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Rick Archer's Note:
Prior to the
start of my dance career, I was a complete mess around women.
Then came the Summer of 1978. Negotiating seven
tricky situations in a row with aplomb, I suddenly realized I was
not afraid of women anymore. Something really strange
was going on. First I stumbled into an incredible
career, now the Rejection Phobia was gone. I was so
much stronger around women I could scarcely believe it.
This is why I
came to believe my summer
adventures had a Divine purpose.
The more I
thought about it, I got the impression these various women had
not appeared at random, but rather by design. I viewed each woman as a Messenger of sorts, someone
sent to teach me a lesson, then move on.
My intuition was
spot on. Hindsight reveals how the Summer of 1978
functioned as an intensive training program to prepare me
for the ultimate challenge which lie ahead. In the
coming months my Fate would revolve around three remarkable
women. Each in her own way would change the course of
my life and career. These women were beautiful, they
wanted me for themselves, and they strongly disliked each
other. I called them the Temptation
Triangle.
Before I begin
the story of how I was chosen to determine which of these
three was the fairest one of all, I would like the Reader to
note how closely my tale paralleled the mythological Beauty
Contest that started the Trojan War. Obsessed with
Greek Mythology ever since I was a child, I found it
incredibly ironic to see the rivalry that started the Trojan War
being reenacted at my very own dance studio.
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THE GOLDEN APPLE OF DISCORD |
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As I said, the Trojan
War was
caused by a quarrel
between three exceptionally beautiful Greek Goddesses. Hera was Queen of
the Gods. Athena was the wisest of the Gods.
Aphrodite was considered the most beautiful. Or
was she? Hera and Athena were stunning beauties
in their own right.
Eris was the
grouchy, temperamental sister of Ares, God of War. No one liked
Eris. She was always complaining about
something. When she wasn't complaining, she was
stirring up trouble. Like her angry brother Ares,
Eris had a temper and long history of arguing. Over
time she became known as the Goddess of Discord.
In Greek
Mythology, Thetis was a sea nymph. She had no power,
but she did possess uncanny beauty.
Poseidon wanted her and so did Zeus. Zeus had the
inside track until he discovered a prophecy that the
future son of Thetis was destined to become far more
famous than his
father. Realizing it was a bad idea to sire a son greater than
himself, Zeus decided to let the nymph marry her
sweetheart to circumvent the dangerous prophecy.
And so he gave his blessing for Thetis to marry Peleus, a mere mortal.
Considering
Thetis would one day give birth to Achilles, a mighty
warrior who became the
legendary hero of the Trojan War, Zeus had made the right
move to disengage.
Zeus turned the
wedding of Thetis and Peleus into the
social event of the
season on Mount Olympus. All the best Gods and Goddesses were
invited to the banquet. Except
Eris. No one wanted an unhappy shrew like Eris
around. As one might imagine, Eris was irate over the snub. She decided to crash the party and
cause problems. Looking to provoke a fight, Eris threw
a golden apple onto the banquet table. Inscribed on the apple
was the word Kallisti, "To the Fairest". Eris announced
to the hushed crowd that the
Golden Apple was a prize for the most beautiful
Goddess of all.
A panic
ensued as dozens of beautiful goddesses dived for the
apple. Ultimately only the three most powerful
remained. With their hands covering the
Golden Apple, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite quarreled
ferociously over who was the fairest. Unable to settle the
matter amongst themselves, the women turned to Zeus for
final
judgment.
Zeus was far too clever to fall into
that trap, so he sidestepped the dispute with a
suggestion. He told
the women to take the decision to Paris, Prince of Troy.
Zeus smiled to himself. He knew Paris was too
simple-minded to see the danger of picking one over the
over two. I could relate. I would soon
have a similar problem.
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The three Goddesses
found the lad as he quietly tended to sheep on a hillside
near Troy, then told him to choose. When Paris took
longer than expected, the women realized there was little to
separate them. Well aware that Beauty is in the eye of
the beholder, they had no idea who Paris was going to pick.
Eager to win, each Goddess offered Paris a special bribe.
Hera promised power and glory. Athena promised wealth
and wisdom. Aphrodite promised Paris the hand of Helen, the world's most beautiful woman
(besides themselves, of course).
How could Paris
resist Helen? However there was
a problem. Helen was married to Menelaus, the most
powerful man in Greece. Menelaus was certain to
object.
In addition,
there was another problem. Hera and Athena were sore
losers. They vowed to get even any way they could.
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Helen was a stunning woman.
Considered the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen was indeed
the prize of all prizes. As befitting her status,
Helen was married to the most powerful man in Greece.
Her husband was Menelaus, ruler of the warlike kingdom known
as Sparta.
In her youth,
Helen had been the object of fierce courtship conducted by
the leading men of Greece. Oddly enough, Menelaus did
not attend. Considering this pursuit beneath him, instead he
sent his brother Agamemnon to represent him. Forced to
choose between them all, Helen settled for Menelaus due to
his status and wealth.
Although born a Prince, Paris was
banished from Troy. Moments before his
birth, his mother Hecuba dreamed she gave birth to a
flaming torch. This dream was interpreted by a seer
as foretelling the downfall of Troy. For fear the
child would lead to ruin, a shepherd was given the
task of killing the child. However, the man could not
do it. He ended up raising the child in secret.
As an adult, Paris returned to Troy and was reunited with
his father King Priam. Unfortunately memories of the
prophecy acted as a wedge between the two men.
Convinced by
Aphrodite that Helen was ripe for the taking, Paris appeared
in Sparta under the guise of diplomatic mission. No
one knows for sure exactly how Paris managed to secure her
hand. Some say Paris abducted Helen. If so, this
was not difficult to accomplish since Menelaus was absent
from Sparta due to a funeral.
Others say Paris
seduced Helen. Helen was said to be lonely. Maybe
Helen should have met Menelaus first before agreeing to
marry him.
After ten years of marriage, this was clearly not a good match. Helen's daughter
Hermione did not like her and her husband was gone for great
lengths at a time fighting wars. Unhappy living in
Sparta, perhaps Helen willingly eloped with
Paris.
Another theory
is that Aphrodite put a Cosmic Spell on Helen's mind and made her
fall in love with Paris. Surely Helen was not so
stupid that she failed to see the dangerous repercussions.
Therefore she must have lost her mind. Familiar with
the phrase 'Love is Blind', the Greeks blamed Helen's
senseless decision on interfering Gods.
After Aphrodite
helped Paris steal Helen, all
hell broke loose. With Hera and Athena goading the
Greeks to punish Troy, this became a cause
célèbre. Due to the giant armada of ships launched
by Greeks seeking vengeance, Helen became known as 'The Face that Launched 1,000 Ships'.
Countless men would die thanks to a Beauty Contest.
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Rick
Archer's Note:
As we shall see,
"Rick,
let's say you are right about the Epic Losing Streak
as a function of Fate. If so, what purpose did
Epic Losing Streak play in the evolution of your dance
career?"
The Summer of 78
was finally over. In September I took time to reflect
on the revolving door of beautiful women who had paid me a
visit over the summer. For some darn reason, things
had failed to work out with every single one of them.
That was really a shame because each woman was exceptional.
Of the five, only Nancy was still around (we will get
to her story shortly). Curious, I asked myself which of
the other four did I regret losing the most. Oddly
enough, it was my interest in having children that
determined my answer. Jenny and
Francesca were not interested in having children due to
their age. Karen, 30, would have been a good match,
but she was radioactive due to her marriage.
That left
Marilyn, a young woman of 18 who was about to begin college.
Marilyn had it all, brains, looks, confidence. She was
a future star in the making. Although most of
what I have said about Marilyn involved our awkward
debate over sex, there was a serious side to her as well.
Marilyn had her eye on me from Day One. Ordinarily
Marilyn was a cut-up who loved to give me a hard time.
However I remember two times when Marilyn turned serious.
One night she mentioned her desire to have kids.
Another time she asked how much money I made teaching
dance. Fortunately, we were interrupted on both
occasions, but her questions left me unsettled. When
she wasn't busy being a brat, Marilyn was ridiculously
precocious. Given her huge crush on me, in her idle
moments I believe she was sizing me up as future husband material. If so, she hit a very sensitive nerve. It crossed my
mind that Marilyn would have been the perfect woman with
whom to marry and raise a family.
For all
my Mystical musings, I have a practical side too.
The arrival of Eric shook me up fiercely. Eric
made me realize I was hanging onto my job by a
thread. Just because he self-destructed was no
guarantee another Eric might come along. As a
result, I had second thoughts about teaching dance
for a living. Accountants are good at math,
Doctors are good at science, Lawyers are good at
arguing. Since I was at best slightly better
than average as a dancer, my long-term prospects
seemed dim. Although I thoroughly enjoyed
teaching dance, I feared I lacked the exceptional
ability necessary to last long in this profession.
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In
particular, what would I do if my Lucky streak ran
out? Furthermore, I already knew there was no
real money
in teaching dance. I had a nest egg thanks to
working two jobs, but I could not keep this up much
longer. Assuming things went well in the Fall,
I wanted to quit my day job at the end of the year.
With low house payments and no dependents, I
expected to make enough to get by. But what
about the future? I am fairly certain Marilyn
had a family in mind when she asked her questions.
Making $15 an hour teaching 15-20 hours a week, I
was earning roughly $1,000 a month. Could I
see raising a middle-class family on $12,000 a year?
Of course not. And what sort of father would I
be working nights and weekends? These were
disturbing questions.
So let's
play the "What If" Game. Before the Jet
Set debacle put a swift end to Marilyn's daydreams,
I was having a change of heart. Rather than
rush into ill-considered sex, why not offer to date
Marilyn the old-fashioned way which would include
meeting her parents? If by chance we could
overcome the age difference, we might very well fall
in love. I could look far and wide and never
find a woman superior to Marilyn. In that
case, what would I have done if Marilyn had asked me
to pursue a respectable career with a family in
mind? In that case, my dance career would have been
in serious jeopardy. In other words, if
Marilyn insisted I use my education to find a better way to support a
family, my
direction in life MIGHT VERY WELL have changed.
Here is
my point. For some reason, every woman who
crossed my path was wonderful, but not quite right for me.
Was this just my Bad Luck? Or was Fate
deliberately sending me women who were a good match
in the short run, but not the long-term? If
any one of those amazing women had worked out like I
hoped, my life might have taken a far different
direction. And what direction would that be?
The Wrong Direction in terms of my dance career.
Every time another woman got away, I had to
keep looking. And what was the best
place to keep looking? My dance job, of
course, with 100 single women crossing my path each
week. In other words, the longer my Epic
Losing Streak
lasted,
the longer my dance career was
extended.
This is why I believe my constant misfortune was
meant to be.
Hindsight
reveals how the Summer of 1978 functioned as an intensive training program
to prepare me for the ultimate challenge.
I believe each woman was sent to help me
prepare for my upcoming situation, then quickly depart.
If so, what were they preparing me for? A
Beauty Contest between three rivals: Patricia,
Joanne, and Victoria.
Women are
competitive. Some compete for Limelight,
some for Status, some for Recognition.
Others compete for Money and the life of luxury it
guarantees. The fiercest
battles are reserved for the age-old
contest known as the Mating Game. Some say finding a
suitable mate is the most important choice a woman can make.
Determined to pass the best set of genes on to her
children, women go to great lengths
to attract a superior man as their companion. In
addition to the
search for a suitable mate, many women seek male approval to
validate themselves. To get this, they must
battle other women for his attention. A superior man
is the ultimate prize of the competition whether for
mating purposes or status (or both). In some ways the
Mating Game/Dating Game is like an auction. When more
than one woman
bids for a man, the more his value rises. Determined to win the object of their pursuit,
at some point it is all
about Ego. But what if only one woman is in
pursuit? Then his value remains at market
price. The secret is to get several women
bidding at once. Oh, and one more thing.
The same goes when the roles are reversed. I
imagine women are very skilled at enhancing their
value by letting it be known they have a wide choice
of suitors.
There were certain
similarities between Paris and me. We were
both patsies around beautiful women. We both
started a war. We both made a colossal
mistake. We both paid dearly for our mistake.
And we were both Archers. But there was one
major difference. Unlike Paris, I was both
arbiter and trophy at the same time. As hard
as it is to believe, I found myself placed in the
role of Helen of Troy. Whoever won me became
winner of the contest.
And who
will be the winner of the contest? Don't
forget, we have only met nine of the ten women.
There is still one missing.
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