Adios Amigos - Part1

As I write this I’m back where I belong, the land of mist, moss, mallards, mocha, and mushrooms. When I drive around Portland I pass the hospital where my children were born, their schools, my college, and lots of other places that hold memories. In the future I’ll have those kinds of fond memories about Phoenix. Someday I’ll return to the corner of Rural and Elliot and think, “Paragon Dance used to be there – that’s the first place I took a tango lesson. Now here I am, all these years later, back in Phoenix for William Liu’s advanced tango workshop.”
I’m missing you all very much, and want to pass on a few thank you notes and reflections about my year in Phoenix.
You know, it took me a while to figure out that Nancy actually is my mother. I thought it was just something people said. Then one night she and David were arguing about what to do next, how to best teach a certain step, and it dawned on me. OMG, they’re arguing about what’s best for the children. She actually is my mother! She cares about me; she wants the best for me. She’s always encouraging me. I’m worth fretting over. Mommy! Thanks Mom for being the spiritual leader of my freshman year in tango.
We all know David is a great teacher. Blah, blah, blah. I have one more postscript story. A few weeks back in Scottsdale our Followers left us after the first lesson. Four men were left for the second session. Four disappointed men. Nobody to dance with. We didn’t expect that, David didn’t either. Naturally, David was thinking on his feet. He started the session by asking some probing question about issues exclusive to Leaders. This lead to some work on balance, which spun off to a discussion about being in the zone. It was all very personal, and directed by our input. It turned out to be an excellent lesson. I don’t think any of us went home disappointed. Instead we were all charged up a bit by our shared experience. I don’t know why I’m surprised. That’s what he does every lesson. He listens in the most personal way, and responds to what has been said. That’s tango.

Thank you so much, Steve. This was beautiful and touching. I've written you an email but I just wanted to reiterate that mothers hope their beloved children will always keep in touch :-)

Yes, thank you Steve. That was very beautiful. We miss you too ... take care of yourself! Should you need advice, we are only an email or phone call away!