It was my 60th birthday and despite being so broke that I had lost all hope of ever seeing the day when my bills were less than my income, I splurged for the first time in over 20 years.
I had dreamed my entire life of visiting the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, NY. Actually, my dream began as being inducted into the hall of fame after the most sparkling pitching career in the history of baseball but that is another story.
Anyhow, I took my two weeks of vacation. I went online and booked a flight from Mobile, AL to Cooperstown, NY. I made reservations at the Lake 'N Pines motel. I closed my checking account and got my boss to pay me in advance for the vacation since my last day of work was a pay day. I went over my credit card bills while at work and picked the two that still had over a $1000 credit remaining.
I closed the store at midnight and drove straight to Mobile since my flight was scheduled to take off at 2AM and it was almost a two hour drive to the airport in Mobile from my store.
I was completely exhausted but by 4PM on my first day of vacation I had rented a car, found the site of the hall of fame, purchased a two week visitors pass, and checked in to the motel.
I asked the clerk to give me a 6AM wake up call since the hall of fame opened it's doors at 7AM and I wanted to be there before they opened. I had the clerk call for a pizza to be delivered to my room.
I barely had time to unpack and take a shower before the pizza arrived and after paying the delivery girl, I got their number so I could call for my own deliveries.
It smelled fantastic but I decided to lay down a few minutes to let my muscles relax a bit from my long flight without rest or sleep. It still tasted great after I woke up just before the phone rang with my wake up call.
I took a quick shower, grabbed a thermos of coffee from the lounge, and ate the pizza on my way to the hall of fame.
I never in my life dreamed the place would be as great as it was. From the time it opened at 7AM until it closed at 7PM, I was completely immersed in the history of the sport I love so much. I soon began to realize that it would take closer to two months than two weeks to see everything it had to offer but I was determined to see as much as I possibly could.
For 5 straight days, I had followed the exact same routine. I got up at 6AM, showered, went to the hall of fame, stayed until it closed, ordered a pizza, ate, and fell asleep exhausted.
Then the 6th day as I waited for the elevator to take me to my room, I heard music coming from a set of double doors across from the elevators.
Smiling, I asked the clerk what was going on. She grinned and told me that every Saturday night they had a dance for the different dance classes to meet and practice what they had learned during the week.
I told her it had been almost 40 years since the last time I had done any dancing but that I loved ballroom dancing and then I asked her if it was a private dance or was it possible for me to watch the dancers.
She smiled and told me that I could not only watch but I could also dance if I wanted to join the crowd. After giggling, she had added that she was hoping her relief came in a bit early so she could get in a couple of dances before the dance ended at 2AM.
My eyes had barely adjusted to the dim lights before my jaw dropped and I stared at the most amazing dancer I had ever seen in my life. There was a circle around her and her partner and they were the only two dancing.
I remember thinking as the song the band was playing neared it's end that even if she had two left feet she was so beautiful she would have still been the center of attention.
She was at the very least 6 feet tall, her hair was the darkest black I had ever seen, and it was almost touching the dance floor when she was on her toes.
Despite her continuous spins and dips and gyrations, I never saw what was beneath her skimpy outfit but it left very little to the imagination. The best I could tell her skirt was a large transparent scarf tied at the hips and she wore no panties. Her top was a matching scarf that hung from a large necklace barely covering her pert breasts and was loosely tied between her shoulder blades. It was also obvious she wasn't wearing a bra.
She remained the center of attention as the band played song after song. One man after another danced with her and even on occasion another lady took a turn dancing with her. Occasionally her partner was adept enough to warrant a second dance and one man even had a third dance but even his skills paled in comparison to her looks and movements.
I had lost all track of time and was still mesmerized by her looks and talent when I realized as her most recent partner rejoined the circle that she was beckoning me to take his place.
To be honest, I had no idea that it was her picking her own partners until that moment and as the band played a fast paced Mamba it was all I could do to stumble from the circle and join her.