Dear friends, I got a speeding ticket this morning while driving my son to day care. I deserved it, and there was a lot on my mind, but there's no question that I was doing 51 in a 35 zone. However, I know exactly what led to my speeding, and I don't think the police officer would have appreciated the story. But you might!
As we drove, I was practicing square dance calling along with CDs. (With the endless commutes in the Los Angeles area, there's plenty of time for calling practice.) While on the freeway, I was listening to several cuts from Tony Parkes's "Shadrack's Delight" album. The music there is fairly stately, and I was calling and humming along. Then I exited onto a residential street. At that point I made the mistake of switching to Bob Dalsemer's "When the Work's All Done," and put on the final cut "Forward Six and Back." On the album, Bob calls the dance to a much faster tempo than anything on Tony's disc. I was singing along and feeling happy that (after lots of practicing) I was keeping apace, when I realized that I was zooming along with the excitement of the music, and leaving the other cars far behind. I quickly slowed down, but it was too late. I saw the flashing lights behind me. If there's any consolation, at least all four couples got to dance the main figure before I had to pull over and turn off the car. From now on, it'll be "Forward 51 and Back" for me. Sheepishly, Jeremy
