One Last Chance To Dance With My Love
A sweet salsa done “My Way”
I love to dance, especially with a partner. Whether at a “sock hop” in junior high school or a waltz at a restaurant in Florence, Italy — I’m all in.
Label me a romantic in dancing shoes.
Yet I may never dance again.
The intimacy of dancing as a couple, body to body, hand in hand, cheek on chest, dissipated into thin air the moment my husband drew his last breath.
Now I comfort myself with memories of our final dance. The last time he held me in his arms, moving with the music, fluid, floating, having fun. It was a salsa.
To be clear, his absolute dread of stepping onto the dance floor balanced my sheer love of dance. Dancing, especially in public, was not his favorite. However, being the loving husband he was, he indulged me occasionally.
Our last time was in our living room.
I’d just bought him the full version of a song (almost 4 minutes) used in a beer commercial.
The 30-second television ad showed a working man climbing into a shower, cracking open a can of beer, standing under a stream of cool water while sipping the beer — all done to a salsa version of Frank Sinatra’s signature song, “My Way.”
The vibrancy of “A Mi Manera,” a Spanish version of “My Way,” and the visual message of satisfaction after a long workday resonated with my husband.
He wanted to hear the full song in Spanish. A quick internet search and I found the band, Gipsy Kings, and purchased their rendition.
I surprised him the following day by playing the melody on my computer. I then coaxed him to dance with me.
Swaying to the Gipsy Kings’ salsa beat. Smiling with the lyrics. (No need to know Spanish thanks to Sinatra’s popular song.) Stepping together as one.
I had no clue this would be our last dance.
That’s the funny thing about “final acts.” Most of the time, you don’t know it will be your last. So your brain doesn’t attach importance, causing it to be remembered as such. Heck, we didn’t even know he was sick.
But this dance I remember vividly.
Maybe because it was such a rarity for him to dance. Maybe because it was just months before he died. Maybe because the Gipsy Kings’ version of “My Way” is so passionate, so lively, and such a powerful portrayal of a workingman’s satisfaction of a job well done.
It’s very much like my husband who had passion and the satisfaction of a life well lived for 92 years.
He lived his way. And it was seldom the easiest path. So I’m certain he’s pleased the Gipsy Kings’ “A Mi Manera” was his exit song — at least from the dance floor.
Before you move on, do yourself a favor and play the full song on YouTube or at the very least watch the 30 second ad.
