Rockin' with the Oldies

Photo courtesy of  Larry Hartwick.
Seniors know how to work the dance floor.

This post comes two weeks old, but it's worth mentioning. The Soc Hop at the Older Persons' Commission in Rochester was a retro way to spend my Friday night.

While the music, clothes and food were the only elements that I needed to have a good time, a nice bonus was having my gal pal, Jacquelyn, there with me.

When we arrived, we checked out the women who were donning capris and full skirts, and the men who were showcasing leather jackets and duck-tail hair.

After meeting with Meg Baker, we  were quickly put to work, and received some paper wedge caps to help us look a bit more authentic at the refreshment table. I must have a big head, because mine kept slouching off.

Our first duty was to keep the coffee flowing — or I should say, the decaff flowing.

After a couple of requests for regular, I started replying, "We only have decaff tonight. We know how you guys get with caffeine! You tear the place apart."

This got a few laughs, and thankfully, Jacquelyn is patient, because she had to hear it about twenty times, and that tends to get stale pretty quickly.

After refilling the pots of coffee in the kitchen with a paper cup (there was an odd instant coffee maker and I ended up making a mess) and carrying carafes of water back, the line dwindled.

We headed down to the dance floor, and tried our skills at hula hooping. I have hula hooped before, but the hoop was weighted. These were so light, I could barely keep any of the hoops on my hips. One of the senior staff members put me to shame. After tiring, I took a few hoops around to the wallflowers to get them out on the floor. And, I actually got a few women to try it.

Of course, I had to get in a couple dances with Ralph, who says, "Music is the universal language."

He's right and he's smooth on the dance floor. He's inspired me to look into taking dance lessons. We both agreed that the art of dance is dying.

After the last song, we moved upstairs and started the tear-down process. The great thing about the OPC — other than that it finally opened up to adults fifty and older – is that it offers such a variety of activities. From kickboxing to knitting, OPC aims to engage all seniors. And the OPC also seeks volunteers to teach some of these classes. I strongly encourage checking out this gem in the city of Rochester.

To learn more, visit the OPC at www.opcseniorcenter.org.