After my wife's death I was totally devastated and hardly left the house for 2 1/2 years.
It started off as a hobby. I was never one to do much fishing and hunting. On occasion I did. I was mostly a homebody with a fairy tale marriage. To tell you the truth I was an egghead growing up. I was a bookworm. I kept my head in books, a sort of introverted type person.
Although many of our members are charter members, our primary commitment remains the determination to provide a friendly and wholesome environment for the recently single person to meet and fellowship with other singles.
Finally Friday's is first and foremost a singles dance. We never solicit married couples to attend. However, we do allow, even encourage, our single members to invite their married friends and relatives to attend as couples together (subject to the club's rules and regulations).
Some people don't want to leave then. They keep asking me to play one more song.
I can't talk about what we've done without mentioning all the work Linda has done. She's the one that has kept us moving in the right direction. She's just got so much energy. She's our chief chef, too. I can't tell you how valuable. I couldn't do without her.
We had one gentleman celebrate his 70th birthday during our last dance (in January).
I have never played ballroom dancing before. As a matter of fact, I have strictly avoided it. I think it is a beautiful dance but I don't think it accommodates itself to singles. So many people get competitive over it. I haven't had it, but we're going to have it.
We are, as far as I know, the only totally independent singles event in Memphis.
