Washington Square Park is in my neighborhood and is absolutely beautiful!
Like children drawn to the Pied Piper, I’m drawn to historical places, particularly those set in Victorian and/or garden settings. Mobile , which is one reason my spirit is so settled here. Each house, building, garden, or cemetery has a story to tell. Many are told by locals who were raised in a place where storytelling is part of the culture. Like at my own family reunions in Kentucky , it is not unusual to be talking to a stranger who then says, “Well, let me tell you a story….” Therefore, it seems only appropriate at this point to say, “Well! Let me tell you a story!”
I’ve shared previously that there was always a world in my head that I had no idea really existed until coming to Mobile , one layer at a time. Something I hadn’t experienced until recently was the movie-like setting of elegant dinners with live ‘Big Band’ music where people dine, drink wine, and dance between courses. I often wondered "Where are those places and will I ever get to experience that?”
Then I found out that the Big Band music was returning to the Battle House Crystal Ballroom after thirty years. The Battle House is another place I love to tour out-of-town guests; the art, the whispering arches (you have to come down here to learn that secret), and the many stories these walls tell.
This was a dinner and music event. An attorney friend of ours whom I knew was in the band and plays with Wet Willie, is actually the conductor and initiated the whole movement to bring Big Band back to Mobile
We arrived at the hotel, handed our car over to the valet service and entered. The Crystal Ball room is straight across the beautiful lobby and through a door. However, a hostess who knew by our attire where we were going, greeted us warmly at the entrance. She explained that we would be taking the elevator to the second floor and making our “grand entrance” down the marble staircase into the room. We expected to find a line of people at the door but there was only a host to send us on our way. The seating was timed so that one party at a time went down the royal staircase about every two minutes.
At the bottom, we were handed glasses of champagne and a third host seated us and introduced us to our waitress who literally catered to us for the remainder of the evening. We were given the option of when we would like to eat and we chose to wait. She filled our water glasses and placed our napkins on our laps while another gentleman brought us fresh bread.
Balcony is in background, half way up the stairs.
As we (I) drank champagne, we watched as party after party, many whom we knew, descended down the staircase, received their champagne, and were seated. Our waitress made sure we knew things would be done at our pace and that this was our table (home base) for the evening. There were several other servers in black and white uniforms whose sole job was to watch the room and make sure everyone was comfortable and pampered.
Our first course came an hour later. By then, the band had started with some sets hosting a singer and some without. Les and I danced and it didn’t take long to notice that everyone else was ballroom dancing and we were barroom dancing as though at the Bayhole in Sandy Pond, New York in 1979. Suddenly, I felt naked, as though I were living one of those nightmares where you are sitting in school and realize you are in your underwear. We finished the dance, laughing hysterically the whole time. I’ve always believed you haven’t fully lived until you've been in an extremely awkward situation and have no choice but to laugh your way through it.”
For the first time in Les’s life, he agreed that dance lessons would be a good thing. We talked with several people, many whom we had met at other events. Some invited us to take ballroom dancing, promising that we would know everyone in the room if we did, and would be invited to even more parties and events – as if there aren’t enough things to do here. But trying new things (good things) and meeting new people is always fun and ballroom dance is one more avenue.
Our main course was brought out between dances – and yes! We did dance again. What was neat were the friendly people who immediately adopted us as new friends in spite of the spectacle we were on the dance floor. Desert, Pecan Bourbon pie and coffee, were served much later and, though I swore I wasn’t going to eat it, I did.
Midway through the evening, we meandered to the balcony to watch the room. The male soloist sang “New York New York Haunted Mansion
Again, I imagined those who are deceased but had danced on that very floor and wondered if they ever pay a visit to events such as this, just for one more dance. I pondered who the last dancers were years ago when the last Big Band played, and the balls that allegedly hosted both Yankee and Confederate soldiers. I looked at the older generation, many whom had waited for this historical night in Mobile , the Big Band’s return to the Battle House.
My train of thought was broken when a woman began talking to us. It wasn’t long before she motioned her husband up to introduce us and I realized we had, yet, more ‘new best friends’. They invited us to sit at their table and afterwards we went out for a drink and now have plans to get together.
I think back on that night, and the many beautiful times we have here in Mobile , a place where beautiful things happen every day, literally! There are no Fridays, or Mondays, or Thursdays! Every day is a day to celebrate! I think of myself, just a girl trying to find her way in a world that didn’t make sense. I realize how close I came to living out a life that was foreign to my spirit, one that didn’t allow me to live, love, and give in the way that my heart had told me I should.
