The nightlife

Last Saturday, I saw Al for the first time. Oh, I've seen him around before, probably. I must have. He's an eighty-four year old man who frequents area bars in a flame-printed shirt, cowboy boots and a large white plastic belt buckle inscribed AL and bordered with small red blinking lights. I just never noticed him before, never really saw him.

Ok, I've never seen him before. Or if I have, it was long forgotten, and the Al part of my brain was erased and rewritten with the leather jacket/karaoke dancing guy at the VFW, the Port Security jacket guy, or that methed-up chick I used to see all over town. But Al is back on the docket.

Al goes out dancing 3 nights a week. Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Saturday is his night for Legend's. His wife was a dance teacher, she passed away a few years ago. If my parents, in their early 60s had as much mobility and joie de vivre as Al does in his early 80s, (or perhaps slightly less, for the sake of decorum) I would be contented. He shimmies, he snakes across the floor, he works those hips with dismaying enthusiasm. He boot-scoots to classic rock, he winks at the girls.

I wonder how he got the belt. Did he make it himself? Was it a gift from an admirer? Are his grandchildren horrified? Does he realize he's encouraging the less-healthy and agile old people to go out and shake their booties and bump into me on the dance floor and creep me out by grinning and waving their long gray hands?

I didn't talk to him, I don't like strangers. But Marc chatted with him a couple of weeks ago, so he told me some stuff. Marc also pointed out a woman in a biker jacket & a short skirt. Her fishnet stockings kept slipping down, and it didn't seem like the visible top was part of the look, because she would stop dancing to hike the stockings back up, which was probably less sexy than the effect she was hoping to achieve. Marc is kind of a character himself you know; he emcees at a comedy club and he used to wear this terrible white tuxedo to the show. On Saturday he was wearing a t-shirt with a humorous play on the number sixty-nine and jeans and a sportsjacket.

So that was fun.