An Awkward Valentine’s Dance

Forty dollars for a jukebox dance? Are you insane?

Thirty odd years ago my wife and I were in a somewhat uncomfortable motel in New York state. I had just finished up a week long consulting gig nearby. It was time to head back home, but it was Sunday and it happened to be Valentine’s Day. We decided to stay over and set off for home in the morning.

I asked the desk clerk about a movie theatre or something else we might go around there on Saturday night. He told us that another couple staying at the motel had mentioned that they were going to the Valentine’s Dance just down the road at another motel. That sounded like fun to us, so we called to confirm that we could go, got directions and were on our way not too long after.

The motel we arrived at was a bit ratty looking, but there were quite a few cars in the parking lotn and we could hear loud music blasting away within. As we walked from our car we could see people dancing in bright lights through large windows. They were dressed up and we were not. We hesitated. Should we go?

I shrugged my shoulders and said we’d ask at the door. If they didn’t want us as we were, we’d leave. No problem. We didn’t want to spoil anything for other people.

The man at the door greeted us with a smile. “It’s $40.00, folks”, he said.

What? Sure, you might pay $40 today for a dance at a nice place with a live band. This was thirty years ago, it was not a nice place, and I…