DO YOU WANNA DANCE?

I'm not sure I have much to say about accordions. I just love the above clip art and wanted to use it somewhere in my web log.

Mama Bore learned to play the accordion back in her high school hey days, and I once tried to play her old "squeeze box" but could never get the hang of it. The keys were easy enough, but all the little buttons were a bitch to figure out, and I struggled at pushing and pulling the sides to get the proper air flow. Painful noise was about all I ever got out of it. I don't know whatever happened to Mom's accordion. I'll have to ask her if it's still buried in her bedroom closet in its ratty black case.

I'm a big fan of accordions in polka bands. Back in college, there was a joint outside town called Freckles Melody Inn and another called Danny's Tavern, and both periodically had little polka bands that just raised the roofs. "Beer Barrel Polka," "Just Because," and "Too Fat Polka" were my favorites. Dancing the polka was fun and easy, just a skip step, and it could be done without a partner, which was great for those of us in the crowd who were usually date-less. Of course, having a few pitchers of brewski nearby enhanced the experience.

When Dr. Maureen and I were struggling TV-radio reporters during our lost year in Joplin, we attended something called Ernte Fest at a podunky place in southwest Missouri, dragging along our pal Walter. This was a German harvest festival full of beer, bratwurst, and, best of all, A POLKA BAND!! Now, Maureen and Walter were not the best polka dancers there, but they were definitely the most enthusiastic. I always thought only in movies would you find people parting the dance floor to feature a single couple, but at the Ernte Fest my two pals were the polka queen and king. Of course, giving them the spotlight may just have been a defensive maneuver on the spectators' minds because Walter was tossing and twirling Maureen all over the place. I can still picture them polka-ing in overdrive and can hear her laughing hysterically. Astaire and Rogers, move over!

So, now we all know why I picked out this clip art of the jolly accordion player. He reminds me of some rollicking good times. Roll out the barrel and watch out, honey. I'm feeling some "Coffee Pot Polka" and am ready to get this day moving!