idea.  Yes to Jungle Fever pictures, No to Bacchanalia pictures.

I glued the best pictures to the poster, applied a plastic cover to preserve them, then hung the poster on the wall of the Hallway for all the world to see.  Through careful editing, Fogo's photographs allowed me to sugarcoat the truth.  No one could tell that the guests were drunk as a skunk.  No one could tell how poorly the drunks had behaved around the dancing girls.  Nor would anyone see evidence of how certain people misbehaved during Bacchanalia.  All they saw was a heavily-edited display of a Wonderful Party.  Poof!  The debacle was transformed as if by magic.

Although there had been three previous Halloween parties, the 1981 Party became the first SSQQ party to have a poster to document the event.  To my delight the Poster was a huge hit.  Everyone crowded around.  They loved the pictures!  I grinned as people who had been at the party laughed, teased, and complimented each other.  They had so much fun admiring the awesome costumes, in a flash, the overall impression of the party was greatly enhanced.  After seeing the pictures, everyone made a solemn decision to join the fun next year.  

My biggest surprise came when I discovered people who had not been to the party were just as fascinated by the pictures as those who participated.  Participants and non-attendees alike were equally impressed by the great costumes and big smiles.  They loved to stare at the hijinks and imagine what they missed.  Seeing Bob in his Wizard's costume brought him untold amounts of Fame.  Of course it helped Bob that Fogo blamed the Wicked Punch problem on me.  As a result, Bob skated free of all blame (add that to the list of why Life is not fair).  Although I took considerable heat on Bob's behalf, ultimately I did not care.  As I keep saying, during my Brightest Day, even when I screwed up, I could do no wrong. 

I only had one regret.  Crazy Jane.  I swear, if we had pictures from Crazy Jane's 'Night to Remember', the sky was the limit.  One picture of Jane's impressive chest proudly displaying the immortal Slow Slow Quick Quick message, we would have had a sensation.  Who knows, the story might have made Newsweek.  For that matter, the ensuing fanfare might have led to another Travolta dance movie. 

Fortunately, the 1981 Halloween pictures made up for the loss.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I never understood this until Fogo handed me that package of photos.  Thanks to Jim Fogo, I was able to discover how much the guests appreciated getting their picture taken and having it displayed.  Jim's pictures were so phenomenal at promoting future parties, from this point on I made a point to hire someone to take pictures at the annual Halloween Party and other major parties such as the Sock Hop and Christmas Party.  Using those photos, making a party poster after all my major parties became standard operating procedure. 

The 1981 Halloween Poster was the groundbreaker.  From that point on, 'photographs' became a major part of the studio's formula for success.  Jim Fogo's party poster was a major reason SSQQ became famous for throwing the best Halloween Party in town.  Every year I would a new poster next to Jim's original.  These posters were powerful publicity agents.  They demonstrated the traditions and greatness of our annual Halloween Party in a way that words could never match.

The studio's Long Hallway came to play a major role.  This was where people entered the studio.  The day would come when 200 people per night registered for class.  With so many people registering at the start of each month, we had them line up in the Long Hallway.  Everyone was briefly forced to wait in line for their turn to see the Registrar.  With nothing else to do while they waited, veterans and newcomers alike would study the Party Posters hanging on the wall.  And they would invariably chat.  Old-timers would say, "Hey, check out my costume!  When I'm hot, I'm hot.  Boy, that was a great party!" 

Newcomers would comment to a friend, "Look at those people!  They're having a great time.  That's a great dance picture!  And look at those costumes.  That gives me an idea for a costume to wear to next year's party!"

The pictures gave the attending guests a sense of importance.  Well aware that having their picture posted made them a star, I was tickled to see how proud my students were to pose for a picture.  They liked being part of something special.  Having their picture on the wall increased their sense of ownership in the studio's growing community.  It also gave them a powerful incentive to wear top-flight costumes and wait for the compliments to roll in.  A visit to the SSQQ Hall of Fame became a trip down memory lane.  Having their picture on display immortalized the night they came as Darth Vadar, Elvira, Zorro and Wonder Woman.

Following the success of 1981 Halloween Poster, I took pictures of the November Graduation Night at the Winchester Club, then created a poster.  Now when I sang the praises of Graduation Night to new students, I had pictures to prove my point.  As I said, my only regret was not having a picture of Crazy Jane.  However, you know me, I still found a way to exploit the story.  Each year at Halloween time I would promote the upcoming party.  First I would promise everyone that a night of splendid dancing was certain to create euphoria.  Then I would retell the Legend of Crazy Jane.  After I had everyone in stitches, I would point to the women and dare them to come as 'Crazy Jane' to the upcoming party, message included of course.   Alas, no one ever took the dare. 

Although I found it hard to believe, following the 1981 Halloween Party from Hell, Fogo's pictures changed people's opinion of me overnight.  Once people saw the great costumes and all the fun they were having, the initial negativity quickly dissipated.  Even the Jungle Fever pictures were met with approval.  The Jungle pictures were the favorites were by far the favorites with the men.  The guys were typically obnoxious. 

"Are those girls coming to the next party?  If they promise to wear the same outfit, I'll be there too!"  

At first the women continued to object.  However over time they not only forgave me, but had fun giving me a hard time over my dumb decision.  When they told me what a terrible bad boy I had been, to my relief they smiled affectionately.  Being a good sport about the razzing, I made a lot of new friends.  In fact, everyone eventually agreed the whole Jungle Fever story was incredibly funny, even the women (well, most of them).

It has been said that "bad publicity is good publicity."  In my case, the negative attitudes were swept away thanks to the overwhelming popularity of the party pictures.  Thanks to Fogo, I was out of the doghouse.  If anything, now I was getting compliments.  Imagine that.  I had been soundly criticized following the party, but now I was being praised for throwing the best Halloween Party of all time.  I never saw this development coming, but I was happy about it.  Thank you again, Brightest Day.

Jim Fogo's pictures turned everything around.  Without those pictures, people's fond memories of the wild party would have faded into obscurity and I would have remained in the doghouse.  Instead Fogo's pictures created a memorial to the incredible story of the 1981 Halloween Party. 

People could not stop talking about all the fun they had.  Words like 'GREATEST HALLOWEEN PARTY I'VE EVER BEEN TO!' spread like wildfire.  What an amazing change of fortune!  Typical me, win some, lose some.  I had let another beautiful woman slip away, but I was comforted by the dramatic improvement in the studio's reputation.  As always, lucky in career, unlucky in love. 

The crowning moment came one afternoon when Glen thanked me.  It seems that someone who had been to the party liked what they saw and hired his dancers to perform at a party of their own.  Glen even managed to say he liked the pictures of his dancers.  In fact, he might even let me throw another party if I promised not to stink up the restroom again or ruin his floor with dance wax. 

So now we know how SSQQ became famous for throwing the best Halloween Party in town.  Attendance the following year doubled and the reputation of our party kept growing from there.  I had gotten 'Dumb Lucky' yet again.  Isn't it curious how often that keeps happening to me?  The way Silver Linings seem to follow me around, this story is yet another reason why I say I have led a charmed life.