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Over in the corner, smiling and
tapping his foot, was Pop Walker. Pop and several other residents of
the Rest of Your Life retirement home were there to enjoy the dance
and celebrate the arrival of summer. Pop has a hard time with his
memory, these days, but always forgets things with a smile.
“Pop,” said Mrs. Doc, “how about a dance?”
“Why sure … uh?”
“Mrs. Doc.”
“Right. Mrs. Doc.”
There are some who say Mrs. Doc has an actual first name, but you
know how rumors are spread.
Now Pop had learned to waltz back when more people did it, and the
decades had smoothed his dance steps with the fine sanding of time.
It was a pleasure for Mrs. Doc to go around the floor with him.
She smiled and winked at her husband as she and Pop danced by, and
Doc grinned and swirled a fancy di-do with Ardis, just to show off.
Then she and Pop got closer to the bandstand and there was Dud
Campbell playing his accordion. He looked happy and surrealistic in
the muted reddish lights on the stage. Next to him sat Carla
Martinez, playing rhythm guitar and smiling out on her town and her
life. Jim Albertson was up there, too, playing the waltz’s melody on
the harmonica, and trading the lead with Jasper Blankenship on his
fiddle.
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As she and Pop Walker danced away,
the bandstand receded in a blur of light and sound. Passing like
ships in the night were Dewey Decker with Mavis from the Mule Barn
truck stop. Mavis’s hair is growing back in since the treatments,
giving everyone in the valley just one more reason to be thankful.
Randy Jones and Katie Burchell sailed by on wings of love.
The waltz ended and Pop walked Mrs. Doc to her seat.
“Thanks for the dance, er … Honey,” he said.
“Thank you, Pop.”
[Text from file received from
Slim Randles]
Brought to you by
Chilkoot Charlie’s Saloon in Spenard, Alaska. Tell them hi for me,
will you?
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