Last Ball of the season

 

 Saturday Night

Place de la Republique 

Argelès-sur-mer France

There is a temporary platform in front of the Ecole de la Musique, the old mairie, where the saxophone player and two women singers, one in black and one in shimmery white take the stage. It is the last Saturday night ball, where villagers and tourists come to dance. No entry fee. Just come with your dancing shoes ready.

The first song is from my childhood, Don't it make my Brown Eyes Blue and the vocalist is as good as Crystal Gayle. Songs during the evening come from the U.S., UK, France and Spain. There are slow dances, fast dances, the Twist and Texas Line dancing.

Both l'Hostalet and the other bar have extended their tables and waitresses take orders for beer, wine, juices, café and thé. We sit with a Danish friend and later are joined by a couple from Lyon who spend much of their time here. The next table has an Irish friend, a resident, who has her mother and sister visiting from Ireland.

My first ball here was when I bought my retirement home in the late 1980s. I was with friends from Boston and my then 13-year old daughter. 

Over the years we've been to lots of the balls. We see the same people year after year turning the light fantastic. I miss the white-haired man with the mustache curled halfway to his eyes, the mamie who has gone to a rest home in the mountains to be nearer her daughter, the old lady that dances every dance alone. It is almost as if their ghosts are dancing among the living.

Missing this night is the woman hippie we call Hot Cheeks. She's thin, long haired, great body and always dressed in short-short shorts, thus the nickname. Her partner for many years was replaced at another earlier ball.

Also missing is my former neighbor, a security guard who alternates dances with his wife, a short, squat woman and his svelte mistress. I've seen him in the village, so I know he's okay.

Still twirling around is the Chinese man, who knows all the steps and performs them like a professional with his Catalan wife.

My husband was introduced to these dances years ago when we were first together. After years of much-loved singledom, he asked me how my friends would know we were a couple. After all, my interest in finding a partner had been non-existent all the time they had known me. "When I hold your hand," I answered knowing we would be the subject of most of the table talk that night. It is another memory of the balls that I treasure. 

The evening is cool and our dog needs walking, so we leave before the end, stopping at many tables to say good night to friends. The dances will resume next summer continuing decades if not centuries of tradition...even if the music and people change.

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Why the 10 Commandments Should Be Banned in Schools

 

This may offend some people. So much of what is part of our culture is unexamined. It just is there. I am sorry if you are offended, but the education of children is too important for me to be quiet and anything that stops there education and that offends me, especially when those who are narrow minded limit me.

Several states and/or school districts are requiring schools to post the Ten Commandments. There are also more and more places trying to ban books, excellent books, classic books, books that appeal to kids and encourages them to read. The 10 Commandments teach some bad things and limit a child's understanding of the world.

I'm taking the Bible version not the condensed version shown in the art work above. 

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17) 

1. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.

What is wrong with it.

It is too narrow a view of humanity.

There are over 4,000 recognized religions worldwide, but the majority of people adhere to a few major faiths, including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Approximately 85% of the global population identifies with a religion. Teaching kids there is only one god, is a breeding ground of intolerance and over the centuries wars.Teaching the only one god theory is like trying to bake a cake for millions of people using half a teaspoon of sugar.

Throughout history religious wars have been atrocity after atrocity. https://www.ourhistory.org.uk/holy-wars-the-blood-soaked-legacy-of-conflicts-fought-in-the-name-of-christianity. 

2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

What is wrong with it?

Carried to the extreme, all art of living creatures should be destroyed. No statues. Nada.. All statues must be destroyed including incredible art of the Greek, Romans, Japanese, etc. Kids shouldn’t even be allowed Playdough. Probably crayons and paints should go just to be on the safe side, according to this commandment.

3. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

What’s wrong with it?

What will children think when they hear swearing all around them? Although, respect for others should limit taking any god’s name in vain. It also would be good to teach children to express themselves in a more creative manner.

4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates."

What’s wrong (right) with it?

When kids are taken to the mall on Sunday, will they worry their parents are sinning? Does that mean they can't do homework on Sunday. What about religions where Friday or Saturday is their holy day?

However, there is merit to a down day. “Sunday work is detrimental to physical, mental, and social well-being, especially when flexible working hours are limited. a study conducted by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Gender Research at the University of Bern” reports. Most stores and businesses are closed on Sundays in Switzerland, which is rated 17th by the https://compareeconomy.com/ranking Personally, I love not being able to shop 24/7 for its calmness. I loved when on Sunday my then partner (a workaholic during the week) and I walked in the woods with our dogs and ran into families of many generations sharing nature together. 

5. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”

What’s right with this?

I don’t know if respecting your parents has any connection to longevity, but the basic idea of obeying parents is good, assuming your parents aren’t abusive. It would be nice if all families were happy and well balanced, but there are too many that aren’t. 

6. “You shall not murder.”

What is right with this? Where are the problems?

Not killing is good, but carried to the extreme, no one would serve in the army, navy, police. Maybe guns would finally be controlled. Maybe violence in movies, television, and could be eliminated. And does killing apply to animals, fish?

7. “You shall not commit adultery.”

What’s wrong with this?

SO many books are banned because of direct or indirect references to sexual topics. What is more sexual than adultery? Should first graders be taught about their father cheating on their mother or vice versa? The whole concept of it important to have the 7^th commandment on a schoolroom wall seems weird at best and hypocritical at worse.

8. “You shall not steal.”

What’s right and wrong with this?”

Not stealing is a good value. But think of all the stealing that exists in society starting with stealing Indian lands to all the corporations who have committed thefts in different ways. Do we include that in the lessons of not stealing?

9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

What is wrong with this?”

I’ve always been confused on this. Can you bear false witness against a colleague? A teacher? A grocer all who aren’t your neighbor? I assume false witness means lying but politicians lie all the time. Businesses lie all the time. Can you use number 9 to make sure children learn to tell the truth only about their neighbors?

10. “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.” politicians lie all the time. Businesses lie all the time. Can you use number 9 to make sure children learn to tell the truth only about their neighbors?

What’s wrong with this?

How many kids know what “covet” is. Most city kids don’t have an ox or donkey so if they learn what covet is, can they substitute a new car, swimming pool, etc.? If everyone stopped coveting, maybe the keeping up with the Jones would go away. Maybe the craziness about one brand makes you superior than if you have another brand.

Kids need to learn real history, real geography, real math, real language skills. The values of honesty and consideration should be taught but some wording written in the desert centuries ago and plastered on a schoolroom wall is not the way to do it.