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The Dance

Daboo

Daboo

Member
Member
The Dance...I was riding out to the prison last night. As I was going along, I thought of how I was in the middle of a wonderful dance, in the middle of the dance floor. If I was driving my Subaru Outback, even with its turbo-charged engine...I'd be pushing a broom on that dance floor. But I wasn't.

Instead, I was on the dance floor with the most wonderful partner anyone could ask for. Light on her feet. Instinctively knowing where I wanted to go and what to do. For as much of a klutz in dancing as I am, she made me look good. And perhaps even more importantly, she made me feel terrific.

I almost took the "broom" tonight. The sun was going down when I left the house at about 4:45 pm. Rain was threatening, but with any luck, it would pass me by. So I decided to take my dance partner instead for the night.

There is something wonderful about motorcycle riding that cage drivers will probably never understand. I get a thrill out of simply giving my partner some gas and feeling her respond immediately beneath me. Thought and action are one. A lane change isn't just a boring move of the "broom" from one angle to the next, but a chance to feel my partner move with me in this dance where we respond to each other and the heart and mind soar.

I get to the prison and as I'm taking off my gear, one of the women visitors remarks to me that it must be cold. I surprise her by saying that with heated gear, I'm very comfortable and since my gear is waterproof, I'm also dry.

Long ago, I learned that the only difference between riding in the summer and riding in the winter was a layer of clothing. I could enjoy riding in rain at 35 F just as much as riding in the middle of the summer if I dressed for it. So I can be with my dance partner that much longer and feel my heart lifted, even in the otherwise mundane part of going down a road much traveled. In the "broom", it is just killing time. With my dance partner, every moment is wonderful.

The day will come when I will have to push the broom on the dance floor. Whether that is a Subaru Outback XT or a Mazda Miata I don't know. But they will still be a "broom". Till then, I can enjoy the "dance".

Chris
 
Reading your post, which I enjoyed, makes me comment:

take a few moments, and sit down at the 'puter, and type out some more thoughts...

then, submit them to the Concourier, and ask if they want to print them...
Personally, I like your thought process, and when I was writing Tech for the book, had to take "tech" in a manner that was entertaining, for those that read it... interjecting humor, and thoughts, along with the methods and figures, gave the bland stuff some "spice"..or sugar, at least...
It would be nice to have more members submit their musings and thoughts to print, and actually fill the magazine to a point it needs to be to have some "content"...

food for thought, keep up the good work, and maybe by example others will take that suggestion to heart, and fill the Concourier a bit more... I know I should do so also, and hope to make a better effort in the future.
:great: :great: :great: :great: :great: :great: :beerchug: ;)
 
Daboo said:
The Dance...I was riding out to the prison last night. As I was going along, I thought of how I was in the middle of a wonderful dance, in the middle of the dance floor. If I was driving my Subaru Outback, even with its turbo-charged engine...I'd be pushing a broom on that dance floor. But I wasn't.

Instead, I was on the dance floor with the most wonderful partner anyone could ask for. Light on her feet. Instinctively knowing where I wanted to go and what to do. For as much of a klutz in dancing as I am, she made me look good. And perhaps even more importantly, she made me feel terrific.

I almost took the "broom" tonight. The sun was going down when I left the house at about 4:45 pm. Rain was threatening, but with any luck, it would pass me by. So I decided to take my dance partner instead for the night.

There is something wonderful about motorcycle riding that cage drivers will probably never understand. I get a thrill out of simply giving my partner some gas and feeling her respond immediately beneath me. Thought and action are one. A lane change isn't just a boring move of the "broom" from one angle to the next, but a chance to feel my partner move with me in this dance where we respond to each other and the heart and mind soar.

I get to the prison and as I'm taking off my gear, one of the women visitors remarks to me that it must be cold. I surprise her by saying that with heated gear, I'm very comfortable and since my gear is waterproof, I'm also dry.

Long ago, I learned that the only difference between riding in the summer and riding in the winter was a layer of clothing. I could enjoy riding in rain at 35 F just as much as riding in the middle of the summer if I dressed for it. So I can be with my dance partner that much longer and feel my heart lifted, even in the otherwise mundane part of going down a road much traveled. In the "broom", it is just killing time. With my dance partner, every moment is wonderful.

The day will come when I will have to push the broom on the dance floor. Whether that is a Subaru Outback XT or a Mazda Miata I don't know. But they will still be a "broom". Till then, I can enjoy the "dance".

Chris
Click to expand...

I agree with MOB, well said  :great:

I've had similar, musings when I've taken my bride of 35 years out on a bike trek through the country-side to "dance the twisties."

Enjoyed your piece; super!
 
+2

Well said. I enjoyed that. I was channeling a little Garth Brooks while I read it. Cool stuff.
Thank you.
 
Nice analogies. With your mention of prison and dancing I was hearing strands of the King's Jailhouse Rock...
A steal a saying from a wizened old rider, "I would rather be riding in the rain wishing I was home, than at home wishing I was out riding."

Thanks for the share. What prison? Monroe, Shelton...Shawshank?
 
I've been going to the Washington State Reformatory (WSR) in Monroe for 17 years.  Every time I say that name, I'm sure the listener thinks this is where they put teenagers who steal hubcaps.  :D  Not quite.  When I first got there, most of the inmates were there for murder.  I volunteered for seven years at the Snohomish County Jail.  I'd come in and open my Bible on the table and the guys would come on over.  I have a lot of stories I could share from there.

I'm still going to WSR, and still involved with the Kairos ministry there.  I'm involved in a few other things as well now.  I sponsor an outreach concert once a month, and an inmate planned church service too.  I've been teaching a seminary program there for four years called TUMI, The Urban Ministry Institute.  And I am the Coordinator for that program in another prison at Monroe, Twin Rivers.  Most people think there's only one prison in Monroe.  There's actually five.

I also get involved in international mission trips.  I started going with a group, Continents for Christ, that teaches pastors in places none of the other mission groups goes to.  Two weeks after we got back to the states, one of the pastors was killed by a Muslim in the same area we used to drive through.  I'm leaving Wednesday evening to go to Thailand with this group...although "group" is a misleading term this time.  It'll be only myself and one other guy.  I've also been on two mission trips with a group based out of Woodinville, Prisoners for Christ.  They go to the prisons and jails to reach the inmates there with the Gospel message.  On the last trip to the Philippines, we baptized about 70 men and women in a 55 gallon drum there in the jail.  Where there's a will, there's a way as the saying goes.  :D

That same group, PFC, is who I do most of my local ministry through.  The concert and the TUMI program.  They're in a lot of the local and statewide prisons and jails.  If you're interested, send me a PM and I'll put you in touch.

Chris
 
That's a breathtaking analogy. Thank you so much for sharing! And I think there's more comparisons to be made even. Making sure your dance partner has a good set of shoes so she (or he) doesn't trip and fall, haha.
 
Good on you Daboo, if not for what the bible teaches and my attempts at applying it I would likely be on the other side of the bars the way my misspent youth was going. Be safe in those lands, but then you have a solid Plan-B. My Daughter In law once removed does prison work at a women's high security around Chico, CA. Lots of stories but fulfillment. My son used to live right at the bottom of the hill from the Monroe complex, you DID NOT answer a knock on the door without filling your fist....
 
Daboo said:
I've been going to the Washington State Reformatory (WSR) in Monroe for 17 years.  Every time I say that name, I'm sure the listener thinks this is where they put teenagers who steal hubcaps.  :D  Not quite.  When I first got there, most of the inmates were there for murder.  I volunteered for seven years at the Snohomish County Jail.  I'd come in and open my Bible on the table and the guys would come on over.  I have a lot of stories I could share from there.

I'm still going to WSR, and still involved with the Kairos ministry there.  I'm involved in a few other things as well now.  I sponsor an outreach concert once a month, and an inmate planned church service too.  I've been teaching a seminary program there for four years called TUMI, The Urban Ministry Institute.  And I am the Coordinator for that program in another prison at Monroe, Twin Rivers.  Most people think there's only one prison in Monroe.  There's actually five.

I also get involved in international mission trips.  I started going with a group, Continents for Christ, that teaches pastors in places none of the other mission groups goes to.  Two weeks after we got back to the states, one of the pastors was killed by a Muslim in the same area we used to drive through.  I'm leaving Wednesday evening to go to Thailand with this group...although "group" is a misleading term this time.  It'll be only myself and one other guy.  I've also been on two mission trips with a group based out of Woodinville, Prisoners for Christ.  They go to the prisons and jails to reach the inmates there with the Gospel message.  On the last trip to the Philippines, we baptized about 70 men and women in a 55 gallon drum there in the jail.  Where there's a will, there's a way as the saying goes.  :D

That same group, PFC, is who I do most of my local ministry through.  The concert and the TUMI program.  They're in a lot of the local and statewide prisons and jails.  If you're interested, send me a PM and I'll put you in touch.

Chris
Click to expand...

PTL ! I too am involved in prison ministry, as a part of Servant Riders' Ministries for the Alabama Dept of Corrections. Keep up the ministry and service!!!
 
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