i am moving to prescott arizona

someday, maybe. it is so nice here! the slogan for the place is "everybodys hometown" and how true. yesterday was awesome, i made $20 selling hemp bracelets without even trying. i also bought materials and created a necklace/bracelet display case. very fancy. and i made a bunch more in between.

i dont know what was happening yesterday, exactly. there was what looked like a car show, then a biker brigade, and ongoing was a folk arts festival. today is an antique show.

last night was SQUARE DANCING! but, at first i was disappointed. i got there when it was slated to begin at 6:30, because i hadnt anything better to do. but it wasnt what i expected. it was a laptop computer with a prerecorded voice leading very old couples through two steps and waltzes and stuff. i sat for about 15 minutes and was ready to leave.

but i stuck it out and at 7 the square dancing began. again, not what i expected. see, in portland a square dance is a bunch of kids and a couple older couples enjoying some live old timey music with a caller. generally the caller leads you through the dance slow and then through it at real time so everyone can get it. kind of like an always beginner class. but with live music and raucous dancing.

there was a caller, who was very good, but the music still came from a laptop, and it was modern music (think karaoke music) with him calling over it. and he didnt call out what he was going to do first, and he went very fast, and all of the people dancing (three squares) were "professional."

so i just sat and watched. they looked like they were having a great time, but it was pretty low energy. around 8 it was getting real cold and i was thinking of leaving. but then! the caller asked all of the pro dancers to pick someone out of the crowd to show 'em how its done and how easy it is.

ginger picked me out, and i was very eager. i told her i knew the basics and loved square dancing. we were the head couple of the first square. the caller called it slow through once and then we did it real time. and it was a blast! i love square dancing, can i say it enough?

but i wouldve enjoyed more upbeat music. i was actually dancing as we all circled left and bopping through the dos-i-dos. ginger informed me that the proper way was to shuffle your feet through, and not to lift them. i appeased her, but the fun is in the dancing. because, to me, square dancing is supposed to be real fun and okay to be wrong and just about getting out there and performing a beautiful calculated dance with other people.

and thats what it was to ginger also, but we have different ideas of beauty apparently. they only did one square dance like that, but i was happy to at least be able to get out there. they hold classes starting on september 13th, so i guess that could be a goal to get out here by.

if indeed i plan to move here. no promises, especially since i am still in the beginning of my trip. anyway, perhaps more square dancing will come down the line. more joy.