I knew her in college

The Pyramid Club, East Village, 1985. Sara Krulwich/New York Times

Today's New York Times has a supplement of dance photography through the ages. It features dance of all kinds. Toward the end of it, I saw this photo. I knew the woman on the right. She was a year behind me in college. Her name is Rachel.
Rachel was different in good ways. She was from the South, Tennessee, and the college was in Ohio. She didn't know how to dress in the north, so she'd wear a big down coat to the dining hall, take it off and be wearing a sleeveless little dress underneath. Logical, but it would be jarring to see exposed flesh on a February twenty-degree day, even inside. She was quiet but smart. After college, she moved to New York City, did nothing jobs, and became something of a fixture at clubs because she'd jump up on tables and counters and dance. She wasn't an attention seeker; she just loved to dance. She was small, maybe five-two, and would've wanted the space she could get by being on a counter. 
After a few years of this, she settled down, got a degree to become a veterinarian, moved to Seattle and did that for awhile. Then she quit that and pursued a career in her college major, which was art.
I bet she got a kick out of seeing this photo.

Laurel and Hardy and Mick

The Complete and Total Loser is too old to let silly videos obsess him. But he does sometimes and he's never sure why. The one he loves now he loves, he thinks, maybe, because it speaks across a chasm of time, uniting the past and the present, in a hopeful, sweet way. 
http://www.wimp.com/thedance/ 
Or click this.

Children's Letters to the Loser #23

Dear Complete and Total Loser,

I am 14 and a Christian. My parents won't let me go to and of the year school dance because they say it will lead to bad things. I understand and respect their feelings, but it does seem old fashioned to me and other kids my age from my church are allowed to go. What can I tell them?

Luke

Dear Luke,

Your parents should allow you to go. While there is nearly always a sexual component to dancing, it can be a wholesome way to express yourself physically. Physical expression is something we all do all the time and is called, simply, "body language." Unfortunately, many have given dance a bad name by overdoing it. There are six-year-olds who "grind" on dance floors in imitation of what they've seen on television and the internet. I assume that the party will be supervised by adults. You should discuss your reasons for wanting to attend the dance with your parents. If you can convince them that you're not just out there to shake your stuff, they may acquiesce. But be warned; adults often see sexual motives in youths where none exist. 

Party on,

The Complete and Total Loser

Young people dance to rock music in the 60s. Photo by Robert Garro.