Cleveland Swing Flash Mob

I've been practicing with my friends for several weeks for this event.  It occurred last Saturday, November 20th at Great Northern Mall, and again at Southpark Mall, in Strongsville.



My dance partner is Lauren.  We met at classes, became friends, and now have great fun dancing together.  In the background are some of my other friends, Danelle is dancing with Ed.  Laura is dancing with Gil.  Deb is dancing with Dave.  Val (my instructor) is started the dance off with her partner, Alex, as well as Jenn and Matt. 

Something I don't want to lose

KELLY PATRICK:  I know it's been years now...but I miss you. You crack me up =) I can't recall a single bad memory from our time playing together. It was always a pleasure. I just thought you should know that.

A better dancing video

Here's a much better video of Lauren and I dancing last Saturday night. We were practicing a part of a dance move that Karen and I had learned earlier that week. The cross kicks looked cool, and fun, so the girls wanted me to teach them how to do it. We never actually did the whole move, but we had a blast anyway!

My niece took a picture of us too:

Swing Dancing

If you read my blog, then you know that I've been taking swing dance lessons.  Cheri, Lori, Bill, and a few others, here's a few pics and videos for your entertainment.

These are a few of the ladies I dance with regularly.  Occasionally, we'll go out after class for ice cream, or after a dance for other refreshment.  The women are, from left to right, Laura, Lauren, Valerie, and Danelle.  The lovely redhead in the center, right, is our dance instructor. She owns and operates Get Hep Swing. 

Just to prove that I didn't steal these pics off some website...here's me in the picture. :-)

Last night, we went to Quaker Steak and Lube for wings and just to talk, because we don't usually have time to chat at the dances.  Karen came with us last night, she's the one in back, on the right with the Mona Lisa smile.  Makes you wonder just what she's thinking....  I found out that Karen and I share the same dream job, that of being a fighter pilot.  Lauren would love to find a cure for cancer, and save all the children (she's studying to be a nurse).  Shoot!  I forgot what Laura and Danelle's dream jobs are.

Here, Lauren and I are dancing. My niece took the video, and turned the camera sideways halfway through. It seemed like a good idea at the time, to match the framing, but I haven't found a way to rotate the video back to normal yet.... We're going out dancing again tonight, so we can record a new video.

Danelle's friends from Missouri came out for the week.  Friday night they stopped by my house for cards.  Their daughter wanted me to teach her to dance, so here we are:

So, what I'm trying to say is that I'm having fun swing dancing.

Two more fine gentlemen retire

I haven't posted in awhile, but I want to congratulate two more Local 38 wiremen who I've had the pleasure to, well, not work with directly, but work in the same crew with:

Jeff

and Jay, who is in the middle here:

Those flags were flown on the NASA Glenn Research Center's flagpole for a day, before being folded up and presented to these men in recognition of their service.

Now I want to say something about these two guys, because not everyone liked them.  They didn't like everyone either.  That's what I admired about them.  These two guys are both old school electricians, from a time when you spoke your mind, and that was that, and if the other guy didn't like it, too fucking bad.  These guys would call a spade a spade, would let you know what they thought of you, and even if they liked you, they wouldn't hesitate to set your ass straight if they felt it was necessary.  A few times they needed to have their asses set straight too.

See, in this day of political correctness, and "everyone is equal and important, and wonderful as they are" lovey-dovey bullshit, we are being taught to be afraid of confrontation.  Confrontation can be a good thing.  Learning to deal with confrontation is definitely a declining skill.  Learning how to work with a guy who thinks you are an asshole, and who you think is an asshole is an interpersonal skill that few people have anymore, and fewer are learning as they grow up.  All right, I don't want to stay on my soapbox here.  These two weren't afraid to say what they thought.  'nuff said.

Congratulations to you, Jeff, and Jay.  I hope you have a long, enjoyable retirement.

Did I mention that I really enjoy going to these retirement parties?