My mom and dad married not for love but stability. They'd both had horrible childhoods and wanted to do better for their family. While my brothers and I never went hungry, "no" and " we can't afford it" were common answers to our wanting something. We also never saw any signs of real affection between our parents - lots of friction, but no hugs or kisses.
I escaped from home my senior year in high school, and was an exchange student in the Philippines. Boy did that year change me (another blog). Anyway, my mom's sister's husband died right before christmas the year I came home. We decided a few weeks later that she needed to be cheered up. Since my aunt, my mom, and their brother all loved to dance, we went out to a place with a band. My dad, even though he was a great ice and roller skater, did not know how to dance and had resisited my mom's efforts to get him to learn.
At one point in the evening, he was alone at the table with my aunt. "Aren't you supposed to be cheering me up" she asked. My dad replied "yes, but I can't dance", to which she said "I'll teach you". She shamed him into trying and it was the best thing she ever did. Within minutes she'd taught him a couple of simple steps and he was hooked. He wore us out that night and several others.
For weeks after that he'd come home on his short lunch break, wolf down a sandwich, then he and my mom would dance until he had to go back to work. For the first time in my life I saw them enjoying each others company. They started to go out one night each weekend to dance. This from people who'd previously gone out together once a year. One night I even remember them trying to come into the house quietly and giggling! for people who'd never shown any real affection, that was neat!
Luckily, they made lots of good memories for a few months, as my dad was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer soon after.
Though it's not from my "era" I still love big band music.
