Rick Archer's Note  (01/03/2025):

I would like to extend special thanks to Bill Menger, President of the Hey Lollies Square Dance Club.  Not to diminish to the contributions of our other valuable volunteers, but for the second year in a row Bill went far beyond the call of duty to make our party a success.  In addition to promoting the Waltz Party in the Lollies Newsletter, Bill did the following:

1. Bill came early to set up the music equipment.

2. Bill helped collect the money.

3. Bill counted the money and certified it.

4. Bill took countless photographs.

5. Bill stayed late to put the music equipment away.

6. Bill even found time to learn to Waltz and participate in our Grand Waltz Procession. 

Thank you.  I am beyond grateful.  RA

Rick Archer's Note  (01/12/2025):

Today's photographs are furnished courtesy of Bill Menger.  By the way, you can view Bill's entire photo collection at this address:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EYGsVCtnEezYRdT76

One of the problems of taking dance pictures is getting both faces.  Bill was clever enough to wait for Glenn Morris to turn around so we could see Glenn's pretty wife Paula as well.  Bill was fortunate to catch Glenn and Paula dancing West Coast Swing which is a stationary dance. 

But what do you do with Twostep, which is a traveling dance?  You get a lot of one-face pictures and someone else's back.  Or you get one person smiling and one person not smiling.  Or a good shot of someone with a partial shot of the other.

The point being it is very difficult to get a perfect dance picture when people are moving.  But if you take enough pictures, sometimes you get lucky.

Rick Archer's Note  (01/12/2025):

Here is a picture of Ed and Tracy Akin.  Tracy is our new dance instructor at Chapelwood with Ed serving as her assistant.   

Ed and Tracy are personal friends of Rick and Marla.  The four of us go back many, many years.  What do the four of us have in common?  We all met our future spouses at SSQQ, my former dance studio.  Marla and I married in 2004.  Ed and Tracy were married in 2012. 

 Ed is a professor at Rice University, so he was able to hold their wedding and reception on campus.  Would you like to see their wedding pictures?  If so, click here and scroll down.

I will publish more pictures soon.  In the meantime, I invite you to view some pictures I posted last week.

 

Rick Archer's Note:

Before we continue, let me explain my dilemma.  I know the names of half the people whose photograph I will post.  I do not know the names of the other half.  Rather than get into trouble for not knowing who is who, I will comment occasionally, but mostly say nothing.  If I leave out your name and this upsets you, please forgive. 

Pictured are Louise, Louise, and Louise.  Hail to the Trio.  Over the years, there has been a lot of good-natured teasing among the three as to which one should be considered Louise #1 in my Monday Night Chapelwood class.  

Since I have no desire to enter this argument, let's just say I love all three. 

Louise Bradford, pictured in red, is sister of my long-time friend Jan Davis (pictured below).  Louise was kind enough to contribute many excellent pictures from the party.  Meanwhile Jana Banana is familiar to many for her wonderful assistance in the Monday Night class. 

Rick's Note:

Pictured are my long-time friends Bill and Sharon Shaw.  Like Rick and Marla as well as Ed and Tracy, Bill and Sharon met through SSQQ.  This was not as unusual as one might think.  In my opinion, during my 32 year career as owner of the studio, we averaged one new wedding per month.  My estimate is that the studio was responsible for 400 marriages over the years.  As they say, Slow Dance leads to Romance.

Speaking of dancing, in my opinion, Sharon did more to make 'Waltz' popular in Houston than any other person I know. 

With Bill's help, Sharon taught an Advanced Waltz workshop prior to this year's party.  Thank you! 

Santa thanks you too.

I might be wrong, but I think TJ and Laura met in my dance class.  TJ contributed several of the pictures I will post. 

Incidentally, TJ holds the record as perhaps the most criticized dance student in my career.  There are many ways to look at this.  For starters, TJ is not a bad dancer.  In fact, he is pretty good.  But he did not start that way.  Well aware that dancing did not come easily to him, he became incredibly persistent. 

TJ was always very open to suggestions on how to improve.  I think that is what I admire about him.  He is more than willing to accept criticism as a way to get better.  Some men are notoriously bad about taking criticism in dance class.  They sulk, they pout, they bristle.  For this reason I have learned to say little rather than risk offending them.  Which is a shame because a comment at the right time might speed up their progress. 

The thing to understand is that there are two faces to criticism.  Some use it to demean, to insult, to belittle.  I hope my students understand that is not where I am coming from.  Mistakes are part of learning and so are well-meaning suggestions on how to improve.  TJ 'gets this' and has benefitted greatly as a result..

Diana Banana is a long-time friend of mine.  Most people assume you only get 'Banana' added to your name if you are special.  While that is partially true, the real reason is your name has to rhyme.  Take Doug for example.  I will never call him 'Doug Banana' or 'Douglas Banana' because it does not sound right.  Incidentally, Happy Birthday.  Doug celebrated his birthday either on the day of the party or close enough.

During this past year, Doug became an assistant in my Monday Night class.  His help is something I value a great deal.  However, at the same time Doug is a riddle to me.  A highly accomplished dancer who has won many contests over the years, Doug is probably a better dancer than me.  So why am I teaching the class and not Doug?  I asked Doug that very question. 

"You attract a nice group of people our age.  It is a good way to stay active now we are older and not sit in front of the TV. Before I joined your class, I sat at home on Mondays.  Now I look forward to coming.  I like helping in your Monday class and I'm enjoying getting to know everyone."

For the record, I feel very fortunate to have someone of Doug's caliber who is willing to contribute.