There’s an old photo my grandparents kept from when I was
about four years old. It was taken in my grandparents’ living room up in L’Anse
Michigan. I’m in white socks, faded denim overalls with a turquoise t-shirt
underneath. My grandpa is wearing white socks as well, some old tan trousers
and a work shirt from being outside. Grandpa is dipping me as far back as I can
go! In years after, he would point at the picture, laugh, and imitate how I
used to say, “Grandpa, it’s time for a dip!” These dances in the living room
were the extent of my exposure to ball-room dancing, but I loved the whirling,
twirling, dipping, and waltzing as I balanced on top of Grandpa’s feet.
Another favorite “dance” memory I have is from my
twenty-third birthday. Evan and I had just begun to date more seriously and I
almost felt guilty that Christmas AND my birthday were back to back. The poor
guy was in his last year of graduate school and student jobs barely cover
frozen dinners. Nevertheless, the night of my birthday, he told me he had
planned something very special and to wear comfortable heels. After enjoying a
delicious meal at one of Athens’ best restaurants, he drove us to a quieter
corner of downtown. I hadn’t been over in this area before and my curiosity
heightened when we pulled into a parking lot with a quaint red brick building,
twinkling lights and the unmistakable Southern look: We were at The Melting
Point of the Foundry Park Inn. Evan led me by the hand, opened the door, and
the blues music poured out! He had gotten us tickets to a performance by an old
school Soul, R&B, Motown band! We may have been the only couple under
fifty, but we had just as much fun, if not more, as everyone else there. Evan’s
tip to wear comfortable heels paid off since we spent hours whirling, twirling,
dipping and waltzing!
Now I can’t remember who first suggested the idea of the
Foundry Park Inn for our rehearsal dinner, but it was an easy decision to make!
Mr. and Mrs. Tighe came to Athens just shortly after our engagement and thought
the Inn would be the perfect place to host not just the rehearsal dinner, but
also a party for our out of town guests. Later on, Mrs. Tighe came back to
Athens and she and I had a lovely afternoon looking over the facilities again,
deciding on menu items, décor, and times. The associate that was helping us
suggested that the timing we were thinking about would work out well if any of
our guests would be interested in going to The Melting Point after since there
would be a performance that night. It could not be more perfect, I thought to
myself! Hopefully the night will allow for a dip!
