What a great day for Rex Lawson at his wedding [040820 MMDigest];
I'm a little jealous.  We had ours 16 years ago at a Quaker meeting,
250 of our best friends, a wonderful reception.  We couldn't afford
to take the Steinway but everyone danced the night away.  The crowd
was about half straight, half gay; everyone danced with everyone.
It was really -- well, the sun stopped that day, I'll testify to it.
We all had the kind of fun it seems Rex' friends had.  May it always
be that way.

The AMICA convention in Denver was mostly the same at the banquet.
A wonderful time was had by nearly all; we danced together, mostly
men with women, sometimes men with men, sometimes those same men with
women, but a few folks who might have rather have been at a church
picnic got all bent out of shape.

We need to remember that in 1914, when the Duo-Art was introduced,
America was going mad with the dance craze.  It had its roots in jazz,
bordellos, ragtime and -- Oh, Heavens! -- in the black community!
And the Duo-Art was in the center of it.  Dance halls were opened and
licensed and regulated; you had to be 18.  Bouncers went around with
measuring sticks making sure dancers were 9 inches apart.  Restaurants
added dance floors, people even danced in the streets.  The church
people outlawed dancing many places.  The Turkey-Trot was illegal in
Boise and other cities.  There was a nationally publicized trial in New
Jersey of a woman arrested for dancing the Turkey-Trot in the street!
She was finally acquitted, but only after she danced for the jury.

There are some folks who still need to relax a little more.  Remember
the roots of the player pianos we all love so much!  AMICA is not a
church auxiliary or a church picnic, at least it's not in the bylaws yet.
We can all have a good time together if we can learn to smile and laugh
together.  I think that's what it's all about.

Bruce Grimes

 [ It's about tolerance and understanding, Bruce, and I'm proud that
 [ California, where I was born and still reside, is regarded as
 [ a generally tolerant state.  Best wishes to you and yours.  -- Robbie