Poetry in Motion...

Her name is Lucerne!

Just like all other Hollywood romances, ours began in Hollywood too. At the Hilton in Universal City (home of the famous Universal Studios), to be precise. At 345 pm on a cloudy Thursday afternoon to be even more precise. Just below the Sierra Ballroom in fact...

I usually don't do this in the first meeting, but within 30 minutes, I asked her to dance with me. It was still cloudy. The floor was open but filling up fast, so if we had to find our place on it, I had to move fast. Boy, was I delighted when she said, "Yes"...

The gentleman I am, I led her to the dance floor and first let her take her spot. After taking my own, I carefully took her in my arms. My left locked in hers and my right clasping her waist, I held her close to me and looked her in the eye. The music began...

We moved slowly at first. We made small strides and stayed in our space. We moved in tandem with the many others who had taken the floor with us. It was that time of the day the dance floor was full. Our moves were not only restricted but had to match the timing of the plethora of other dancers. We were told that soon, the crown would filter to only those who were in it long haul. We waited as we gently paced the floor...

The experts were right! The party hoppers soon left and only those remained who had sworn to dance all evening long. The floor that looked so tightly packed, opened up its expanse and beckoned us to be free. And just when we thought it couldn't get any better, the clouds vanished. The floor was bathed in sunshine...

We started to move. Our steps picked up pace and we even started to move across the floor. Sometimes, we would move just one right and left step, sometimes 2 and 2 and sometimes we went from end to end without breaking a sweat. Still, we were only getting in the mood...

I was dressed in blue and she was in white! I was leading her moves (like the man should do) and she jived to mine. My eyes were always roving the floor so I could lead her right. I never needed to look at her once. I knew I held her tight and I knew I'd never let her go...

Soon we were on song! The music just got better with every single number and we moved and jived along like we'd been together forever. We moved forward and sideways and left others behind. We were swaying with the wind and laughing in the sunshine...

Our hearts beat as one. Our feet moved in unison. Every minute I prayed that nothing would stop this run. And life conspired to create a magical ride. Even through nightfall and rainfall, we didn't lose our rythm...

We danced together for 5 long hours. We stopped only because we had to. If I had a choice, I would have asked her to dance all night. And I just know. She'd say, "Yes"...

She's not mine! But we share something special. And deep down in our hearts, we both know it. Because days like this are neither designed, nor dreamed of. They just happen...

The above is a metaphorical account of my blissful 5 hour drive through Interstate 5 (North) from the Universal Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles to the city of Cupertino in the South San Francisco bay on the afternoon of Thursday 12 April 12 in a lovely white Buick Lucerne...