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November 2005 Blog
Rick Hampton Square Dance Caller
November 3rd
Insurance company's suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They're slow and a
pain.....Speaking of pain I'm going to the Doctor Friday to see why my upper
chest has been hurting-Say a prayer if you will. Fun Class tonite and all
are looking forward to Monday's new dancer hoedown- C'mon out -Yes we know it's
the USDA meeting nite-Same as the ones we did last year-So speed up the politico
stuff and come hang out -We'll see you 8ish
Rick
November 5th
An interesting nite- Visitors vastly outnumbered the host club- Some
visitors were told they couldn't dance (Dress Code) as they were dressed-while
others (also not in "That Damn Attire") were not questioned. Also
interesting was the age group of the folks in attire was vastly older than those
not-With the exception of 3 teens, the 4th in a modified dress. I was
asked what to do and I replied "How bout we let everybody dance and all have
fun" That's what happened...I hope it was enough fun so that the visitors
involved might some day come back to this club........I sure as hell wouldn't
spend my 6 bucks there again............PEOPLE PLEASE if we insist on s/d attire
we will lose. I cannot vote on this issue at clubs (I have a vested
interest) Maybe those who sell s/d clothes have a vested interest as well. I'll
call to folks in other attire, maybe we should expand the clothing line as well.
maybe we'd have more fun. Speaking of fun it's not fun for the same few folks to
constantly have to be the only ones "Bringing Food"-Maybe we should quit a half
hour earlier and ALL go socialize at a Pizza Parlor-Buffet or ??-
IT HAS TO BE FUN-IT HAS TO BE INCLUSIVE-OR IT'S OVER
Rick
November 7th
A GREAT Hoedown- 7 Squares and Lotsa new dancers- Interestingly it was
advertised as No S/D attire required and lo and behold-Almost ALL of the kids
kids got the foo-foo dress on. This underscores my long standing position-
If you REQUIRE s/d attire they'll fight it/quit and if you don't-They'll almost
always migrate to it. PLEASE TRY this approach it works!!!!!!!!! In fact 100% of
the Whirlaways class was in s/d attire and we've NEVER mentioned it to the class
(Y'know when in Rome.....)
Fun S/D Nite after a lousy insurance (RE: Lynn's accident) day- The Guy has
Alzheimer's-No Lic and wasn't allowed to drive the company truck that hit
her-One for the Lawyers, Meanwhile we run out of the $ to rent her a car-Anybody
want to sell me one on terms? (Not Kidding)
Have a GREAT Day
Rick
November 8th
A really nice class and club workshop/dance tonite. It seems , however, that
the numbers (class) indicate "we" may be asking too much from our classes in
terms of the weekly commitment. The Prez and I chatted about this fact- No
great solutions! But great minds..................(hee-hee) anyway The
Club (For those not in the VASD area-That means the Plus Dance/Workshop all
rolled into one-weeknights after the class) is numerically trending upward-We're
dancing faster, Workshopping more and it's working- Better Plus-More
attendance and No more 1 square last tip, while actually going to the advertised
ending time.-Great, Now let's put some WEEKEND dancing on in the VASD area-Not
"command performance" Anniversaries or other "special (AKA 1-2 times a YEAR)
dances -These events have their place but not merely the only dances at the rate
of 8 times/year or less ..........How about.............. "Hey it's Saturday
Let's DANCE"- Stay tuned as this group-Sequoia Squares is working to that
end...................Imagine a DANCE on a regular basis , on a nite where we
don't have to work the next day, just for FUN- Meanwhile PLEASE go dance with
Square 8's (Hanford) and/or Bootjack Stompers (Mariposa) cuz they're the only
current VASD area clubs who do just that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They need DANCERS
not the "support" we hear about (IMHO That implies another "command
performance")...as far as life goes, The Hampton's are in a pickle due to the
Insurance declining the claim, Gotta litigate and the California rules re:
"uninsured motorist coverage" which SUCKS (3500 bucks is the limit-subtract the
rental and 2700 dollars gets you a grade A POS -Piece of Stuff?)-
Lynn started physical therapy and found out that her pain is due to tearing of
stuff from her ribs. Thanks to a guy w/dementia, driving a truck without a
license, who had no permission to drive and blew the stop sign and hit her.-His
truck is getting fixed -we're having to hitch-hike and borrow cars, as we blew
out 800 bucks on a rental that is not covered AGGGHHH
Rick
November 9th
A great workshop-Some old friends stopped by with improving health-not yet
dancing but there! My doc told me my test results-Fatty Liver enzymes and
243 cholesterol -Meaning NO CHILI DOGS-That sucks- I bought veggie shreds cheese
stuff to go in my homemade chicken (I hate Chicken-Makes me dizzy) burrito. The
package says "Melts smoothly" -Not after 2 minutes in the microwave -So Chicken
(I hate Chicken), Flour tortilla no cholesterol-Same ones I've used
before-Veggie shreds cheese crap and Pico de Gallo salsa with no cholesterol hot
sauce - Verdict -BAAARRFFFF-RETCH-KILL ME NOW-Ah But I love Lynn, Jess and Cass
and want to be around so BAAARRRFFF-RETCH- and I ate it. PS Insurance companies
still suck-Still looking for a car on terms
Rick
November 11th
GOD BLESS OUR VETERANS-Pray for California as the "electorate" made a DUMB
choice Tuesday. OK Politics aside we have enough of our own in s/d. It was
noteworthy that the person who made the big speech (at an association meeting)
about how someone could dress in non-s/d clothes and have the gall to show up at
"our" dance-SELLS S/D Clothing-Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm???????????????. Folks please get
over the REQUIRED s/d stuff-If you don't require it- almost everyone will wear
it eventually. Anyway I filled in for the ailing Boswell at Steppers tonight
(Rick is sick so Rick is calling-Huh?) A surprise caller showed up on his new
Harley and Danced and Called (He twernt in s/d clothes and NOBODY CARED-They
we're very glad to see him). I did find him a country song in my case to do
(another odd occurrence hee-hee) Good thing he didn't show up at the previous
dance like that-now that would have been a conundrum. Oh did I mention
that we should GET OVER THE REQUIRED S/D CLOTHES? Soon before the clubs die (Or
is that such a terrible thing?-Maybe it's time for new clu+bs?- One's that
include instead of exclude?-Just thinking out loud)
Have a great Veterans day
Rick
November 13th
Well last nite Lynn and I got home after borrowing an 87 Toyota with
290,000+ miles on it-In spite of how it might seem this thing is a runner!!!
Just check the H20 and all's well. We tried to decide should we dance ( 3
choices A2/State Council Dance or Anniversary) So we BBQ'ed and watched
the last 2 star wars movies- I'm glad as she's still not ready for
dancing-especially in a rough square. I understand the State Council dance
went well, I haven't heard from the other two.
I'm looking forward to a fun week with the groups. Visalia is looking into
another hall (I'm going out Wed. with them to 'check it out') and if this
works-look for some Saturday Dancing in Visalia. I hope all is well and as
Thanksgiving gets closer please remember that GOD is who we
thank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rick
November 15th
We tentatively have good news about the accident. The guy who owns the
company truck (not the driver) has verbally agreed to take care of the
vehicle-Stay tuned- Last Night we had the largest crowd for the plus workshop
we've had this season and after (as it turns out) 8 squares for the
hoedown the previous week. I found out that Skirst had a goo A2 dance Saturday
w/ Mike and even a couple of State council gang- I'm REALLY glad that State
Council v2.0 is DANCING-My gosh that's a switch. Tonight it's Visalia and
a typical week- A recording session this weekend and a Slow week for
Thanksgiving (If you don't count the Roseville Whirlaways weekend ) Wed and
Thurs. off-
Rick
November 17th
A good class in the Mountains- Phil brought out some 1977-1980 circa
Sets in Order Records so we danced a couple of tips to Lee Kopman, Don Beck and
others- 135+ beats per minute and I'm reminded how much fun we used to have,
some of the group were too and others -OMG that's too fast (S/D v2.0?-Come's
with the ageing of our marketplace) The callers discussion group is chatting
about the dress code and with a VERY FEW exceptions all agree it's long past
time to change- On that subject I spoke to my classes this week about the
fact that some groups are still anal about the dress code and to ask ME before
they go , as to avoid the rude, idiotic behavior that a few clubs demonstrate-
These folks cannot seem to understand that merely saying "Welcome tonight, have
fun dancing with us, but please in the future we want s/d attire" instead of
"You're not dancing in that-We don't allow that"- I guess that as long as we
allow commercial clothes sellers the right to decide who comes in the door-we
get what we deserve- LOSING DANCERS, add to that the ageing of the dancer
population and voila-Club Run Dancing RIP 1940-200?, Thank God there are Callers
and a few smart clubs who'll pick up the pieces.
Rick
November 22nd
45 Years old and never any trouble with my back TILL NOW. Ouch, If I ever
teased you about back pain I'M SORRY!!!!! Some progress on Lynn's
accident- a partial settlement- I've got to decide if I can stand up for
do-see-do tonite or go back to doc. I've got to get better as I've got a
square Dance party for a family gathering on Thursday, 2 Days in Roseville for
Whirlaways Fri/Sat and Clovis Sunday.
Rick
November 25th HAPPY THANKSGIVING
A fun Thanksgiving one niter-some 50 people had an intro to square dancing.
I got an email from a fellow caller today
Read your
Blog and hate to say your observations matched most of mine. We may lock horns
some day on the A dancing.
Now I don't know who this caller is, but did you notice that he/she said "hate
to say.....matched most of mine" I guess that means that at least 2
professionals have a concern of where the activity is headed. Folks while this
s/d stuff is a dancers recreation, it is a callers avocation/vocation. We
(callers) see things from a vastly larger perspective than just "One
area,Club,association etc.) Perhaps we do have something useful to offer.
The above caller mentioned that "we may lock horns Re: A (Advanced)
I'm a former Callerlab Advanced committee member and now (for many years an ACA
member)
I know that the ACA "One Floor" (or a variation) concept is most likely the
future of the current MWSD, I also realize that the "ABC" approach is a viable
means to get a lot of non-dancing folks to try s/d. Having said that I would ask
all to entertain the idea that a lot of dancers enjoy the "more intricate"
"puzzle solving" aspects of s/d and many would have stopped dancing if not for
it being available. I do call (CL terminology) A1-A2-C1 and One nite
stands. ONE FLOOR IS THE FUTURE!!! But I do enjoy calling to supporters of many
a year at the higher levels (as an aside most of the folks who dance to me at
the higher levels-also angel at class-I don't get along with "jerks" at any
level
Rick
November 28th
A good weekend trip, Friday and Saturday in Roseville, Sunday in Clovis-
Fri/Sun were A2 and Sat Plus- Crowds were down due to the holiday but FUN was
present. Has anyone else gotten sick of the folks who still have passionate
feelings over 20+ year old issues? Most I've run into are angry and have been
for those 20+ years. My advice is GET OVER IT! IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO.
The anger is a cancer to the activity, and besides there is plenty of stupid
things going on right now in 2005 to focus on LOL!!! Tonite I'm calling
the Bakersfield class, Visalia Tues, A2 Wed, Frazier Thursday Toys 4 Tots
Saturday and a new dancer hoedown on Sunday- Typical week
Rick
November 29th
I think I finally got thru to this class.................Don't turn around,
hold hands, listen to me and tell "John Q. Angel" to shut up! I've got a
really nice group on Tuesdays but until the last 2 tips tonite, I've been unable
to convince them (ok some of them) to hold hands and don't turn around. I still
have a few "angels" that are clueless except when they are
"Teaching/Talking" in their square, then they seem to know everything-all the
while oblivious to me and the other 40 people in the hall. Oh well, It was an
overall GOOD Class and a Fun Party nite. Some of the Friday Fresno club
were down a well visitors from Ceres and Redding-Gotta luv the
internet!!!!! Saturday were doing the Toys for Tots thing and I will call
even to 1 square till at least 9:30-I think the attitude of "they leave at 9 so
we'll quit at 9" is a dangerous approach, and besides it's my PA system so
there!!! -LUV YA "My Favorite School Bus Driver" but you're "wrong" on this one
We MUST lead folk to dancing on the weekends even if we're lonely for a while.
Rick