May I have this dance?

Once again, today confirmed my suspicion that if you remain open to new experiences that the best ones will find you.  My unexpected experience today happened at the corner of 36th and Young in Oklahoma City.  I was riding my bike from my mother-in-law's to my nephew's house when I heard music coming through the walls at Ingrid's Cafe (at the corner of 36th and Young).  At 1pm in the afternoon I was curious to see what was causing such a ruckus.  The best choice I made was parking my bike on the sidewalk without a lock and walking through the front door.  The 4-piece band was in full swing, the lunchtime crowd had packed the house, and within 5 minutes an energetic World War II veteran had asked me if I wanted to dance.  He could two-step and swing dance with ease and taught me moves I had never tried.  Halfway through the first dance I asked him his name and he replied, with a smile - "I'm what's left of Bob."  I sweated more dancing those four songs than I had during the entire hour long bike ride.  On the way out the door Bob said to me, "I didn't learn to dance til I was 67, after I had lost my wife of 44 years.  She would have loved this."  I said, "I'm afraid I'm married to a man who won't ever like to dance."  Bob responded with a twinkle in his eye, "You tell him to remember that he can always be replaced."   :)

Comments

[Tara]

Absolutely precious! :)

[James Waddell]

cute story amy...guess, vince needs to shine up his dancin' shoes...

[Gayle]

Simply delightful; thanks for sharing, Amy! :-)

[Suzy Hayden]

Aw, that reminds me of the time just recently. I was helping out with our community theater for a play, in which there is 60's style dancing. I sat on the end seat. At the end of the show, the old man that was playing the Fray came out and asked me to dance in the last scene where everyone in the cast was dancing. I had forgotten how much fun it was to dance. Like you, I too am married to a man who does not dance. I guess the Lord knows how to fulfill our dancing dreams. That was a nice story. Thanks for sharing it. Hope your bike was still there.

[lori oakley]

I love it!!!!!

[Robin Woebkenberg]

Fabulous story...love those unexpected, priceless, memories! Thanks for sharing, and I love that you didn't evem have to lock up your bike.

[Christopher]

I sure dew miss me some Amy Grant - what a lovely story!

[Cheryl]

Thank you for sharing this experience, Amy. It makes me want to get off my rump and go fulfill new experiences! I'm going for a bike ride!

[Allen Delk]

That`s funny!!

You just need to take Vince to a dancing class,ha! I bet he wouldn`t go.

[Michelle]

That's awesome! You'll never know what you'll find downtown. Amy, I'm glad you're here. Have a great visit!

[Tim]

Hey...some guys just don't feel as comfortable dancing! It's not the end of the world. :)

[Andrew]

What a delightfully great time! No doubt Amy made a memory for Bob, just as Bob did for Amy!

[Alan Carver]

It is great to have unexpected experiences that like! My younger sister swing dances . . . she has tried to get her older brother to join in - just for the heck of it I might sign up for a class - now if I can just get these 42 year old knees and legs a shaking - hey if Bob can - so can I!

[Jendy]

Wonderful! If my life (I'm 23) is as blessed as yours, I would feel so...well...blessed! I hope to marry someone one day that loves to dance.

[Suzanne Schaffer]

What a great story! I'm glad you had fun and met what's left of Bob (that line is hysterical!)

[Janice]

Amy, thanks for sharing. Your spontaneity and sense of adventure is refreshing.

[nonophil16]

LOL! What great story Amy...you made my morning. I see a song in the making. It's all about life experiences and sharing them hey? Thanks Amy.

[Janice C.]

Bob is adorable! Hope Vince is gonna start dancing with you more! :-)

[Zoe W]

Thanks for the story Amy, I love it, you describe scenes so clearly...life is for living... and enjoying life is such an important choice....on good days and bad....

[Jeff]

I've never been a big fan of dancin'. Bob may be old, but he ain't dead yet.

I can imagine Vince could have a quick zinger for that old,old, old man.

[Michelle Burrill]

That's such a sweet, hilarious story!

[Kathy Schwanke]

That is so cute. The most heartwarming thing is elderly people loving to dance! My parents have had a rocky relationship over the years, but whenever they are on a dance floor, all the conflict is gone. It blesses my heart!

Thanks for sharing a beautiful story!

[Joy]

So sweet! My 83 year old parents still catch moments to dance. Now they are few and far between as my Dad has been in the hospital since March 3rd of this year, but they still take every opportunity to make memories.

Praying some new experiences will take me dancing. :) If "Bob" didn't learn to dance until 67, there's still hope for me!

Blessings,
Joy

[Julie Todd]

Amy,
I just found your blog through someone else. I'm sure you don't have time to visit blogs, but if you did, I'd sure welcome a visit from you. I love meeting new people...

I remember when I first heard you sing back in the 80's.... "My Father's Eyes".... It became a fast favorite... I'm a Tennessee girl myself, (Chattanooga)...

Recently Papa God brought the words to that song back to me when I was sitting down to write. (I write devotionals for a ministry blog and my own)... It was sweet to sit with the words and consider what He was saying to me all these years down the road.

I loved this post here and the beautiful picture is presented. It's amazing the things that God invites us into in life. Looks like you just experienced "the dance".... This post gives a brilliant picture of the "invitation of the dance"....

Thank you!
Julie

[Alyssa]

Amy, this is too sweet!!! What a precious experience and I KNOW you made that man's day!!! In the meantime, I'm sending my dance instructor/friend Keith to make a housecall to Vince!!! I'm looking forward to hearing of more "Tangoing and Two-steppin'" from you two!!! ;-)