Day 51: Gazpacho de fruta

Do you ever have trouble starting something you actually like doing? It doesn't make sense, does it? Why would we hesitate at the beginning of something potentially wonderful? Think of all the moments people find themselves hesitating in. Asking someone on a first date. Bungee jumping. Receiving a complement. Getting up on the dance floor.

Are we just savoring the beginning? Are we not ready to start? Or maybe we won't truly enjoy our favorite things to the maximum coefficient of enjoyment unless we delay them significantly.

I was having trouble writing today until I bought this container of fruit from a stand on the corner just off the 2 freeway.

Look at that thang. It's a bunch of fruit spears drenched in hot sauce and lime. People sell these off the side of the road in L.A. I had no idea what they were, really.

Even though the idea of hot sauce and fruit is senseless to me, I dived right in. I didn't think twice. It was obvious that, no matter what, I was going to have an awesome afternoon with this $5 cartrige in the shotgun. No need to wear my undies backwards today.

Why can't I have that kind of impulse when bigger things come up? Why do I have to convince myself that such and such a project will be really fun? Why do I doubt for one minute that I will have a good ole time jumping off of a bridge with a cord connected to my ankles?

Which brings me to dancing.

It's been said a million times before. PEOPLE DON'T DANCE NO MORE! The hesitation has gotten out of hand. When are we gonna get over it? I know there's always gonna be that one dude in a crowd that truly doesn't like the sensation of his body wangin' about. But you know everyone else would love to be dancing, grinning and feeling welcome into the personal space of dozens of other souls at the struggle.

I don't know when it's going to be cool to dance again in this world, but I see it happening at ER shows. When 42 year old Karen Jones gets down at 4:30 in the afternoon at The Oasis in Taft, California, you know there's hope in this world. And when Davey and Holly Hawkins drive all the way from (801) to shake it in people's faces at The Cinema Bar in Culver City, you know the dream's got a chance.

You can help make a difference. Donate two steps and your milk (or chocolate) shake the next time we're in town. You can find a show on facebook or myspace. Let's do what our bodies were built to do. Know that you have the full support of four dudes in L.A.