Fitness, Fun and a First Kiss at the East County YMCA

Fitness, Fun and a First Kiss at the EastCountyYMCA

My memories of the East County YMCA all revolve around the “Y” dance.  Once a month, the Y, which is a couple of blocks from Parkway Middle School, (then Junior High), put on a Friday night dance, and for a few hours and $1 I was swept into the rock ‘n roll fun of the mid ‘60s.  Boys asked girls to dance, and we all wore mini skirts and poor boy tops with plastic bangles and beads.  We learned to do the jerk, the swim and of course the twist.  Life ahead was endless and we all felt a sense of excitement, anticipation, and hmmm….hormones?

I remember that the chaperones were charged with making sure that the slow dances weren’t too close, but they didn’t do a very good job.  So for all of us still too young to date, the Y dances were the opportunity to hold hands, hug, and maybe have that first kiss.

Richard and I had been passing notes in our 7^th grade classes and were definitely attracted to one another, so we eagerly awaited the upcoming Y dance.  We danced together all night, fast and slow, pretty much drunk on attraction.  At 10:00 pm the dance ended, and yet we lingered, sitting on the patio, his arm around me…..and finally he leaned over and kissed me.  To this day, I will never forget that moment, a turning point for any girl.  The relationship really didn’t go anywhere from there and Richard and I both moved on to other boys and girls.  But he and the Y will always have a special place in my heart.

Today the Y has grown tremendously adding a pool and huge fitness facility.  They offer hundreds of programs for kids, programs for seniors and an extensive list of fitness classes.  Unfortunately, the Y dances are a thing of the past but their offerings today provide something for everyone in the family. Focused on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, the Davis East County YMCA is an important member of the La Mesa and Fletcher Hills community.  Still….they might want to bring back those Friday night dances….

www.eastcounty.ymca.org  

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