I Wanna Be On Soul Train!

What did you want to be when you grew up?  Or, for that matter, what do you want to be when you grow up?

I had a list of things I wanted to do and be. Yesterday, driving in the car with Steve I mentioned the fact that I had never learned to whistle - LOUD!  My mom had a friend who could split your ears when she whistled and I vowed that when I was a grown up, I would whistle just like Elsie.  I can barely get a tweet out.  It's really quite disappointing.

Following, is a list of things I really wanted to do.  I don't know if they were the typical dreams of suburban California girls in the 70's, but they were my dreams.

~ I really wanted to be a race car driver.  My first car was a stick shift.  My dad taught me how to drive it.  He even taught me how to burn rubber, then had the nerve to get mad at me after I peeled out of the church parking lot in front of the whole congregation following church one Sunday morning.

Parents are so inconsistent!

~ I wanted to, no I needed to meet Peter Frampton,

because, I knew, once he got a look at me in my sweet ride...

it would be game over.  He would be happy with nobody else but me.  I was not deterred by the fact that he was four inches shorter than me.  After all, this was the 70's.  He could wear platform shoes!

~ This leads to my next big dream - being the lead singer in a girl band.  I had the hair.  I had the Chemin de Fer bell bottom jeans.  I have no idea why this never happened.

~ Now, don't laugh out loud when you read this one.  When I was in high school I really wanted to be a Soul Train dancer.  Forget American Bandstand.  On Saturday mornings, my friend Tamara and I would race to the television to watch the Soul Train dancers and try to imitate their moves.  Remember, Sharon?  Plus, nobody was cooler than Don Cornelius.  I lived in the Central Valley at the time and we plotted ways we could get to LA for our big chance at Soul Train fame.

For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of growing up with this epic show, here's a short clip.




Now that you have had a taste of this amazing program that shaped my youth, you may be asking these questions.  "Who did she think she was back then - the girl with the big 'fro or the styling lady in pink doing the splits?"

Yes, I'm afraid I was clearly suffering from delusions of funk.

Okay, so it is a little embarrassing that none of my dreams involved solving the world hunger crisis, meeting Mother Theresa or obtaining a PhD, but I'm just keeping it real here.

Clearly I did not achieve these childhood dreams, but I'm okay with that.  I dance around the house, sing loudly and often and have my Stephen instead of Peter.  I have been known to race now and then, but have curbed my inclinations in that area to a great degree.

There is one thing, however that still bugs me.  I want to learn to whistle!  I would love to be at the beach. see my kids half a mile away and just split the air with a noise that sends them running.  I don't know if it's possible to learn, but I'm going to try.  And when I succeed, you will be the first to know!

BTW,
Last night we discovered a new dance show on Hulu called The LXD.  It's filmed in a narrative style with a story line from one episode to the next.  The dancing is off the hook.  The music is great and the production quality is top-notch.  We sat with the kids and watched all nine episodes.  If you love music or dancing I highly recommend it.  It's suitable for all ages. maybe a bit intense for younger kids.  Perhaps it will inspire your dream to dance!