At about 7pm we started seeing some elderly people, folding chairs in hand, going slowly, like a procession, in couples or alone, to the community hall of the camping. Like in the movie, ‘’Encounters of the third kind’’, it reminded us of people going to the same place like zombies. That night, we had never seen such a large variety of chairs, armchairs with so many options, with the table on the side to the spot to put your beer in it (no water, thank you), to the footstool. There are some Square Dancing clubs all over the United States, we have been told and this group called the ‘’vagabonds” had their 90 year old veteran among them.
Square dancing cannot really be explained. The “D.J” shouts out the instructions or suggestions in a funny manner and to the ears of a novice, they sound a little bit strange : circle out, men on the left, swing her real nice, swing through, track two (this is when they make a tchou-tchou noise like a train), ping pong circulate and extend…
It does look complicated although there are about a hundred calls to know. All these retired people seem to be having a blast, they cheer, they laugh, they chit chat, congratulate each other after each dance and of course, they get hot and need a well-deserved pause after each dance. It seems to be good exercise not only for the body but also for the brain.
The ones who are watching seem to be having at least as much fun as the dancers, they cheer, applause and of course, getting a huge ice cream is a must!
By 9:30pm, they start folding their chairs and they head slowly back to their RV, visibly satisfied, still chatting together and promising that they will do this again soon.
