I miei cari amici: March 2008

Hummingbird

Hummingbird
Originally uploaded by gwilmore

I took this picture three days ago during a visit to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, in which I was accompanied by my sister Sheila. It is shaping up to be one of my most successful Flickr uploads of all time, and is getting quite a bit of attention on the site.

Boleroing with the Anginator

This is the second of two YouTube videos of my recent bolero performance with dance instructor Miss Angie. Uploaded just today, it was taken by my daughter Vanessa, who -- typically -- was using her mother's camera. The other video,uploaded immediately following the performance, was taken by Colin.

Guard duty

Guard duty
Originally uploaded by gwilmore

As is nearly always the case whenever I post a Flickr image, this one is accompanied by a story which might entertain and amuse my readers. Click on the photo and have some fun reading it.

Evidence of the beneficial effects of dancing: Exhibit "A"

Evidence of the beneficial effects of dancing: Exhibit "A"
Originally uploaded by gwilmore

Click on the image to get the full story. I hit the jackpot with this picture, which is getting some very favorable attention and also made Explore!

Dancing and Parkinson's

This week hasn't been a very good one for me, at least thus far. I won't go into the reasons, but suffice it for now to say that I have been extremely frustrated, and frustration does not bring out my most desirable personality traits. But today may be turning out a bit differently, and I'm actually smiling as I write this post.

There are two fundamental reasons for the smile, and both are related. First, I have a dance lesson at the studio right after work today, with the first of the two scheduled weekly practice parties set to begin a couple of hours after that. In preparation for today's lesson, I'm wearing a nearly complete set of new clothes, the better to impress Angie when I see her later today. I will be performing a bolero with her in public on March 13, and last week she asked me to wear black pants, a black tie, a black jacket, and a button-down white shirt for the event. Over the weekend I bought the pants, shirt, and tie, and last night I added a new belt to the ensemble. (I don't have a black jacket, but the studio has one in its costume closet that fits me just fine, and I am going to use that one.) Everyone at work has been telling me I look really spiffy today, and I hope Angie, for her part, is duly impressed. (As an aside, the white shirt is, of course, part of the basic uniform for Mormon men, and my existing ones are becoming a bit threadbare, so the new clothes will serve a useful purpose even after the performance is over.) But even more than the thought of impressing my instructor, merely knowing that I'll be dancing again before the end of the day always seems to brighten my spirits, regardless of how foul my mood may have been a day or two before. It is something nice to look forward to. (It occurs to me that we just might be able to get North Korea to change its tune and improve its behavior if someone can persuade Kim Jong-il to take up ballroom dancing as a hobby.)

The other item was this article in today's Arizona Republic, about ballroom dance lessons being given as therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease. Since the Republic usually pulls its online articles within a few weeks of publication, the link may no longer be available if and when anyone tries to use it more than a few days or weeks down the road; but if that is the case, just take my word for it that this was a good story indeed, both pleasant and cheerful. I discovered a year or so ago that merely thinking about ballroom dancing has a way of lifting my spirits and making me smile, and today this article managed to do both. If music alone cannot always soothe the savage beast, perhaps one should merely add dancing to the mix.