Great Dancer Too Far

The year was 1959, Loretta Dennison lived in the house behind ours for a few years. She went to the Assumption Catholic School so we only saw her here in the neighborhood. I was talking to her one day and the subject of dancing came up and how much I loved to dance. Then she told me about her cousin who also loved to dance. That led to what was like a blind date of sorts. Loretta and her cousin would be at Woodlands Park and I would be there with a friend. We could dance and talk to get to know each other.

At the dance, I met Linda and she was a great dancer. A girl who quickly learns what the guy might do next with his steps makes the guy look like he is a good dancer. We danced to so many songs that night that I lost track of Loretta and my friend. Linda went to school downtown at Incarnate Word and lived on the East side of town. She had an aunt who lived close to downtown, and she sometimes stayed with her, depending on what was going on at school.

I remember picking Linda up after school for one of our dates and then taking her to her Aunt’s house after the date. Other times, I would pick her up at her Aunt’s house and go to a movie downtown and then for a walk where we would talk about the things going on in our worlds. I learned a lot about Catholic traditions and about her family during those talks. Other than her cousin, Loretta, we had no common friends, but she was a sweet girl who was fun to be with.

On our last date, I picked up Linda at her Aunt’s house. We went to eat then a movie downtown and a short walk. That night I took Linda home to her house and was surprised at how far it was from downtown. She lived beyond where the Gulfgate Mall is and the freeways we see today did not exist back then. As we were driving to her house, I kept thinking about how far it was and thinking that my Dad might be checking the mileage before each of my dates. I always tried to make sure that there was a little more gas in the car when I got home than when I left so Dad would not be upset about the gas left in the tank.

When we got to her house, I brought up my concern about the distance and how that might affect our relationship. From her view, she already went to school downtown and did not have football games or other school events that would be near where she lived. I had never met her parents and I could not see how I could take her to any of my school events without real issues. It was after 2:30 am when I got home that night and I expected that I would be in trouble for getting home so late.

Fortunately, I did not get questioned about the time or the distance; however, the distance was just too far for our relationship to continue. I did love dancing with Linda and being with her.

Buddy Holly – Everyday