The Cha Cha People
Saturday, August 06, 2005 (02:16:28)

Posted by Rod

The concert would not begin for another four hours and most had spent the night, hoping to be the first through the doors when they opened for general admission. Standing alone in the crowd, he dreaded the rush and mass confusion that would soon follow, but he knew his dedication would pay off. Jammed in the mass of anxious humanity, his foot began to tap, 1~2~3~4 1~2~3~4. No one noticed, nor would they care. To everyone around, he was just another nameless face, a shell without a soul, an inconsequential contribution to life, filler to make the world look busy. 1~2, he paused, 3~4 much faster. 1~2, again, 3~4, another!

Syncopation had joined to birth his private celebration. 1~2, his hand tapped his thigh. 3~4, the other joined. 1~2, slap, 3~4 tap-tap yeah! Some more! His head nodded with every beat and one shoulder dipped at the count of four.

Soon, his hands came up with elbows locked to his side. He efficiently used what little room he had and began to dance to the rhythmic beat in his head. He couldn't help bumping into those around him and his movement irritated many that he touched. Their looks of disgust had no effect on his expression of inner jubilee. He became so engulfed in his internal music that he began to use the back of the man in front of him as a drum. Intensely annoyed, the man turned around and shouted, "Do you mind?" Bobbing and wiggling, he ignored the strong hint and patted the man's chest instead. In disgust, the man shouted to others around him, "Can you believe this guy?" The man poked his rhythmic companion in the chest and said, "Hey buddy, give it a rest!" Unaffected by the poke, he kept tapping, nodding, dipping and patting out the beat.

Someone nearby got caught up in the commotion and joined the private dancer by tapping out the same rhythm, patting on the back of the one in front of him. Instead of being annoyed, that person joined. Participation split like an amoeba and in no time, twelve others had joined the one who started the celebration who each reached out to involve other.

Confident the beat would continue and participation numbers would grow, he looked around and said, "Ill be back, then disappeared into thin air."

The tappers and patters shouted in unison, "1~2 cha cha cha! 3~4 cha cha cha!" They patted others, hoping they would join. Some joined, some tried to ignore them and a few angrily pushed them away. Little pockets of the cha cha people sprang up in various areas of the crowd periodically trapping a reluctant non-participant who would wiggle away into the protective collective of non-cha cha'ers. The crowd eventually became rigidly divided into opinionated groups. Some supported the cha cha people but would not join. Some almost violently opposed the movement and began to push and shove members of this unique group. Amidst the commotion, a new group of people infiltrated the crowd and quietly pushed their way to the cells of the cha cha people. They tapped each of them on the shoulder and waved a hand as a signal for them to follow. They collected the malcontents and led them to the front of the crowd, up against the doors. In spite of their separation from the crowd, they continued tapping and patting and dipping and yelling.

Once all of the cha cha people had been assembled, a single door was opened and they all filed inside. When the last one had entered, the door slammed shut and a deep voice was heard over the loud speaker. His instructions were clear. All He said was, "THE REST OF YOU, GO TO HELL!"

...and they did.

Copyright © Rod