"Have Some Cake....It's your Birthday...."

Go ahead, have some cake with me, it's my birthday. At the Cherbourg Live Cafe, with its red velvet booths, stage lights and distinct feeling of a disco I walked in, alone...don't ask me why, but birthdays are not something I party nor do I cry about. Still, I felt good as the server and I spoke about travels and adventures. He had lived in Poland for 4 years and had good command of the English language.

Before I arrived at Cherbourg, I found the oddest tiles. They were out of place and didn't seem to fit in with the surroundings. Like three little wall flowers on a wall by the lift.

The strange thing about these three darlings, is they didn't even fit with each other. It was strange enough to catch my eye and I dropped my bag and captured them...as though they were a hidden message for something else. I smiled as though I found a trophy without the hunt, now it was time for a meal. And as I looked up at the Cherbourg Live Cafe, it was one of those times where I should have just went right in, instead of the two other places I went to. That is the strange thing about me, I will walk right into a place...look around, and if I don't like it...I just walk out.

I suppose most people are really that way, but still, it is like going into someone's home and walking right out. If the feeling isn't right, there really isn't much you can do about it. I honestly don't know what it was about the Cherbourg...it was a cross between disco and cheesy. The interior screamed out 1970s with a 1990s twist. In other words...a great set for a Quentin Tarantino movie. I could picture John Travolta in the place. That is just how wonderfully tacky it was. You just expect something to happen here.

Back to the server, who also motioned to a slip of paper where I could make a song request...anything I wanted he told me. "Anything?" I thought to myself how obscure could I make this? What three songs would you pick in South Korea? So I wrote down my list.
At Last, Etta James, My Man (Mon Homme) by Billie Holliday and an easy one...anything by Abba (don't give me grief folks...some 1970s disco music to go with the decor).

Within 3 seconds...I heard "Momma Mia" piping through. Yes, he smiled as if he had found the cure for cancer. Ah, the marvel of the internet...it is that easy to have whatever you want at your finger tips. In any event I sipped my drink with great appreciation and cheerfully listened to the songs play one after the other. God, I love Jazz, but the mood was erased when the oddly familiar sound of the Korean version of "Happy Birthday" came piping through. Good God...smile and just nod. Relief was about to come...judging by the looks of the lone guitar hero...I wasn't quite sure what I was going to hear. Close your eyes...remember there was this guy with dark sunglasses...Roy Orbison...who had a voice...well, if you don't remember or know of him...play his music kiddies. For those of you who do remember....go one step further...picture him singing in Korean. Roy was not the glam kind of guy, but he had an amazing voice.

Korean Roy... had stage presence like you wouldn't believe. And I am thinking...I can't believe I am listening to this guy sing! And to finish...he pulled off a great rendition of The Beatles....'Let it Be' (In English).

No matter where in the world you are. Walk out the door and go do something. This was the best way to end my vacation...on my birthday.

Belly Dancing into my next year of life...

One week from Sunday, I will turn 43. That is fact and not fiction. I also realize that I am more fortunate than others when it comes to physical health and stamina in my age group...since the obesity epidemic has hit the West with both barrels. I have often looked at my birthdays as my New Year's Day...of what I want to do. Not that I have to wait until that day approaches on the calendar to start something new, but it is a time for me to reflect on what I haven't done yet....that I have wanted to do. That thought propelled me into a belly dancing studio.

As I was on my way to work, I happened to pause and look up...and see the unmistakable silhouette of a belly dancer that stopped me cold. All day long I waited for the day to be over with...not because it was the start of a weekend...but the start of something else. On the surface, this could be about just staying young...but isn't it really just a mindset. I do things all of the time that people say I should be able to do 'at my age'. Most of the time I find it is because other people just won't do those things for themselves.
Yes, an American in Korea, taking belly dancing lessons....at an age when most have settled. I have committed to five months of lessons before I depart. The instructor doesn't speak a word of English, but I smiled. That doesn't matter. Dance is a language of the body. A universal one.

Somehow we manged to communicate all of the details to each other, concentrating on the other 70 percent of communication. I made a new friend today...who will be my teacher. If you want to look young...move...do...LIVE. This is more potent than any plastic surgery or shot of botox. I don't care what the calendar says...life is about doing everything you said you would.

Now, to master the dance of the seven veils.