A Time of My Life - by the Grace of God

Hello Dallas, Texas! I couldn't pack fast enough to find a place to live near the school where I was assigned to teach.  I loved Dallas!  I loved teaching the second grade!  I was on top of the world!

One  night a week, I'd catch a streetcar and go downtown to a modeling school for self-improvement and for something to do.  I had no intention of obtaining a job from this course, but by accident, I became a hair model.  I once worked at the "Texas Convention for Hair Styles" at the Baker Hotel.  Another time, my hair was styled on television by Michael, who was the owner of a hair salon.  John Basden, on Oak Lawn, had pictures of my hair style in his salon window.  This led to my being chosen as one of the contestants in the "Miss Flame of Dallas" contest, sponsored by the Dallas Fire Department.  My hair was red at the time.

Meanwhile, I was making my mark in the teaching profession.  The Dallas Morning News sponsored a contest for the "Most Outstanding Teachers in Dallas."  Believe it or not, I was in the top five chosen winners.  I was proud of the plaque and honor of being offered a trip to England for the summer to become an exchange student at Oxford University.  However, I was having the time of  my life in Dallas, so I didn't want to leave. 

I did continue believing that learning should be fun and exciting for the children.  My favorite compliment was when the children told me that I was different from any teacher they had ever had.  To stay busy during the summers, I worked for the City Parks and Recreation Department in Dallas.

Then I decided to do something different for the summer.  I went downtown to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio and applied for a job as a dance instructor.  I learned fast!  I knew I had received this special gift of dancing from God!  Soon I was dancing on television!  I loved the off-beat of the mambo and the beat of the drums was hypnotic.  I truly believed that I was born to be a dancer!

Soon, I was giving dance exhibitions in country clubs and downtown hotels.  As I began to do exhibitions, I knew it was the power of God that made me feel exhilarated and full of animation.  It was almost as though I were dancing with God!

Sometimes, I was a little on the wild side!  Once, my friend, Ann, told me she received a call from friends in El Paso, suggesting we meet them and they would take us across the border into Mexico.  I reminded her that I had recently been in a boating accident and was still wearing a brace!

She convinced me that by the time I drank a margarita, I'd feel no pain.  So we caught a plane to El Paso.  Sure enough, the margarita did the trick and I was having the time of my life!  Ann told the Mexicans that I could dance better than their gals.  With that, they jerked the tablecloth off the table and assisted me onto the tabletop.  I danced to the lively music of the Mexican band.  Everyone was yelling and clapping!

I believed in having a good time and entertaining others.  I didn't get obnoxious or drink too much.  Just good, lively music would lift my spirits.  I can relate to a song I recently heard, "I was somewhere between raisin' hell and amazin' grace"!