I had been looking forward to a night out with my son as he performed. So even though my day had been mundane and routine, I knew that tonight held a lot of promise for inspiration. He was playing at a local bar called The Brickyard, which is owned and operated by a wonderful guy who is our friend, Noel.
When we walked in the door of The Brickyard, I could see that quite a few people had already arrived. Some were laughing and talking, some were carrying on some serious looking conversations and others were just looking around and sizing things up. I walked straight to a table and took a seat. I watched him set up his PA system as a few people came over to speak or to hug me. A lady I knew well but that I had not seen in a few months walked in with a guy I had never met and she came over to talk, then said, “Do you mind if we sit with you?” I said “That would be great, have a seat.” It turns out that this was their first date. I knew she had been divorced for a while and was dating. This date of hers seemed to be very nice, respectful and a pretty good conversationalist. All was well with the world.
The guy, I will call him John, got up and went to the restroom, it was at that moment that she began to talk in a very hurried manner. She had met him via a dating service. They spoke on the phone a few times, his profile on that dating site looked really good, so she decided to go out with him. She had seen on Facebook that my son was playing here, figured I would be here and it gave her a certain amount of security.
I listened closely as she told me that she had viewed his profile numerous times and felt he was just the perfect guy. But meeting him and seeing him upclose, watching his mannerisms and his speech patterns, etc., had totally changed her mind about him. She said “I think he likes me but I cannot make myself like him. I don’t like how he talks, walks, smiles, pretty much nothing about him is appealing” She added, “Oh God, what am I going to do!”
About an hour passed and the three of us were enjoying the show when she excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. As soon as she was out of sight, he began telling me how he thought she was the girl for him. He said “I have been on this dating service for four years, I have gone out on many many dates, but this is it!” He said, “Your friend is a wonderful lady and though this is our first date, I know she and I will be married one day!” I nervously listened as he spoke of his love at first sight and how everything about her was perfect! I was so relieved when I looked up to see her returning to the table.
She made funny faces at me several times that evening, indicating how very odd she thought he was and I just smiled back. What else could I do?. The night progressed and my son took a break. He motioned to me to see if I needed anything, I did not, so he walked over to a group of his friends from college that had come in just after the show began.
When the house music from overhead began to play, it was the usual bootie dancing, bump and grind stuff that all of the establishments like playing when the live music takes a break. A few couples were on the dance floor having what looked like lots of fun. Then suddenly the couple at my table got up and headed to the dance floor. To my surprise and to their surprise, they danced exactly the same. It was though they were one of those couples that had been dancing with one another for years! They danced perfectly together like a well oiled machine that had been buzzing along for an eternity. It was amazing to watch. The song seemed to go on for much longer than a song should and they never slowed down, never missed a beat, it was very entertaining to watch.
When they returned to my table, she had a whole new outlook on things. Suddenly they were both into each other and even exchanged a kiss or two. It was only about 30-45 minutes before they excused themselves and departed. Both seemed happy and thrilled as they sauntered out the door.
Three weeks later I was at another venue with my son and I looked up to see them come it. They were holding hands and seemed to be very happy with one another.
When they spotted me, they walked over and told me of all the things they had done together in the almost month since that first date. They said they knew it was a whirlwind romance but they were making plans to marry. No big wedding, they had both been there, done that at least once before. They were going to Memphis to a small wedding chapel to tie the knot. She leaned over and whispered, “He is PERFECT!” I was happy for them and I thought about that night of their first date. There was a valuable lesson to me.
…IF THE GUY CAN DANCE, he changes from “I don’t like anything about him” to “He is PERFECT!” almost immediately. My advice is: Learn to dance, it could change your life!
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