Sunday night and Monday morning found me in a pretty dark mood. They happen. What can I say.

Lunchtime on Monday started to turn things around. I received an email from Rebecca. "I'm teaching salsa tonight at the Centennial Lakes pavilion. Are you available to assist?"

It's good for my ego that she asks me to assist. I don't have a very high opinion of my dancing, but she wouldn't ask me to help if I completely suck. She also encourages me to provide guidance to the new dancers, which is quite a complement as well.

And then of course, I also had fun. It was a beautiful evening, which meant it was great just being outside. Turnout was amazing. In addition to demoing with Rebecca and helping to run sound equipment, I danced with a number of ladies and one young girl (maybe 10 or 12 years old). The girl seemed quite pleased after I lead her through a couple of turns and then said, "You've done this before!"

So, this entire blog entry would just be random babbling if there weren't an important point. I don't know if I have a point exactly, but more of an observation: dancing can be a cure for dark moods.

I hesitate to extend this to any activity we enjoy. I enjoy computer gaming, but it rarely cures dark moods (and sometimes causes them).

But consider dancing... You generally dance in some pleasant environment. You are moving in time to the music. With any luck at all, you have a woman in your arms (or you're the woman in the man's arms). Presumably she's enjoying herself, and you know part of the reason is because she's dancing with you. You specifically, not just some random person. If you're a toucher (I am), you get several days of needed touching in just a short while. And maybe you even meet a few people you wouldn't otherwise have met, and perhaps a goodbye hug from the teacher when the evening is over.

I think the only thing that would have made the evening better was if I'd gotten the name and phone number of that last woman I danced with. She was thin, long dark hair, attractive, and seemed specifically to want to dance with me. If only I'd been a little braver...

Next time, perhaps.