Growing up in my house meant music. Not the kind we produced ourselves. My parents couldn't really afford lessons for us. We dabbled a little with the piano and Mark had a guitar but none of us were very persistent at it. The kind of music I'm talking about was produced - record albums, eight track tapes, cassettes, reel to reel. One way or another there was always a way to listen to music.
Well, if you're going to listen to music you might as well dance.
My friend, and cousin, Leanne Brewerton took a modeling class together and at the end of the class we were supposed to present a talent. Leanne and I dressed in choreographed a dance to some disco song, bought matching outfits and performed. I remember long hours of practicing in the living room and younger brothers teasing us about our dance steps. Older brothers, however, were a different story.
Sometimes on a warm Saturday afternoon we would take the music outside in the backyard. We had to go out there because we were doing the "JIVE" and we needed lots of room. Mark, Garry, Moana and myself would spend lots of time practicing our moves. We stole the show at the Saturday Night Dance.
What's that you ask?
The LDS church sponsored the Saturday Night Dance. It was definitely the place to be on Saturday night. Everyone went! We had to have a current SND card to get through the door. We got that from our Bishop after we suffered through a bi-yearly interview. The dances were fun though. People actually danced. I remember kids calling my brothers for a ride to the dance. Mark had a station wagon so he could fit lots of people. Once the four of us were in the car he still had room for 5 more. With three older siblings I was lucky enough to always have a ride. It wasn't very often that I spent Saturday afternoon calling around for a ride.
You're not a teenager if you think eating after 11:00 at night is off limits. After the dance we always went somewhere for food. Peter's Drive-In, Mother's Pizza, A&W - it was like the dance ended but all the people just ended up at the local food chain. I wonder what the employees thought of 50 plus kids showing up at their restaurant at 11:30 on Saturday night.
So we danced. And we loved it.
