St. Mary's -- I Remember When : First Dance

The First Dance

I remember when I was in seventh grade in 1961. I was then staying at the Boy's Dormitory which was located in the upper most floor of the old St. Mary's School building - the one that was burned down. It's the wing towards the basketball court. There were about 10 of us in each room. My roommates were from Ankileng, Basao, La Trinidad, and Bauko. I was the only one from Tabuk.

Anyway, one Friday, I overheard from the upper classmen that there's going to be a dance that night at the school. After class that Friday, my roommates were all busy fixing themselves. First time I smelled 'Tancho'. We lined ourselves up to the small mirror hanging on the wall. A friend gave me this little green thing to chew on. A mint?

At the dance hall, I couldn't get myself to sit down on the front chairs. I was way in the back. I saw the upperclass boys and girls start dancing. I remember the emcee announcing that Fred Baldo is going to do a solo. At that time, it was the best song I ever heard. The song was titled "Butterflies Blue" I think. And then I heard a duet from Aida Yodong and Ely Abad singing "When it's spring time in the valley.....". Man, I never heard such sweet voices. They were my classmates.

Everytime the emcee annouced 'dance for all', I became very nervous. I would slowly sneak out and view the dances from afar. But part of me says you've got to try to dance. I finally mustered enough courage. What if I get rejected? Oh man, I'd kill myself. Anyway, I've been eyeing Francisca Baido, my classmate. She was kind to me in class so I didn't think that she would embarass me by rejecting me. So finally the time came. I slowly walked down toward her and even said in English, "May I dance with you?". She stood up. That was my very first dance. I went home in dreamland.

Ed Abeya, Class 66
Thursday, September 25, 2003

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