Greetings on this heavy-feeling Friday. I have no spiffy feature today, no OLW or big ol' project to announce, just a really rough and possibly problematic draft that started with a thought I had waiting at the lights on my bike yesterday. Apparently David Brooks was having the same kind of thoughts, but he clearly never participated in a Friday Night International Folk Dance Club like I did growing up. He offers no solutions.
Here are the necessary audiovisuals:
Our host today is the colorful and prolific Mary Lee of A(nother) Year of Reading, who also kindly schedules our hosting duties every six months and is generally a human of the finest fabric. I thank her for letting me use her stitching to illustrate this post about falling apart at the seams.
This takes me back to learning to square dance in gym class in elementary school. There is a comfort to dances with defined patterns. Thanks for sharing this with us today.
ReplyDeleteYour metaphor, fragile as it may be, helps us to remember we must keep moving - either dancing, biking, stitching, writing. We won't all apart when we hold each other up.
ReplyDeleteI loved square dancing, all kinds of dancing. Like Brooks, the world puzzles me, a perfect storm of bad things that I hope can pass when the virus does.
ReplyDeleteI have so many good memories of square dancing in high school. Yes, I do believe it could save us: learning the patterns, holding hands, listening carefully to the caller, laughing at missteps...the same way circles of messy stitches (or messy circles of stitches) can be a symbol for all that binds us together.
ReplyDeleteLike Mary Lee, I did square dancing in high school, at my church and in PE, hard to believe, right? I (with a sarcastic grin) think that Sinema imagines this as she continually talks about bipartisanship, everyone do-si-doing with big smiles. Great metaphor, Heidi, if only. . .
ReplyDeleteI half-loved, half-endured square dancing in junior high and high school. I kinda liked it but didn't want to show anyone that I did. Then, there's the time that I was at an actual square dance with grown ups and got hit in the face with a watch on the wrist of my bestie's Dad. Ouch! I think that might be the last time I square danced.
ReplyDeleteOh....I hit send before I meant to...I love three things about your poem. I love that you were working this out on your bike, that it includes the word star and that it's a fragile metaphor...not perfect. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteIn 1976, my high school had a big Bicentennial celebration. Everyone had to choose a mini-course to learn more about colonial life. I chose to learn about period dance. My memory is a little sketchy about all the dances we learned (could it really be 46 years ago?!), but we definitely did square dancing. We had so much fun! I love this poem and think your proposed solution to our woes in this "fragile time" is an excellent idea!
ReplyDeleteI loved square dancing. And your poem speaks to the heart of what I believe many of us are feeling right now. So spot on. I love that you featured Mary Lee's embroidery.
ReplyDeleteAlways intriguing to hear where an idea comes to us… And, I think your idea of moving and being together as we are at core social folks will hopefully save us, along with your sensitive and powerful lines, "count on each other" and "trust those folks." Nice touch with Mary Lee's embroidery too, thanks Heidi!
ReplyDeleteHow is it that we all seem to remember square dancing in school? I wonder if it's still part of the curriculum. It certainly did help us learn to "count on each other." Thanks for sharing your fragile metaphor, Heidi.
ReplyDeleteYes to trusting those folks again!
ReplyDeleteOh. Oh. I love how you took a whimsical topic and went deep in such a seamless, beautiful way, Heidi.
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