This excerpt is from my memoir, Twenty-Eight Snow Angels: A Widow's Story of Love, Loss and Renewal. The story is one of love, hope, inspiration and the resiliency of the human spirit.
John and I met in 1971 at the Rusty Nail, a smoke-filled bar in Brook-
lyn Center on the outskirts of Minneapolis. The Nail was a popular
hang out for the bar hopping crowd. Bar hopping, back in the seven-
ties, was like date surfi ng on the net, but you did it in a car, often your
best friend’s car. On any given night after working out at the European
Health Spa my college friend and I piled into her Chevy Nova. Driving
from bar to bar, we looked for the best band, cheapest drinks and the
highest number of single guys ready to invite us onto the dance floor.
In the noisy bar we sipped vodka gimlets and black Russians, praying
the band would pound out a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young or Creedance
Clearwater Revival song, and some hot guy would waltz over to our
table and ask us to dance. Fast-paced songs gave us a chance to check
out a guy with a minimal amount of small talk or body contact.
On that night of January 15, the band cranked out a high-energy
song. From the back corner of the bar John wandered over to our table,
leaned down and asked me to dance. His blue eyes fl ashed as the loud
music bounced and rocked us back and forth. When the song ended,
we hesitated on the dance fl oor while the band decided what to play
next. A soft chord rolled off the lead guitar player’s fingers as the band
switched to a waltz. We held out our arms and folded into each other.
Life definitely has it's ups and downs. This blog focuses on sharing life's experiences of joy, love, loss and renewal. Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a celebration of starting a new life or a fond childhood memory that lingers within us our stories have the power to help and inspire others.
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