Lawrence Welk lives.

I had one of those head-shaking, did I really see that? experiences last night. 

A sweet, little, white-haired, 90 year old lady who I sit next to in church choir unexpectedly asked me to accompany her to supper at St. Anthony's last night.  I had never heard of St. Anthony's.  She (I'll call her Mary for the purposes of this post) said it was a club, and they were serving supper.  So, I went.

St. Anthony's is indeed a night club.  Many establishments that call themselves night clubs are not actually clubs, but this one is.  We went up some stairs and passed through a bar area that looked much like any bar, full of people drinking, smoking, and laughing, then we went back to another room where they were serving a very good buffet supper.  Mary paid the member's price for her supper and the non-member's price for mine.  She seemed to be a regular there, as I lost count of the people who said "Hello, Mary!" as we walked in. 

This night club is unusual in many respects.  First, it is named for a saint.  Second, the supper room has a big crucifix on the wall--unusual for a night club.  Third, almost every patron was over the age of 60.  The place was packed, both the bar area and the supper area.  Except for one table of 20-somethings, I believe I was the youngest person there, at the tender age of 59.  Many of them seemed to be ranchers and farmers from the surrounding area, with their wives.  I saw a lot of boots and Western hats.  When we finished our meal, we were expected to take our dirty plates to the back, and many hands rapidly folded up the tables in the middle of the room, opened up the walls between the supper area and the bar area, and sprinkled sand in the middle of the room. 

Then, two middle-aged (or older) gentlemen took the stage.  One had an electric accordian (yes, they exist!) that lit up and had a built-in sythesizer, and the other had a clarinet and a whole row of various sizes of saxaphones.  And they began to play.  They played tunes from country, old standards, big band hits, and others, but the style of all of them was identical--Lawrence Welk.  Yes, Lawrence Welk lives on in spirit.  Who knew?

As soon as the music started, the grizzled old ranchers grabbed their wives and started dancing with practiced and agile steps, with no prompting from the wives at all.  The dance floor was soon full.  I have never seen anything like it in my life.  They danced every dance.

People here seem to live extra long lives, and they stay lively for longer than most.  My friend Mary still lives alone and mows her own lawn.  The lady that checked me out at Wal Mart was remarking to another customer that her mother's family all died young - in their 70s and 80s.  Her father's family all made it past 100, which seemed more normal to her.   After what I witnessed last night, I believe there is something around here that is making long life more the norm.  Is it in the water?  Or is it hard work at 20 below zero?