Michael Flatley
Monday, October 27, 2008 at 08:57PM So, I'm watching "Dancing with the Stars" and Michael Flatley (from "Lord of the Dance" fame) is a guest judge. I am reminded of this story.
Meghann, Aimee and I were at EPCOT at Disney World in Orlando. I was hugely fat then, 100 pounds more than now, and couldn't walk so rode on one of the Electronic Convenience Vehicles (ECV). Tooling around EPCOT, we usually ate our way around and loved it.
Michael Flatley and his Lord of the Dance was performing at the American Pavilion that week and we were really looking forward to seeing them. The line was unbelievably long!, but being in the wheelchair, I knew we'd get a great seat even if we had to wait a long time.
While in line, Meggie went to get us some Kaki Gori (Japanese sno-cones) from the Japanese Pavilion and we ate those, my dripping the red down my shirt, staining it forever. It was hot!
Finally, we were able to get into the amphitheater and zoom, zoom, there we are about 5 rows from the front - and right in the middle! Great seats!
The show starts and the tap, tap, tapping of the dancers is... odd? amusing? really, really different than anything I had seen before! I am reminded of Chandler in "Friends" when it is disclosed that Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance squicks him because it looks like the dancers' legs are going to leave their bodies and dance on their own. It was like that!
And so loud!! The tapping, the music... it was just the loudest show I had seen since AC/DC.
Until the delicate Irish lass took the stage... and began singing the most beautiful ballad. Laaaaa laaaa Laaaa LAAAA!!! Her soprano voice was so lovely.
And then, for god's sake, there was feedback. In all the shows I had ever been to at Disney, NEVER had there been feedback! That poor soprano, having to contend with the screeching noise while the tech geeks worked to end it as quickly as possible.
I watched the crowd looking around, some covering their ears... the feedback was the worst. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I see a Cast Member threading through the crowd... and... heading towards me? I looked behind me to see what was going on, but he walked right to me.
While the soprano still sang her heart out and the feedback droned on, the Cast Member leaned over and said, "Ma'am? Can you get your belly off the ECV's horn?"
I leaned back about a quarter of an inch and the "feedback" stopped.
Oh. My. God.
Meghann, Aimee and I started laughing and couldn't stop. I was never so glad to have clomping half-bodied stompers drown out our hysterical laughing!
To this day, whenever anyone hears the name "Michael Flatley" - the kids or Sarah will call me and say, "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepppppppppppppppppppp."
Reader Comments (8)
OMG! You were such a good sport, I would have been mortified!!
I *was* mortified! But, what else was I going to do?! *laughing/remembering*
Hello, this is entirely off topic, but i can't seem to find a way to email from this blog.
I am a Texan girl living, and staying, in Mexico and I am 11 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have a doctor who speaks English and Spanish and is Macedonian...which makes for an interesting and unsettling obgyn experience for me-so far-due to all this differences in culture and language. I am lucky enough to have a very bilingual Mexican partner, so it is not nearly as hard as it could be.
Anyway, the real point of this long question is that, as it is, I am very paranoid about hospitals and doctors after 7or so years of working in everything from nursing homes to hospitals and so this experience of being pregnant has been very nerve wracking for me so far. I would be stressed in the US, but not this stressed. In the US I would know all my options, how to research hospitals/doctors/etc. But here (I have only been here half a year, outside of visiting on and off) I feel completely helpless. Just this past week I expressed my desire to avoid an episiotomy if possible and my doctor basically said as a first timer there was almost no way that would happen.
I have gotten sort of a surprised an unsupportive reactions from my partner's mother and how I would like to give birth.
Erg, I did not mean to go into all his because I really have a very basic question to ask:
I am in Mexico City, not a native, and I was wondering if you had an pointers, suggestions, and/or recommendations for a first timer who would like to attempt a natural hospital birth? tia
squeemishchik@yahoo.com
Wow, how embarrasing but I would also be laughing now jaja.
Sara, I sent you an email w/ some info on midwives and birth centers in Mexico.
http://www.lunamaya.org/
mmmmhhhhaaaaabbbBBBBAAAHHHHHHHHH!
*laughing* Glad I could make you laugh. :)
As someone reminded me, I've written on this before, but it bore repeating; I needed a good chuckle.
Okay, so regarding birthing in Mexico, I am horrid with geography (like most Americans) and I could look it up, but am writing too fast at the moment... but I have a connection to a birth center in Guadalajara if you want to go there instead of birthing in MX City at a hospital there. Women travel from all over MX to birth there, so there must be somewhere for women to stay.
Contact Plenitud - http://www.joninichols.com/index.html - tell Joni Barbara Herrera sent you. She is an angel!
Oh. My! Thanks for sharing that--I had a nice laugh with you :)
Oh my... at least you have a great story to tell. That's what counts in life. The stories you can tell your grandkids.