Sunday, February 07, 2010

Who is that guy laughing in the cafeteria? Me

My wife JILL and I are sharing DANCE COMPETITION duties with ANNIKA this season. It was my turn to accompany Annika to today's dance competition, at DYERSVILLE, IOWA.
When we arrived, we learnt it was standing room only for parents in the gym, and Annika wasn't dancing for another three hours.

I decided not to stand and watch kids I didn't know, so while Annika hung out with her dance teammates, I sat in the school cafeteria (with a dozen other parents) and began reading "RENEGADE: THE LIVES AND TALES OF MARK E. SMITH."

Smith, leader of post-punk legends THE FALL, tells his life story and shares his (strong) opinions in the book -- which provides for some entertaining reading.

Here is one of his recollections from childhood:

"I used to stay with this Irish family in Salford. They were helping my mam and dad out. They were lovely people. Always singing Elvis songs and these old Dublin ballads. But they never knew the lyrics, they'd just make them up. Their version of 'All the Young Dudes' was fantastic, better than the original -- 'I'm going to Woolworths, I'm going to shag a cow to death...' Proper lyrics."

I laughed out loud. "Proper lyrics," indeed.

I eventually stood along the side of the gym and watched Annika dance.
I continued to chuckle at Smith's anecdotes as we drove home in the snow.

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