Disco Fever

In the spirit of lightening up a little bit, I'm thinking that my posts have been a little dreary lately so let's say we 'Turn The Beat Around" with Vickie Sue Robinson...

Ya gotta admit...didn't that just make you all happy and want to just get up and dance?

My addiction of 1975-1980 was...'dancing-to-the-rhythm-of-the-disco-beat-bop-bop-bop-bop'.

Every weekend my fellow 'disco queens', (my BFF Mo, my cousin Susie and an assorted number of fellow nursing students) and I would get our fix by finding a lighted dance floor somewhere within a 10 mile radius of our dorm. A mirrored ball hanging from the ceiling and dry ice 'smoke' billowing on to us while we doing 'The Bump' and 'The Hustle' amongst other celebrated dance moves was just gravy. And yes, we would be stylin'... with wings in our hair, swingy dresses and high heels. Cruel disco shoes? ...Ha ! As if.

Dancing the night away to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff", Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive", Le Freak's "Chic" took all the pain away. And then, as if we couldn't take any more disco madness, the movie, "Saturday Night Fever" and its soundtrack only fueled our devotion to all things 'disco'.

Hello... 'Disco Inferno' by The Trammps...

At this point you might be asking yourselves...did guys really dress like that? Sadly,  I've got to tell you that yes, they really did. But more disturbing than that, is the fact that we (the disco queens) thought they looked way hot and actually dated these guys..

I blame it on my youth.

Then, circa 1980 while cruising around with my fellow disco queen Mo, I recall hearing on the radio that "disco was dead". "Oh, puhleeeese" I said to her, dripping of sarcasm, rolling my eyes. my expression disdainful..."As if disco would ever die"...

It was only a couple of years later that my disco shoes were laid to rest and replaced by cowboy boots. 'Boot Scootin' at local Dallas honky-tonks was all that I lived for on my weekends off. The lure of Country Music was where it was at. But that's another story.

The Senior Discount

Most of us have seen this picture of two women before. Is it a picture of an old woman or a young one? I initially see the young woman and really have to squinch to see the old one.

At what point does one throw in the proverbial towel? Is there a moment when one says “Ah, what the hell – I’m not dying my hair anymore, I’ll eat whatever I want and ‘pass the Cheeto’s please”? When does bending over to shave your legs become more hazardous to your health than smoking? Does one continue “The War on Aging” forever?

I’ve been ‘covering my grays’ for about twenty years now and I’ve got to tell you, it’s not the only thing that’s getting a little old. So, I’ve been toying with the thought of ‘going au naturale’ and embracing my inner grays but here’s the deal - twice in the past year, I have been asked if I qualify for “the senior discount”. Well hell. I’m fifty-three years old and each time, the senior discount (I just had to ask) applied to those who were over sixty. It’s like being asked if you’re pregnant when you’re carrying a little extra weight.

A word of advice to clerks and cashiers everywhere…JUST LET YOUR CUSTOMER ASK FOR THEIR SENIOR DISCOUNT – Believe me, if they qualify, they will ask.