I Write Short Stories

*Randy, The Dancing Machine... ~FYI:  Spacing on EP is a little strange today hence the weird spacing ~                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           I witnessed Randy being bullied more times than I can count when I was in high school.   Randy was 'that kid' that was an easy target.  He was taller and bigger that most of his schoolmates but that didn't deter kids from picking on him.  He wore thick glasses, his hair was usually greasy looking, he had perpetual acne, in need of braces and with a wardrobe that looked like he went shopping at his elderly grandfather's closet.  Always outdated and out of style polyester pants with an extremely high waist but legs that were too short for him ("flood pants" is what we called them).            It was common to come out of a class and see and hear a ruckus going on up the hall.  It was also common to see Randy in the middle of a huge circle of kids, being beaten up by one of the bullies that plagued him and hearing laughter and excitement coming from the spectators.   When Randy wasn't being bullied or getting beaten up, you'd see him quickly walking down the hall, always with his head down (as to not make eye contact with anyone), trying desperately not to get noticed just so he could make it to his next class without being preyed upon.  I remembered asking one of my classmates why Randy was always getting picked on and his reply was "Because he's Randy Thimons and it's fun".    Stupid, stupid kids.                  I guess Randy got some relief after graduation by not having to face those bullies every day and I always hoped he found pleasure in the fact that he was ranked one of the highest scoring kids in our graduation class with straight A's.                                                          A few years later I was working the 4-12pm shift at a local nursing home and my friend Karen would pick me up after work and we'd head out to a little local nightclub that was in the Holiday Inn a couple miles outside of town.  I would change in the car and once we go to the hotel, we'd slip into the ladies' room to primp, put on makeup, straighten our clothes, and comb and spray our hair.  It was the 80's so we sure did love our 'big hair'.  After we would ask each other if we looked alright, we'd head inside and find a table, get a drink, check out the cute guys (who were usually against the wall with beers in hand, checking out all the pretty girls on the dance floor) and wait for a good song to get up and dance to.                  Because we were getting there so late, the place was usually hopping, especially on Saturday nights.  It was difficult to find an empty table and the dance floor was usually packed but we didn't care.  We were lookin' good and ready to have some fun.                                     One night, we could see a group of people all dancing together toward the back of the dance floor and everyone was clapping along with the music and enjoying themselves.  When Karen and I made our way toward the back, we could see a lone dancer in the middle and to my surprise it was Randy Thimons from high school.  Randy was dancing away, smiling, sweating, enjoying himself with his head held high.  No more avoiding eye contact with anyone.  Everyone around him was enjoying his happiness, smiling and chanting "Go Randy!  Go Randy!  Go Go Go Randy!"                                                                                 Randy was a common fixture at that place.  Everyone knew his name but for good reason.  Because he was the one who loved to dance.  Guys would high five him on a regular basis, women would sometimes buy him a drink or dance with him and people would smile when he would walk through the doors.                                                                                         It was such a drastic difference from how he was treated in high school.  Everyone was so proud to be in his company and he loved it.  You could see it in his face how good it was being accepted, being admired and being popular.  Randy became quite the dancing machine.    I was grateful that I got to see that he finally was able to look up and be seen.  He no longer walked with his head hanging down with fear.  He didn't need to avoid anyone or anything as long as there was music.  Randy could walk with his head held high!   He was no longer 'that kid'.  To this day I can still hear the crowd yelling,  "Go Randy!  Go Randy!  Go Go Go Randy!"  and I can't help but smile.