My holiday regret this year has nothing to do with eating too many sweets or prompting relatives with conversation about Donald Trump.
No, my biggest regret this year was not attending any of the live music venues around the area for New Year’s Eve. Every year, we typically hear about the local happenings in Naples, New York, over the holiday season. This year Roots Café was featuring “Rockabilly,” which, before you try to Google it like I did, is a mix of rock and country music that came out of the 50s. Lots of clapping and boot-stomping type stuff, though the 50s leather has definitely been traded for some bonfire flannel.
A few years ago, my mom and aunt attended the Naples Hotel “New Year’s Eve Pricker’s Ball,” which featured some amazing local bands (The Prickers and Cabin Killers) and dozens of their closest friends and neighbors. To this day, my mom talks about the friendly community fun. However, what she really raves about is the dancing; “So many people dancing that the floor was shaking!” Despite the alleged hauntings of the hotel and old wooden floors, I can admit that it sounded like a great party.
There’s something special about a tight community of people who like to dance. When people know each other and frequent the space, it doesn’t matter if there are five people dancing or fifty in a one hundred foot space. The more the merrier as long as you’re wanting to move! Wallflowers can hug the sides of the room if they prefer, but they have to be able to crack a smile when someone they’re talking to starts to bust out some moves right there.
And let me tell you, when people are comfortable in their surroundings, all rules about keeping time and dancing pretty are out the window. “If you’re moving, you’re grooving” is what I was once told by an old woman in Birkenstocks and a poncho. There aren’t even household tasks that I can compare her moves to, but, boy, was she having a blast! That kind of freedom from inhibition (and subsequently judgement), is simply so full of joy. Even if you’re someone whose dancing skills extend to some head bobbing and snapping if you’re feeling feisty, good music and good people are always a recipe for a great time.
Maybe it was the lack-of-winter blues or the gloomy approach of resolution dieting that had me feeling drawn to the quiet New Year’s Eve, but I definitely missed out. Next year, I resolve to break out my dancing boots.
By Halie Solea
