Coming Along

So far more than 11,000 people in Hawaii have been diagnosed with the virus. Outbreaks at jails and nursing homes are challenging our ability to manage the disease in vulnerable settings. And with the Trumpanzees, the virus has established itself so firmly in the communities that the federal government had to step in to help health officials get a grip on the increasing number of cases. This in a state that only two months ago was marketing itself as “the safest place in the world.” In this coming month, we have the problems of the schools and nobody knows from nothing. If the Trumpanzees get control, we are dead.

“Social dancers don't breathe to survive; they must dance and feel alive.”

There are beginners learning on Oahu. The fundamentals of learning are just learning where your feet go first, so that is something you could learn at home with online help. Whether you foxtrot with friends or learn a waltz while quarantining at home, staying active will help your outlook during a year of staying home. You can take private lessons with the proper precautions.  It’s really important to keep moving because that helps release all of those endorphins, creates those good feelings as we go, and it helps us not spiral downward. The physical connection and also the social connection of just staying active around friends.

"El Dia Que Me Quieras" por Carlos Gardel

Enrique Santos Discepolo, famous Argentine Tango dancer said, "Standing a woman on her head is not dancing." Dancing is to enjoy the music and that is primarily the basic step. From there the man has the choice of going forward, backward or turning left or turning right. Just a simple variety of moves to enjoy the music first and foremost. There are at least 20 other basic moves just to enjoy moving to the music. You want applause? That is not wrong, but it is definitely something else.

"Social dancers know that good dancing engages the brain,

great dancing engages the heart."

I am not sure

The young dancers are still in it and have for ages made the distinction. "Never trust anyone over thirty." That was in the last century but people are getting younger in this century. The young are now saying, "Never trust anyone over forty." No hu hu, let us just ride along with it and make our own adjustments to it. The young are going make many changes in their paths to enjoy their dancing to da max. For now, that is their style, something new everyday and they are discovering the world. "It is not so difficult to understand that pop music, has not progressed very much, since the advent of rap, in the last 20 years."

“Social dancers sometimes feel it's easy to lose faith in people. And sometimes
one act of kindness is all it takes to give you hope again.”

It is their cross to bear and for us, the older, we have "been there, done that." We are settling into the maximum of pleasure in moving to music with our old tried and true methods and our old tried and true friends. Most are basic moves using partner dance to communicate with other people on a daily basis. And to enjoy moving to our favorite music in sheer joy over and over again. Let's face it, it's better than just listening. This fancy stuff in the Gold and beyond Syllabi is for OPs. (Other People.)

"Fly Me To The Moon" by Jimmy Borges

Do you have a good spell checker? Don't count on it for everything. From a recipe in our local newspaper. just the extra letter makes big difference. "Bigger bowels are recommended if you double this recipe."

We may Halloween

Latest is that: testing, masks and respect for social distance is doing some good in many parts of the US. In Hawaii, it is showing some good results, however the schools remain a very big problem. The kids give it to the teachers and the teachers give it to the kids. Then the teachers and the kids give to their relatives, neighbors and friends. Cross your fingers. Social distance is 99% effective. Masks are 95% effective. If you have skipped them, you may be contaminated right now.

"Social dancers know it is an oldie but goodie. Where there's life there's hope."

Daifukuji Soto Mission and other temples have had to adapt to new norms: arrows on the floor of the main hall direct foot traffic, and pews have been carefully marked to ensure adequate social distancing. The temple, like many others in Hawaii, also canceled its bon dance, which attracts crowds every year for an evening of music and celebration. Nonetheless, temples and their members are determined to find opportunities to celebrate Obon, especially during a time when values like family and community are a source of strength and resilience.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

Is is illegal to dance Tango in the street?

We all waiting but some of us are planning and even making suggestions. We know the basics that are working all over the world except the US. Fortunately we are also involving teachers of dance, musicians, DJs, and dancers from all over Oahu. The Main Part is our social dance community, being as we are over half of the total dancers. The peripherals will help but reluctantly. And of course, the Internationals are in a world of their own. With more feedback, these blogs will eventually be theirs. We will all help to make it the Social Media that it can be.

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone,
but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.”

This is gonna kill you

It is getting a little less muddy out there. Trump is the worst mud because no one knows what he going to do next to take money from the lower classes and give it to the upper classes. The "Workers" should remain in the class that actually does the "work" for what little they can get for it. The uppers will continue to wheel and deal and make Billions. This is what Trumpanzees call Easy Money.

“Social dancers believe that you just kind of do the best you can and hold on

to moments that feel a little better than others and we'll get there."

In Hawaii, we were coming out of the Trump Pandemic a month ago, we were among the best in the nation. But the Trumpanzees got in, forced openings too soon and too much and ran the cases and deaths way up. Hawaii is in very bad shape now. Trump is smarter than anyone, he has as his key advisors, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, so he knew from the beginning that Trump Pandemic was nothing. Then he "discovered" the Malaria drug cure which he said he was taking. The Voodoo doctors, the Clorox, the Lysol came in and lots of money was made but the deaths kept going up.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow" by Bruddah Iz

Europe and Asia is coming out pretty good but they have the secret. Testing, Masks and respect for social distance. But Trump is brilliant, no need that crap. He just got a sure cure from some kind of snake oil made from Pillows. They made some money but didn't work. Now, he got another expert "Doctor" Herd Immunity, 300 thousand deaths for sure by the end of the year. But the Christian Evangelists are selling a dozen or more "sure cures" and Big Pharma making Big Money. The Easy Way with Trump.

“Social dancers may believe that the times are chaotic. But they hope

that people look at and gain strength by it."