Singing the Blues in Tunis, Tunisia Feb 27

Nothing good to report in Tunis. Here is the adventure from yesterday.

I reserved a hotel in the absolute center of the riots. The taxi driver could  not take me there. All the streets were blocked with riots.  He put me to the street and told me to walk that way. As I tried to walk people, were screaming for me to go back. A school teacher put me in his car and tried to get me to the hotel. But we stille could not get to the hotel without passing through crowds.   Many people were beaten,  had bloodied noses, and were stampedeing in the streets.

Nobody cared that I was there or that I was American. They were trying to help get me out of there. The Tunis people only  cared about protesting the  government. What an experience! Finally I had to give up on my hotel and find another for the night.

My typical traveling style is stay near the city center, so I am near public transportation that can get me to  various attractions.

 I did not make a good hotel choice this time!!

Todays adventure:

I am just stuck in my hotel. Earlier today I heard a few follies of machine gun fire, but this afternoon, a 7 vehicle police convoy came down the street  pictured. Military individuals were firing their machine guns to clear the road. I went and sat in the bathroom because I wanted more walls to shield me from stray bullets.

When I was taking these pictures from the window (tenth floor), the soldiers below ordered me to shut my windows.

A helecopter circled the city center all day. The heart of the protest is near the end point of the pictured street. I saw black smoke at various times throughout the day. I think the helecopter was dropping something to disperse the crowd.

I tried to move hotels earlier today, but I had no luck. I hope I can get out of the city center tomorrow.

I only wanted to post positive things!!  But this is how things have unfolded thus far.

I can't find any Jazzercise here!! 

Off to Tunis, Tunisia Feb 25, 2011

I am off to Tunis, Tunisia today. I really think it is not wise. Many are fleeing Libya through Tunis; and, of course, Tunisia is having their own struggles protesting their government. I booked this flight three months ago thinking Tunisia was a very safe place to visit.

When Kelli died, I did not care so much what happened to me. However, recently, I have had so much fun at so many Jazzercise classes. Suddenly I care about my well being. I want more of the same!

Most likely I will have fun and no problems. I hope I am posting pictures daily.

1st Annual Jazzn Jam Baton Rouge: Jan 29!

1st Annual Jazz n' Jam for SMA research

And in a blink of an eye it was over.  Now I have to wait another year to convene in mass with my Jazzercise friends of Louisiana.
I have received notice that next year is set for January 28.

Word, I heard, was that $30,000 was raised this year.

So what was the money for?

From Families of SMA website:

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is the number one genetic killer of children under the age of two.  SMA is an inherited and often fatal disease that destroys the nerves controlling voluntary muscle movement, which affects crawling, walking, head and neck control, and even swallowing.  Two new-born children are affected each day in the United States, approximately 1 in 6,000 live births.  One in every 40 people carries the gene that causes SMA, which means there are more than seven million carriers in the United States alone.  Currently there is no treatment or cure.

On January 29, the LSU Student Recreation Complex was a playground for the young at heart.  Every child wants to play.

Here is a mention of my silly childhood.

 ----I had a fantastic childhood until the age of ten, at which time, I found myself in a Tennessee tobacco field.  My thoughts said, “Wait a minute, this isn’t quite the same kind of fun that I experienced at the age of nine.  I still want to play”.  I am not saying my late childhood was bad.  But I liked hitting baseballs more than chopping tobacco!---- My closest neighbor was a mile away.  There weren’t any girls around back then.  Hence my need to overcompensate now!:)

Life comes with ups and downs, but the desire to have playful fun remains constantly high.  My experience is that Jazzercisers don’t live by the same definition of being grown up.   They still want to go out to the playground.   Jazzercise is the playground that fills that need.

During the event, it was a treat to see young people in action.

 Jr. Jazzercisers from St Francisville lit up the stage.  I am looking forward to bringing my truck to St Francisville for some Timi Time.  Maybe that sounds bad.  But Timi showed a whole lot of style while she was having fun.   Sorry I missed your location over the years.

A quick stepping competition jump rope team from Parkview Baptist School did tantalizing and synchronized feats showing sensational athlete ability and timing.  And one of the members is the son of an instructor, Jennifer Breaux!     (If I am posting incorrect information, please correct me.)

From the Parkview website:

For 25 years, Heart ‘n Soul has been the American Heart Association’s elite demonstration team in the South. The team performs at numerous schools each year, encouraging kids to embrace heart-healthy habits and inspiring them to participate in the Jump Rope for Heart program, a fundraising effort of the American Heart Association.

The magician’s doves were flying about the sports complex.  Yes, there was a magician for the children!  ----I’m a child.  I wanted to see the magician too, but I missed it.    Maybe I will next year.

Krista’s beautiful children worked the room with smiles.  Their presence was incredible.

Yvonne Dupont was the first to dangle this fantastic event as a carrot in front of my eyes.  I was so worried, though, that I would be a distraction to the event.  I went back to Yvonne three times asking if it would be best if I remained low keyed and hidden in the back somewhere.  --- Yvonne replied in an email, “NOOOOO!  Please don't be apprehensive!!”.

I tried to dance with everybody I knew from Sherwood Forest and on facebook.  But I know I missed a few.  I know I missed a dance with Monica from Sherwood Forest.  You caught my eye in the front and middle part of the room.  But I never made it to you.  Please forgive me.

Where was Rachel McG?  Were your there?  I meant to seek you out to meet and to dance with you also.

Here is my hope for next year.

I hope that the room is so crowded and the event is such a reoccurring success that I have to apologize many times over to many Jazzercisers for neglecting them on the Jazzercise dance floor!   I guess that seems like a misguided hope.  But fruition of such a hope will indicate that more people were there and that much more awareness and money will be attained for the SMA cause.

Somebody tell Tim I’m not good at chest popping!  I guess, if I had a big muscular chest, I’d be popping it too.  But for now, I have to stick with the feet thing.  However, as for the ladies and this choreography:   Natasha and Shalendra have a thorough understanding of the Tim Roberts style of shimmy, shaking, and upper body quaking.  As the rest of us fell out, we all enjoyed watching the two of you dance!

Thank you Krista for the efforts you put forth to create a great time for so many.  Thank you to Yvonne and Julie for chauffeuring me around and ensuring that I had a wonderful time.   Thank you to Ani for the dance of many smiles. Thank you to Patti for song.   Thank you to Danna Jo and Brenda  for the fun past and future.  Thank you to all my Sherwood Forest friends;  to Beth, to Prairieville, to Tammy, to Jones Creek, to the Sherwood sisters, to Loraine... I am forgetting somebody!!  Help me.  Thank you to everybody that needs to be thanked that I don’t know about.:)

Recess anybody?  Jan 28, 2012.  I’ll meet you at the playground in Baton Rouge.

Dec 14, 2010 Sherwood Forest Jazzercise, Yvonne Dupont

This was the most fun I have ever, ever ever ever had at Jazzercise. Perhaps I shouldn't say this because 2500 other instructors may be wondering what you did so well. --- It was your students! (well,You too!) For all these years I always felt I had to be shy and reserved. I pretty much always stay where I put my water bottle down....
--I don't know what came over me. --You were making a fuss over me. They were making a fuss over me. It made me want to interact with the whole class. I was feeling no shy. Thank you Yvonne and Sherwood Forest for the fun. --Perhaps you unleashed a bad thing. We'll see what happens tomorrow in Missouri.

I don't know what everybody sees. I see a chubby, silly truck driver. But if people keep liking it, I'll keep doing.

Jan 28, Bear Creek Copperfield: Calgary reflections

For several years, when I tell people I am going to Houston, Jazzercisers always say to go and see Mary Wadsworth.

Bear Creek Copperfield has had a face lift since my previous visit. Now they have a free standing building with a large stone Jazzercise sign at the street. My truck was proud to be parked in this parking lot. I thought it looked really nice as a backdrop to that sign. However, it seems local trucks have tried to use this parking lot before with intentions other than Jazzercise. Funny, as I was happily Jazzercising away with instructor Lisa (who started Jazzercising at the age of 16), it was considered that my truck needed to tow or go! --- It was just a fleeting thing. The class managers vouched for the truck, and I rocked on for a little while longer with Jo. – (I heard Jo’s British accent, and I was definitely staying for part of a second class.)

Over the years, there have been a number of Jazzercise ladies that have had to deal with a stranded Jim. A favored story of mine is the time I delivered a truck to Calgary, Alberta.  After my delivery, I was determined to take class in Calgary.  I took light rail, a city bus, and then I walked in the winter through snow covered sidewalks to get to class. There was no internet for me in those days. I had to call the city metro help line to get a transportation route. I showed up at Judy E’s class carrying luggage.

I guess my feet made a good impression that evening. My next destination was the regional Greyhound bus station. (My sister lives in Prince George, BC; and I was busing it over the mountains.) I did not have a clue how I was going to get to the bus station, but my new favorite Canadian helped me out. Not only did she take me to the bus station, but she gave me my first tour of the city of Calgary. And from her recommendation of the Calgary Stampede, I later returned and visited her at a time when I wasn’t so pitiful.

Now, I don’t recommended taking in every stray truck driver that brings his luggage to your Jazzercise class. Please don’t do that. But, for some reason, over the years, these types of good things have happened to me.

I don’t have much to worry about. I fully expect that someday I will walk out of class to see my truck being pulled out of a church or business parking lot. It is something I ponder before many classes. My backup plan for Bear Creek this week was class manager LH. I would have given her puppy dog eyes, “will you please take me to the towed vehicle garage?”.

It was good to see instructor Melissa again. I have taken her class before.  Wonderful classes with Lisa and then with Jo.   Great time at Bear Creek. Beautiful facility. Everyone should pay it a visit.
But, I have still never met Mary.

Feb 2: Nicholasville, KY Jazzercise

The Wildcats are restless in Nicholasville, KY. I now know what it must feel like to be in Rupp Arena on game night. Jazzercise in Nicholasville surely must be similar. The two classes were so good that I wanted to have a group hug with the girls and sing “My Old Kentucky Home” before leaving with tears in my eyes.

Life can go so fast. Perhaps a month ago, I friend requested Michele. A week ago, she suggests I visit Nicholasville. Wednesday night, I walk in the door; and there she is! Is that Steeler magic?
Just before class, I rushed into Walmart with a desire to wear a Pittsburgh Steeler shirt to class just for Michele. I thought Walmart would surely be ready for the Super Bowl! --Well they weren’t. So I had to grab whatever I could find that was black and “goldish”. A silly smiley face, I guess that suits me.

Ashley did a routine, “This Boy’s Fire”, especially for me. Since the routine was special for me, I had to look up the lyrics. Here are a few.

Dip me in water cause this boy’s fire:  He’s got a hold on me:  Feeling nothing normal from your body put it on me: Not just physically but mentally, and all on me

I am just documenting the words of the song.:) Hurry and rehab that ankle Michele! My embers are still smoldering for Nicholasville. One of the Wildcats behind me was wearing a big blue shirt that said she married a Tennessean. Good choice!!

Thank you so much for your energy, Ashley. She greeted me with “we are so stoked that you are here”. It was immediately declared that a front row spot was reserved for me.

Sing Peggy Sing. I think everybody was singing and shouting to the music. Every Jazzercise class has its own personality. The personality of this class was “make some-- I love life-- noise”.

Ashley’s class put me in the tired zone, but instructor Erica and Jennifer D suggested I go another Jazzercise round with the later class. (I was actually lingering hoping that someone would suggest I stay. I play a tired act a lot, but I can usually find a little more energy when the beat of the music starts.)

I believe US 27 drivers heard Erica’s class scream when they drove by Nicholasville Jazzercise Wednesday night. They surely must have done a double take. “Did I just pass Rupp Arena?”

Michele’s Quote: “So you know you're gonna have to come back after I'm back teaching full time in another month so that you can take a full class with me! Deal?? :)”

I saw the dazzle in your eyes when you were teaching your two routines. I could tell how much you love it. I worried all the way to Knoxville that you over did it on your ankle. Deal Michele!

Richmond Jazzercise Center: We Steamed up the windows on Feb 9.

We steamed up the windows in Richmond, KY.

It was a snowy afternoon in Central Kentucky. The schools closed early. The crowd was down, but the passion of those present reverberated throughout the adjoining hours.

4:15 with Janie, April, Lisa, Jill and Jim.
5:30 with Allison, Kim, Evelyn, Janie, and Jim.

Things got steamy inside! That is all I am going to say about that.

Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.
Martha Graham

Janie has the following phrase posted on the wall of her Jazzercise Center:

“Dance to the music of your dreams the step will bring the joy”

To me this is an indication of Janie’s passion, and how she finds her joy within her passion. I can’t recant or recall it exactly, but Janie told me the story of her passion to have Jazzercise in her life. Over a short period of time it culminated into her having a center with nine instructors, 33 classes a week, and coming expansion to a nearby city!

When I enter a Jazzercise class, I arrive knowing there will be instructors and students present.
It is tough to learn about people’s lives in one or two hours, but I like to try to take away a little piece of information about the individuals that I meet.

Allison battled the snow and traffic to continue on with the second class of the afternoon. I almost left the center knowing just the basics about Allison. (The basics being she is a great instructor who is fun to dance with.) However, just at the last second something else slipped out that made her a person in the eyes of a stranger.

Allison is a participating member of Team in Training. (see Teamintraining.org)

From the Team in Training website:

TNT is the world's largest endurance sports training program, preparing people of all athletic abilities to run or walk a 26.2-mile marathon or a 13.1-mile half marathon, or to complete a 100-mile (century) bike ride or a triathlon. In return for professional training and travel to one of many national event sites, participants raise valuable funds to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS's) mission.

Allison runs half marathons, full marathon, and does the triathlon. If you look at her facebook page, it is loaded with photos of her athletic achievements in motion. I bow to the endurance athletes; and in general, I wonder what drives them. But to hear Allison talk, she is driven by the cause of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I wondered to myself if her life or the life of friends, or family has ever been affected in some way by one of the two. ---Regardless, I saw her eyes light up when she said she raised $3000, and she was able to participate in an event in San Diego. Please Facebook Allison Harris to keep track of her efforts.

Also, her facebook page shows her with an Air Force gentleman. Not only Allison, but also those close to her are a blessing to our country and society!

We had some young men in training at Richmond Jazzerciser. Because of the snow, in the first class, there were more boys than girls. Lisa had her male toddler twins present. They were wearing shirts that said, “daddy knows a lot, but mommy knows everything”. April had her two sons present also. I guess they will all want some new Jazzercise shoes for Christmas next year.

Sorry I missed you Leta. I know you are proud of your daughter.

Evelyn, Kim, Jill, April, Lisa, and Janie; lets heat things up again in the future.

Janie, don’t tell David I was doing the Sugarland walk holding your hand!! I could not help myself.

In the fashion of the originator, Richmond is alive with another great mother/ daughter Jazzercising Duo! Janie’s daughter teaches Jazzercise too!

Janie, thank you so much for inviting me to your Richmond Center. I had a fabulous time.  You were a fun person to be around.  The snow will never slow us down!  The music and the step brought us joy!!