The Five Second Rule

She:  I remember when I moved to Austin, I looked for a dance studio to attend.  I tried the local salsa studio, and you were the first person to talk to me when I came in.

me:  Well, yeah. Have you ever heard of the Five Second Rule?

She:  Sure.  That rule states that if you drop food on the floor, you have five seconds to pick it up, or else it gets cooties on it.

me:   Correct.  That's one of them.  Another one states that when you see someone for the first time, and your head jerks around for a better look, you have five seconds to go talk to them.  No hesitation, no self-doubt, on what ifs.  Just go.  If you hesitate, if fear, uncertainty and doubt overwhelm you, you can be sure you're a pathetic loser.

She:  And?

me:   And so, when I first saw you enter the studio, I said to myself:

         "One one-thousand..."

Marcelo

The other night at the One2One, while dancing with Maria, I stepped back with my right foot to open the door for a CBL.  Just after I planted my foot, Marcelo, dancing behind me, stepped back with his left for an Open Break. His heel caught my foot high on the ankle.

( I know I was there first because my foot was on the bottom.) 

As I steeled myself for a foot injury, he did not transfer his weight onto his heel.  Instead, feeling my presence, he maintained his balance, stayed on his toes, and pushed off into a spin.  His dancer’s awareness and athleticism saved my foot.

Hot

Viernes Sociales was hot like a mutherfucker. A heady mixture of estrogen and testosterone filled the air. At one point, Mariah got stepped on by a stiletto-clad heel. As I pressed ice on the swelling, three inch long gash on the top of her foot, I reassured her with the thought that she had just made a blood sacrifice to the salsa gods.

Chachos

Last night at the Pura Austin salsa social:

me: See those four chachos sitting over there?

She: Yeah.

me: That's a Murderers' Row of salseros. They don't know if you can dance. I'm showing them           you can.

She: Thank you.

The watchers

As I sat with my buddy last night at the One2One, we witnessed a woman dancing spasmodically, with great enthusiasm and effort, to the timba band.

me: She's dancing like nobody's watching.

He: Yeah.

me: The bad news is, we're watching.

Dogs...

me:   Hi! Where have you been? Haven't seen you in a while.

She:  I've been busy.

me:   Let me guess. It's either involves a car wreck or a boyfriend.

She:  Neither.  6 months ago I started an intensive boot camp to become a certified dog trainer.

        I just finished. Now I hate dogs.

I remember you

At a dance studio recently, I sat with a lovely salsa partner of mine as we watched her new boyfriend struggle through a beginner’s On2 class with Robbie Sky.  During our conversation, she told me an interesting story.

It seems this young man began pursuing her affections last summer.  After they had gone out on a few dates, she told him he had to learn salsa, because a non-dancing significant other was a deal-breaker.

His replied:  “Whatever it takes” and began lessons.

Later she told him: “I don’t know if we are going to make it as a couple or not; time will tell.  But even if we don’t make it, you’ll always remember me, because I introduced you to salsa.”

Several years later, they married.

Surprise!

Recently, while talking with a friend of mine, I told her about an incident that occurred to a lady friend who works at an organ donation non-profit.  The non-profit provides literature and education about the benefits of organ donation, both to the donor and the recipient.  They have a web site that includes an easy way to sign up with the State of Texas for organ donation in the event of death.

Last Monday morning, a young lady of about 19 walked into the office and said:

“I want to know about organ donation.”

All the while, she had her right hand deep in her open purse during the exchange.

(You should know that the whole office had just attended a seminar sponsored by the Travis County Sheriff’s Department entitled “Civilian Response to an Active Shooter”.  You could see why they were nervous with this young lady.)

“No, you don’t understand” the girl said.  “I want to donate organs now”, and she pulled her hand out of her purse.

My friend asked: “What’d she have in her purse, a kidney?”