The Dance

 I  will never forget the fourth grade maypole dance. It was held in the same packed gym that my Mom pulled my pants down for the Santa pageant. We had been practicing for weeks. My partner is still a dear friend and we worked hard to get the steps right for the maypole waltz. Our class started out the evenings performance with the maypole dance. About ten steps into the waltz, I stepped on my partners skirt thus causing her hoop to come loose. Our moves turned from grace to some sort of dyslectic shagging twist. We made it through the waltz thanks to my partners heroic efforts to keep the hoop from hitting the ground. We both however wished we could disappear .