MYSTERY OF THE TEXAS TWOSTEP

CHAPTER SIXTY SIX:

PROMOTION

Written by Rick Archer 

March was a busy time for me.  I had four Intermediate classes starting, three Beginner classes, plus my first-ever Advanced Western class.  I also taught private lessons on Saturday.  In the old days, at least I had Sundays to rest.  Not any more.  My Sundays belonged to TGIS.  Every spare moment was dedicated to planning my upcoming Promotion at TGIS.  Since my first class would not start until April, Linda Shuler's advice to use Sundays in March made perfect sense. 

Oddly enough, Limbo Captivity played an important role here.  Victoria was so infatuated with her therapist Charlotte, her interest in me continued to dwindle.  How was it possible for Victoria to pay less attention to me?  Not that I cared, but Victoria called me less frequently.  Given so much freedom, I could have cheated on Victoria anytime I wished and gotten away with it.  So far, however, I kept my promise to stay faithful.  Given that I had a lot of free time on my hands, a visit to TGIS every Sunday morning in March was an excellent idea.  Although that meant I was working seven days a week, I did not mind.  Well aware that I wanted to teach dance for the rest of my life, I had never been more hungry in my life.

Although I was tickled pink over this golden opportunity, I was very intimidated by the thought of this upcoming TGIS Promotion.  The thought of speaking to all those strangers at TGIS made me very nervous.  Speaking to strangers was by far my greatest weakness.  Yes, I had made progress in the recent weeks.  I was getting better at small talk with my Western students, but this TGIS situation was different.  It was one thing to speak to pretty girls when they were dancing in my arms.  It was another thing entirely to connect to people I did not know, especially strangers who were twice my age.  I had thought my fear of rejection was a thing of the past, but I was wrong.  This upcoming Promotion had me badly rattled. 

Why was this so difficult for me?  I was an only child from a broken home.  My mother's favorite hobby was chasing men, so she was gone several nights a week.  Since we moved all the time, I was never in one place long enough to develop neighborhood friends.  And since I was excluded from the lofty social circles frequented by my privileged classmates, I found it difficult to make friends at school.  I also avoided the telephone like the plague.  It was easier just to be alone at night than force myself to overcome my overwhelming shyness.  As a result, here I was, age 30, painfully clueless when it came to making small talk and conversation with people I did not know.  I could talk to people if they spoke to me first, but I was helpless when it came to starting the conversation. 

So there you have it.  I was a loner saddled with mediocre social skills in a profession that called for an outgoing personality.  Given this handicap, how did I ever make this far?  Oddly enough, Victoria appeared at just the right time during the Disco Era to rescue me.  Victoria was born to be popular.  She was a people person who could talk to anyone without effort.  She loved to interface with the students and let me stick to the teaching.  This had been a good arrangement at the time.  She was the salesman, I delivered the product.  However, to my dismay Victoria had used her popularity to wrap her tentacles around my dance program.  Once she got her stranglehold, there was no way to dislodge her without an ugly fight.  Until now, that is.  Country-Western had given me a chance to extricate myself.  I remembered Victoria's claim that her lawyer Bartholomew said half my business belonged to her.  Okay, Victoria, you can have the Disco half and I'll keep the Western half. 

My fear of making conversation with strangers made this upcoming project daunting, especially since I was a complete nobody.  Maybe I should ask Victoria for help.  I could tell her to bring her daughter along or maybe get a babysitter.  Forget it, no way.  Knowing Victoria's propensity for trouble, I did not dare allow her anywhere near my potential TGIS Gold Mine.  In order to keep TGIS a secret, I would have to do this promotion myself.  I was not looking forward to it, but what choice did I have?  I had to find a way to lick this crippling fear.

Considering my lifelong tendency towards introspection, the irony of this situation was not lost on me.  I will share what my heart told me was going on.  I believed God had a plan for me all along.  My lousy childhood was going to knock me flat on my back and my Dance career was going to heal me.  Given my difficult childhood, I left home riddled with emotional problems.  I remained a loner throughout college and graduate school was even worse.  Keep in mind I was the young man who was tossed from graduate school due to my character defects.  Dr. Fujimoto decided I was too much of a cripple to be of any value as a therapist, so he told me to take a hike.

My expulsion from Colorado State was the low point of my life.  The trouble with overwhelming depression is finding the courage to take even the slightest risk to get moving again.  Despite my overwhelming loneliness, due to my fear of rejection I could not force myself to approach a woman I did not know, much less speak to her.  Unable to climb out of this deep hole under my own power, Fate sent me a possible solution.  Why not try dance lessons?  I knew it was a longshot, but it was the only solution I could think of at the time. 

The crazy thing is that this Dance Project worked!  But it did not work very fast.  I was constantly being thrown into situations that caused me to face every one of my childhood demons.  It took six years of small steps punctuated by many reverses, but here in March I was on the threshold of being psychologically healthy for the first time in my life.  Now I was facing another great test.  To do this promotion, I would have to come out of my shell.

TGIS PROMOTION, WEEK ONE Sunday, march 9 FACING THE UNKNOWN

It was Sunday morning, March 9.  As I arose from my bed, I was full of anxiety.  Today I had promised myself I would face a legion of strangers in order to sell my TGIS dance class.  Every one of these people were older than me.  This was their turf, not mine.  On the other hand, I had permission to be there.  The time had come to try speaking to strangers.  Let's see if I could overcome my handicap.  I arrived at the church early with my flyers.  The place was deserted when I got there, so I located an empty table.  I placed the table in the long hallway that led to the room where they held morning service. 

Along with my flyers, I brought a sign that said 'Country-Western Dance Lessons On Wednesdays in April'.  Below that I put 'taught by rick archer' in bold letters.   Propping it up on the table, I stood there nervously awaiting the crowd.  The anxiety was just too great, so I found a chair and sat down instead.  Just then I was reminded of Ted Weisgal.  I recalled how much I had admired Ted Weisgal as he passed out catalogues at Miller Theater on a cold Saturday night back in October.  If Ted could do it, then so could I.  Feeling a bit braver, I got out of my seat and stood up again.  Good move.  Easier to hand out flyers.  The flyer contained a description of the class, directions to the studio, and a brief bio about me. 

I was gratified to see the early arrivers smile at me.  That helped considerably.  As people passed by on their way to the service, I handed flyers to anyone who glanced at me.  To my relief, no one turned me down.  These TGIS people were so polite they would accept the flyer whether they were interested or not.  Some people held on to it while others discretely set it down fifteen feet further down the hall.  Thrifty person that I am, when no one was looking I collected the loose flyers and recycled them.

After the initial rush, the sermon (or whatever they called it) began in the large room.  For lack of anything better to do, I stood at the edge to listen.  The speaker was pretty good.  She discussed the importance of forgiving oneself after a failed relationship.  I could not help but think of Jennifer.  I still could not figure out what had gone wrong.  That girl was in love with me, I was sure of it.  Therefore her decision to run to Dallas still grated on my soul.  Hmm.  Maybe I belonged at TGIS for more than just business reasons.  Too bad no one here was my age. 

As the morning went by, I learned that TGIS was a quasi-religious organization.  Although they said a prayer at the start and finish, there was no religious training or mention of the Bible.  It was more about self-help and spiritual growth.  The stated goal of TGIS was ministry to the psychological difficulties of being divorced without being too preachy about it.  TGIS was operated by volunteers who took turns running the show.  The people in charge were mostly executives who worked in tall buildings that touched the sky.  Doctors, lawyers, engineers, businessmen, petroleum executives, accountants, you name it.  By and large, TGIS members were affluent professionals, very educated and quite confident.  Linda Shuler was the perfect example.  Someone told me she was a highly-regarded high school drama teacher in addition to being an aspiring writer. 

Every now and then someone would stop to ask a question.  It was a mild surprise to learn that these people had never been near a honky-tonk in their lives.  At the time, the affluent west end of Houston and working class Pasadena 20 miles to the east were as far apart as Texas and Alaska.  Pasadena with its pervasive odor and ugly chemical refineries was a place to be avoided at all costs.  Everyone had heard of Gilley's, but no one had actually been there.  This odd situation worked in my favor because all the hype about Urban Cowboy had stirred up a lot of curiosity.  The most common question was "What does country-western dancing look like?"

That gave me an idea.  Realizing the difficulty of explaining what it looked like, on the spur of the moment I held out my hand to a lady and asked her to dance.   The lady recoiled two steps back in fear, but her girlfriend got behind her and shoved her into my arms.  She let out a little cry.  Naturally a half-dozen people stopped to watch the spectacle. 

"Don't worry, ma'am, this won't hurt.  Let me show you what a Twostep looks like."

The lady laughed at herself for overreacting and giggled a little.  "Okay, if you promise not to hurt me."

"Well, it might hurt a little, but if it does, I will visit you in the hospital."

That got a laugh from the onlookers, but my victim gave me a dirty look.  I was crestfallen at first, but when she smiled, I realized the lady was just teasing. 

"Okay, mister," she said.  "I'm ready.  Let's dance!"

Previously I explained the concept known as 'Frame'.  If a man holds the woman correctly so that her shoulders match his, then her footwork ends up matching his footwork.  Glen had taught me how to use my shoulders to guide a woman.  Like magic, I guided the woman across the floor even though she had no idea what she was doing. 

The lady squealed, "Hey, this is fun!  I don't know how you do it, but you make it so easy!"

And with that, the crowd of six people began to clap like I was Harry Houdini or something.  Laughing, the lady thanked me.  She said, "Let's dance again next week!  I could use the attention!"

Now it was my turn to laugh.  I smiled and said, "You know where to find me."

Talk about an ice breaker.  I was so proud of myself for taking this chance.  So far the morning had gone much better than I expected.  In particular I had stumbled on a technique that would prove effective time and again.  If it was a woman who asked the questions, big mistake.  Without warning, I would put her in my arms before she knew what hit her.  I would gently dance the Twostep as a way to show her and any bystanders what the Twostep looked like.  To give her the rhythm I whispered "Slow, slow, quick, quick" under my breath.   Worked like a charm.

This was an impressive technique and good theater too.  Naturally anyone nearby was amused by the dancing, so they stopped to watch.  I generated laughter and a lot of curiosity in the process.  Amazed at the number of people who had never seen country-western dancing in their life, I got in the habit of demonstrating as often as I could.  My impromptu exhibitions were an effective selling point.  When the exhibition went well, I noticed two or three onlookers would nod appreciatively.  They would quietly pick up a flyer off the table without being asked.  Let me add that I collected an impressive number of smiles from the ladies I danced with.  Very flattering.  Although most of them were old enough to be my mother, there were a few who made my knees weak.  That included the lady who had cried out in fear.  I liked her.  Too bad I was still in Captivity.

TGIS PROMOTION, WEEK TWO
Sunday, march 16

MELANCHOLY
 

Week Two, March 16, was marked by a curious incident.  Two ladies stopped to speak.  I recognized them from the previous week.  One of them was the pretty lady I had danced with the first time. 

"Hi Rick, remember me?  I'm Karen and my friend is Taylor.  I'm the one you almost made me faint.  Now I'm back for my next lesson."

Karen smiled to let me know she was teasing.  The two ladies were somewhere around 55, both very well-dressed, very confident.  Their elegance reminded me of the River Oaks Seven, my wealthy patrician tormenters from dance class six years ago.  However, there was one big difference... Karen and Taylor were nice.

Smiling, I quipped, "How could I forget you, Karen?  I had you in my arms last week.  Have you recovered yet?"

Karen laughed.  "Oh, stop, that was fun.  Now it's Taylor's turn.  Will you dance with her?"

Karen's suggestion caught Taylor off guard.  A sudden look of horror crossed Taylor's face.  Nothing like the fear of the unknown.  I had a hunch Taylor was the type who feared being embarrassed. 

Taylor said, "I'm not sure that's a very good idea."

"Why is that?" I asked.

"I've never danced in my life."

I could see Taylor was skeptical.  However, just then I noticed how good-looking she was, so I persisted.

"It is not nearly as difficult as it seems.  Why don't you give it try?"

"I wouldn't know where to begin.  My husband and I never danced, never.  However, since the divorce, I have danced a couple times.  But I had no idea what I was doing and it was a disaster both times."

"It's not that hard.  I'll be happy to show you."

After some thought, Taylor finally assented.  She handed her purse to Karen. 

"Okay, Rick..."  Taylor paused to glance at the sign again.  "Uh, your name is Rick, right?"

I nodded. 

"So, Rick, what do I do?"

"Well, it's not dangerous, but you still need to put on your seat belt."

"How do I do that?"

"First you let me place my right hand on your shoulder blade.  Then make sure to keep your back pressed against my hand.  Put your free hand on my shoulder, then do everything in your power to keep your shoulders square to mine as we travel.  Since your feet are directly below your shoulders, if your shoulders match mine, then your feet will match my feet."

Taylor turned out to better than she realized.  I took her twenty feet in one direction, then circled back without a hitch.  When we finished, Taylor's eyes were bulging.

"That's amazing!  Rick, tell me how you do that.  It feels like magic how you guided me so effortlessly.  My feet knew exactly what to do.  I can't understand how you can create steps I have never seen before.  How do you do that?  Do very many men know how to dance like you?"

Now Karen chimed in.  "I thought the exact same thing last week.  That's why I wanted your opinion, Taylor.  I've never understood what it meant to lead or follow, but when I danced with Rick I got a better idea how it works."

We had a nice conversation until the lecture began.  In particular, Taylor kept staring at me half in awe, half in... hmm... let's call it 'evaluation'.  After the ladies bade farewell, I gave their comments some thought.  During my Disco days, Leading consisted of tugging the girl's arm in the direction I wanted her to go.  Twostep was different.  Here I was leading the woman in 'Closed Position' which called for Frame, a much different strategy.  It had been difficult for me to learn how to use Frame, but once I got the hang of it, I discovered I had a great deal of control.  In fact I found it easier to lead a woman in Twostep than Disco. 

Karen and Taylor's comments suggested that few men knew how to lead Closed Position patterns.  Not only that, virtually every woman I danced with repeated the same observation that I was one of a kind to be able to make their footwork so easy to understand.  I concluded that 'Leading' and 'Following' must be a Lost Art with these people.  My ability to Lead was so foreign to these TGIS women I danced with that they were actually kind of fascinated.  I had no idea how rare this skill was in the general population until I began these demonstrations. 

Taylor had given me a compliment, but she also managed to strike a nerve.  Her comment about 'Magic' reminded me of Katie, 'the girl who got away'.  I met Katie in a Ballroom dance class five years ago.  On the final night of the class, Jack, the instructor, invited everyone to join him at Melody Lane to practice what we had learned.  Katie immediately turned and asked if I was going.  I said I would meet her there.  In the process I missed a golden opportunity.  I should have offered to pick her up.  I believe that was what she was hinting at.  However the thought never crossed my mind.  I still kick myself about that. 

I quickly realized Jack was interested in Katie.  He took her out on the floor and made Katie look like Ginger Rogers.  Consumed with jealousy and suspicion, I accused Katie of taking dance lessons with Jack behind my back.  How else could she have danced so beautifully?  Hurt by the scorn in my voice, Katie swore that was not the case.  Instead, she baffled me by stating that Jack was 'Leading those moves.'

I had no idea what Katie was talking about.  I got angry because I thought Katie was fibbing to me.  My jealousy cost me dearly.  Jack came back over and asked Katie to dance with him again.  Katie could not wait.  She practically jumped out of her seat.  Watching her laugh and swoon out on the floor, I lost my temper and left the building.  That was the last time I ever saw Katie.  It was shameful what I did.  I never forgave myself.  

Sitting here at the TGIS table, I burned at the memory of how Jack had used his dance skill to steal Katie from me.  If I had known how to Lead then like I did now, my story with Katie might have turned out much differently.  But then I wouldn't be sitting here, would I?  I would be asking Katie what's for supper and hugging our children.  Ah, Katie, you were so beautiful. 

The memory of Katie left me very sad.  Being surrounded at TGIS by an ocean of singles looking for love had a strange, wistful effect on me.  Lucky in career, Unlucky in love.  As always, my lousy love life seemed to directly benefit my dance career.  Stuck here in Limbo, I had nothing better to do on a Sunday morning than drive across town and perform hallway dance exhibitions.  The irony was overwhelming.  If I remembered correctly, I had learned to dance to meet women.  Lot of good it did me!  Six years had passed and all I had to show for my mastery was this ridiculous Limbo Captivity.  Good grief, I had lost count of all the women who had smiled at me during these two visits to TGIS.  I also knew what Taylor's curious look meant.  Who cares if she was older than me?  Taylor was intelligent, attractive, classy.  Oh, how I yearned for my freedom!

But the woman I really wanted was Katie.  Idle hands are the Devil's workshop.  Due to my ongoing loneliness, I had far too much time on my hands to feel sorry for myself.  If I had learned to lead sooner, I might have Katie at my side.  Watching these countless single people pass by, I realized they were all looking for a second chance at love.  It crossed my mind I was in the same boat.  At the time I lost Katie I despaired of finding another woman as kind as her.  Sure enough, here we were five years later and not one woman, not even Jennifer, had captured my heart quite like Katie.  Finding the right girl was proving to be a lot more elusive than I ever imagined.  Here in Year Sixteen of my Epic Losing Streak, by all rights I should have the freedom to respond to Taylor's telepathic invitation.  I wanted so much to put an end to my endless search for a companion.  How was it possible to have the power to attract so many women yet be powerless to find the right one?  I darkly wondered if Fate played a role in my continued isolation.  Limbo Captivity was dramatically enhancing my career, but not without a supreme sacrifice on my part.  Mine is not to reason why, mine is but to dance and cry.

TGIS PROMOTION, WEEK THREE
Sunday, march 23

BRANCHING OUT
 

It was March 23, Week Three of my TGIS promotion.  After the Sermon ended, swarms of people appeared.  Here in my third week, there seemed to be growing interest.  Maybe people were getting used to seeing me here.  It was time to answer more questions, dance with more women and hand out more flyers.  I could feel the energy building.  Coming here each Sunday had been a very good idea.  As a result, I decided to take a new chance.  I casually asked two passersby where they were headed for lunch.  When the crowd thinned, I went to that restaurant without being invited.  I was the last person to enter the restaurant.  Unsure of what to do, I wandered around looking for a spot.  I saw a couple open spots, but hesitated.  Since I was not a member of TGIS, I did not feel that I had the right to participate.  Plus the fear of rejection kicked in. 

Just when I was getting ready to leave, a lady grabbed my arm as I passed by. 

"I know you!" she said excitedly.  "You made me dance with you in the hallway.  Sit down here and introduce yourself to everybody!"

I was pleased by the offer, so I sat down.  Unfortunately I felt out of place.  I was 30 and these people were 40, 50, 60, 70.  Plus they were all strangers.  It turned out this table had seven women and two men.  I think this woman grabbed me mainly to balance the ratio.  To my surprise, the lady ordered me to tell her everything I knew about Country-Western dancing.  Talk about the perfect opening!  Her encouragement really helped.  It also helped that I had two weeks of TGIS experience under my belt.  Once I realized they were sincerely interested, I got over my nervousness.  I don't know about the men, but the women hung on my every word.  Laughing at my quips, for a moment there I thought I was the next Johnny Carson.  Then I realized the ladies had been doing some serious drinking.  No wonder.

TGIS PROMOTION, WEEK FOUR
Sunday, march 30

TABLE HOPPING

It was March 30, the final Sunday of my March TGIS promotion.  I found it really strange just how little supervision there was.  Not once had Linda Shuler dropped by to check on me.  Not once did a TGIS officer bother to announce his or her presence.  If anyone was keeping an eye on me, I had yet to notice. 

Since sharing lunch with the TGIS members had turned out well last week, I did it again.  Apparently my age did not matter to these people.  Not just that, but four weeks of promotion had turned the subject of Urban Cowboy into the hot topic at lunch today.  Now that they were curious, I became a person of interest.  I was quickly invited to join a table.

Feeling emboldened, I asked a question.  "How many of you know what Country-Western dancing looks like?"

When everyone turned to look at each other, they realized no one had a clue.  That brought on a big laugh.  I had expected that would happen.  In four weeks, so far only one person reported they had actually seen Western dancing at a club.  Like me, these TGIS members were city slickers who had grown up dancing to Elvis and Motown.  Until the Dancing Cowboy came along, none of these people even knew Western dancing existed.  So I entertained them with the stories about the Western Transformation, the Wizard of Oz and the Meyerland Club.  I got a big laugh when I explained tongue in cheek how the gaudy Western fashion trend was responsible for starting my new career. 

Just then someone from another table came over and invited me to come sit with them later on.  I asked the people at my current table if they minded.  They said no, go right ahead.

Since I came late, I had not even ordered yet.  That gave me the freedom to move around.  When the conversation at Table Two switched to another subject, I excused myself and joined a third table.  Now that I was enjoying my 15 minutes of fame, I wouldn't want to limit myself.  ha ha.  To tell the truth, I was incredulous to discover I had the ability to talk to strangers after all.  Shy Boy was really coming into his own thanks to practice and the right opportunity.  Here again, I felt like Fate was involved.  Victoria had once been my spokesperson.  Now that she had shown me how it was done, the next step in my personal development was to go out and do it on my own.  In the old days, I would have let my fear conquer me.  Now I had enough confidence to force myself to take action despite my fear.  It helped immensely that the TGIS members were so receptive.  Offering explanations and anecdotes, I was proud of myself.  The more I talked about my upcoming April class, the more interested people became. 

Was I happy?  Other than the loneliness, yes.  As it stood, I was so lonely these days, visiting TGIS had become the highlight of my week.  Every Sunday in March, I worked hard at promoting my upcoming class.  By coming early and adding lunch for good measure, these were four hour days.  I refused to leave a single stone unturned.  Several times during the past two years, I had procrastinated only to have Dumb Luck save me by the skin of my teeth.  No more of that.  My Dumb Luck days were over.  I wasn't going to drop the ball for anything.  Not this time.  Something special was happening here, I could feel it.  This period of my life was unfolding in such perfect harmony, I felt like my Magic Carpet Ride had come back to life. 

TGIS PROMOTION, WEEK FOUR
Sunday, march 30

THE SEEKERS

The restaurant was starting to clear out, so I got up to leave.  As I headed to the door, I noticed a table in the corner that was still full.  Curious, I wandered over.  I noticed they were all my age.  Since they were wearing name tags, I assumed they were with TGIS.  Hmm.  Now that's a switch.  Why are they the same age as me?  I thought membership started at 40. I stopped and asked if they were a part of TGIS.

Someone answered "Kind of".

Now I was even more curious, so I asked permission to join them.  They smiled and welcomed me with open arms.  Only one problem.  There was nowhere to sit.  A man quickly stood up and insisted I take his chair.  His name tag said 'Doug', so I thanked him by name. 

From his standing position, Doug smiled and said, "You are more than welcome.  And what is your name?"

"I am Rick Archer.  I am the guy who is teaching the Country-Western lessons starting in three days on Wednesday."

Oh my gosh, I could have been Elvis or, better yet, Mr. John Travolta himself.  They all covered their mouths in shock. 

"IT'S HIM!  IT'S THE DANCE TEACHER!"

It turned out someone had found one of my flyers and shared it with the group.  They had been talking about the lessons at the exact moment I walked over.  As Doug went to fetch another chair for himself, everyone shifted to make room for another chair.  Due in large part to my loneliness, their initial warmth had me floored.  I was overcome by a sensation best described as 'Love at First Sight'.  The feeling seemed mutual.  All eyes were riveted.  However, before anyone could ask me a question, I had some questions of my own. 

"So what do you mean by 'kind of'?  Are you guys with TGIS or are you separate?"  

Doug had just returned.  He was their leader, so he was happy to answer my question.

"We are a sub-group of TGIS.  We are all what you might call 'not yet married'.  We were once a part of the older divorced crowd that met in the main room.   However, those people occupy a much different life space than we do.  They all have kids, they all have ex-wives and ex-husbands.  Their life space is completely different from ours.  A lot of us began to feel like we didn't fit in, so one day we asked permission to splinter off and form a never-been-married young singles group aged 25-35.  The leaders of the older crowd were very nice about it.  They found us a room upstairs and we have been on our own ever since.  We call ourselves the Seekers."

Since they met in an upstairs room, that explained why I did not know this group existed.  They met out of sight and left by path that bypassed my hallway.  I was glad I had stumbled across their table.  It was great to visit a group of people my own age for a change.

Meeting this group cleared up a big mystery.  I had wondered if a person had to be divorced to attend TGIS.  So far, everyone I had met seemed to be divorced.  I also wondered why there were no divorced people my age.  Do all divorces occur after 30?  I grinned at an odd thought.  I remembered feeling awkward at the Jet Set Club because I didn't have a wife to swap.  Now I felt awkward at TGIS because I had not divorced a wife yet.

I thought of Jerry.  Now that he had a girlfriend, he no longer had a reason to come to TGIS.  But I still saw him in class.  Jerry had mentioned there were two kinds of single women... grouchy divorcees and relentlessly happy young women who had never married.  When he spoke of the irritatingly cheerful younger singles, he was probably referring to these guys.  They were by far the friendliest, most unguarded people I had ever met.  With a chuckle, I could see why an old grump like Jerry would roll his eyes.

A man named Chuck spoke up.  He was the one who had found my flyer in the parking lot and brought it with him to lunch.  "I am really glad you showed up.  I've been wanting to take country lessons, but until now I didn't know where to go.  Tell me about your class!"

Holy cowboy, what a great lead-in.  Bombarded with questions, I grinned at becoming a minor celebrity.  Recalling how fearful I had been four weeks ago, I would have never guessed things would turn out so well.  In particular I really enjoyed these people.  I had never hit it off with a bunch of strangers so fast in my life.  Their lavish attention was a real tonic to my ongoing captivity-related depression.   Doug and Chuck conferred for a moment.  Then Chuck stood up and made an announcement.  "Hey, guys, what do you say we all take Rick's class?  That way we can all go dancing together!"

Chuck's enthusiasm was contagious.  When Doug seconded the idea, considering how handsome the two men were, the five girls at the table committed on the spot.  Not to be left behind, the three remaining guys jumped on the bandwagon.  The entire table of 10 promised to be there the first night.  I could tell they were sincere.  Knowing I had these ten people in my corner was a huge shot in the arm.

However, even good omens like these friendly Seekers did not keep me from worrying.  Since there was no Pre-registration in those days, I had no real idea how many people would show up at Game Time. 

I hoped and prayed this excitement I was feeling was not too good to be true.  My class was starting in three days.  Would this be the Gold Mine I prayed for or was it going to be the great disappointment of my life?  Time would tell.