Dancing Fool

I've been dancing in the street a lot lately. I mean that literally. A couple of months ago when the summer started to swing into high gear, I pulled out the ipod shuffle that had been sitting in my desk drawer for several years and downloaded or uploaded music, or whatever it's called that one does with those things. (For those who don't know - I'm a technopeasant.) Anyway, I didn't pull out my ipod to start listening to music, I did it because I wanted to re-learn the aforementioned business of moving music from one computer thingy to another.
I won my ipod a few years ago at a staff party, and used it perhaps three times before I stuffed it in my drawer, because I prefer to hear what's going on around me. But because I'd retrained myself on the basics of shuffling music around, I figured I might as well listen to what I'd put there. At least for a while.
Well, it's been a humid, hot, summery summer in this part of the world, and that's made a lot of people happy, including me. I've enjoyed wearing fewer clothes and walking in the sun. But if I'm plugged into my ipod, I'm not just walking. I'm dancing. The music I listen to when I'm out and about tends to be bouncy, happy, let's-dance-kind-of-music. It's meant to get me movin' and groovin'. And it does.
I can't not move with the music. I'll begin by simply stepping in time with what I'm hearing, but if the music's got a solid, rockin' bass line and a catchy tune, it's hard to stop myself from dancing. My arms swing around a lot, my hips sway back and forth, and my feet will do strange things like skip and jump or even a step-ball-change as I ramble along. Of course I'm aware that people look at me, but I do it anyway. I can also honestly say I don't do it to get attention, I do it because it's fun. I'm a drama queen from way, way back and know all about how to attract attention to myself, but my dancing as if no one's looking isn't about that. It's about dancing. That's all. I feel like jumping, leaping and spinning for the sheer joy of it.
Blame it on the ipod. And the rock 'n roll summer weather.
When I see people looking at me, and they're usually smiling, I smile back. I even smile back when the occasional person laughs at me, rather than with me. (I still have a sense of humour about what I'm doing.) The few people who laugh at me tend to be adolescent males - of course! - so I don't worry about it. It's nice to feel so secure. Living longer has its perks.
I won't be wearing my ipod much longer. Despite the fun I've been having, I ultimately prefer to be completely aware of what's going on around me all the time. Not being able to hear ambient sound can make me feel vulnerable, even more vulnerable than when I'm a dancing fool. When I'm dancing I'm living mostly inside my head, which has been artificially wired with music. That's probably still better than if I were dancing to music in my head that got there without the help of an ipod. Or maybe not.
I dance out of joy. I could never engage in such an attention-grabbing exercise if I weren't completely comfortable in my skin. I've had a lot to celebrate this summer. That's why I don't care if people laugh, because I'm laughing, too.
- G. P.