The Captain's Club, where we've been playing open mic every Sunday for months, has begun to feel very much like our little version of "Cheers." All the usual suspects were there, even a table full of my amigos from AA and Al-Anon who sipped limonadas and Cokes and went home to bed early.
Francisco and I did "Gracias a La Vida," (thanks to life, which has given me so much...), a perfect New Year's song, as well as "The Rose," which also fit pretty well:
It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to danceI talked with my friends Charlie and Alma (Charlie in English, Alma in Spanish) about deseos (desires) for 2009. First off, I lamented that I had been in Guaymas yesterday and completely forgot to buy red and yellow underwear! Red for love, yellow for prosperity. I did have the uvas (grapes) stashed at home in the fridge for the 12 deseos, though I'd be making them after midnight. Hope it still counts.
It's the dream afraid of waking that never takes a chance
It's the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give
And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live.
Alma and I have one item in common on our lists: to go dancing. She and I will go to Tequila's, a place so close to my house on Saturday nights I can name that tune from my bathroom, and dance the night away. While talking about dancing and dancing venues I looked up and my Aussie friend Dave was beckoning me...to dance! Francisco had turned "The Little Drummer Boy" (of all things) into a rockin' danceable song and I kicked off my shoes and boogied. Oh, joy! Talk about instant gratification!
Dave wants to go out dancing with me again, before he heads back to Australia to visit family, and I can go enjoy myself guilt-free because he's part of a gay couple but his partner, like mine, is not a dancer. No, Jolea, he doesn't sweat glitter, in fact he was married 33 years, but he does wear amazing jewelry.
My favorite moment: at midnight we all crowded out onto the porch with glasses of sickeningly sweet Mexican champagne, wearing our paper hats, blowing our cardboard horns and waving sparklers, watching someone set off fireworks in the parking lot, and hugging everyone in sight.
My other desires for 2009:
- Make mucho progress with my Spanish so I can chat with Alma and my other Mexican friends all night without having to paste that phony "suuuuure, I understand every word you're saying" expression on my face.
- Take on every possible opportunity to sing. This means memorizing more songs so I don't have to carry my music folder with me everywhere I go. But that's good for the brain, right?
- See more of Mexico even if not by boat. I could even take a bus, like my dear departed friend Andee used to do. Maybe I'll make stops to meet my fellow bloggers, who are scattered all over Mexico!
- Wrestle that novel in my computer into submission and whip it into shape.
- Become a true frugalista (as Mexico Bob puts it) and improve my financial outlook no matter how much of a mess the economy is in.
- Go vegetarian. Just veggies, TVP, maybe some dairy and eggs. Not even seafood.
Here's the beach where I'm going. Look close, you can see a sailboat on the horizon. The Capt is somewhere out there, heading for La Paz. Happy New Year, cariño, wherever you are.