11 February, 2008

A People’s History of the Chicago Danse Floor: House Parties, 1980-2007’ part 6 : Cricket

Ah, Cricket. And ah, that nite. And that other nite.

Wait, wait, no not me- ya gotta know it twas not me not never no more - or ever- who was actually with her (oh, just guess - yeah, yr rite, 'twas him)). However, it was the site of Cricket, dansing to "Staying Alive" in the midst of a party on Pratt- and me, cowering in the corner......... but , from the genesis.

This post involves TWO parties from way back when - only one was a danse party (the other, very interesting, but no dansing. Vito's Mom was there, but no dansing), but for me it was the UR DANSE PARTY - all house parties that involved dansing came after this prodigious one (for its effect on me- of course there have been other danse parties before, but this was The One that started it all in my heart) and for me flowed from that moment- for me, and one knows how important they are to me.

I can't remember which came first - but about Cricket first.

She was "our" type. As BCD and LFP have a "type" - "Look @ that girl, BCD - she's our type", A buddy and I also have a "type". Joker knows my type- we used to have the game when we went out to spot each other type, then compare notes. He always knows. So, Cricket, in every way - well, in every way physically, because by that time I -previously a college God - was losing the ability to rap w/ chix. But, understand, Cricket was "The Type" : little, short black hair, dressed funky, and such a Hot attitude.

Cricket the Danser/ The Ur Danse Party

The dansing pary? It was @ Pratt Ave in one of the kids apartments. It had to have been in the 1989-1990 school year. I've covered this before, but when I was a Senior @ Loyola, I made a tonne of Frenz w/ freshmen. The core group - Blackie, Jackson, Vito, Crankface, Rocky - named The Sisters by me - then made frenz with those younger then them. This was also a cool core of people. I dunno if they still hang, as we do to varying degrees still, but back then the groups totally melded.

This new group of people - we'd poach girlfriends from this crowd as well as our own, even including me- was great. I loved the younger crowd, and the others on the list went immediatly to corrupting them. I was off in Graduate school/ Q relationship, so I missed lots of the action - but on wkd's, when I was in Chicago, and there was a party (remember when there were two parties every weekend, AT LEAST ???), I'd be there. So, it must have been - remember this contempoary nickname: My Three Sons Mike (YES!) -, Mark-up, The Russian Prof, and etc etc etc who threw a party one nite. It was on Pratt ave, the same building that -- ready?- Crazy Mary, Marisa Tormei, and Mikey (Sexyness exclaimed / all to-gether / in one abode) --lived in - but it was the Guys apt.

Simply put, @ a certain point, the dansing began. This was way before the livegiving dj skills* of Vito and I were honed and practiced, so we seriously had nothing to do with it. tell you the truth, we were such the "elder statesmen" back then - me especially- that to this day I'm a little laughed up that it was THE KIDS that SHOWED US the way.

Someone slipped on the disco - the only LP I remember was Saturday Nite Fever Soundtrack - and what my groggled jenke eyes beheld was forever life changing - it was a crazy circle of us, girls sexier than sex, drink and chaos, and in the middle of it all was pretty much one of the sexiest things that ever existed- Cricket @ 19 - and she was moving and smiling and dansing and living. I can remember the stunning impact this had on me. So = me, danse ?? As hard as it is to some to believe, @ this UR moment, Hilts was terrified @ what he saw.

Again - Me = danse?? No - Me = Boy afraid.

But I learned. This was the enviroment of life, and every party from then on HAD TO HAVE THIS ELEMENT in it. One just fucking believes that if Jesus were to hang @ one of our parties, he'd certainly be spinning to "Burn baby Burn" or the like. But again, that nite, through the youngsters, I found yet another of those times when God spoke through all of us, and to-gether. So, wacthing Cricket that nite, truely it was Holy Communion - of God in not just the flesh of woman, but god in the flesh of all of us.. And, from then on, Vito and I determined to make every party holy.

Cricket The Barely Clothed Girl

Nice sub title, huh?

This is about another party, one in which if there was dansing, I came to late to witness it - but so many people were naked there, that I was actually glad I misssed most of it and arrived rite when the drunx were taking off all of their clothes.

This party was on Columbia between Sheridan and the Lake. Since I was totally spinned under by Q, my guess is that nite I was not cleared to go out until she fell asleep- yeah, it was really going under by that point. When I got there, word went that I'd missed Vito's mom- remember that party ?? But soon enough, the drunx started to doff garments. Some went all the way - Yes to naked Pebbles (She = PhD in History/prof nowadays - thanx Blackie for the footwork on that), yes to naked Bam Bam (Guitarist in the Boggy good band back then), naked like Better than ... , and others.

How did it start? Dunno. I think it was Better than and Bam Bam, and then PhD Pebbles followed. There were more- I can't remember anymore, but it was like 7-8 nekked ones. I remember a young gentleman who took way too much interest in me - and he was naked. Following me around, naked, and really really really hitting on me. We all gotta work it, I totally understand, but yeeesh sometimes too much. Uncomfortably much. But they all started to take it off, and I was more than happy to just experience this nite.

But not all stripped totally. There were two who totallly said no no no: My Three Sons Mike and Hilts.

And Cricket? She said half way. I remember that she wore a lot of black, and this nite I was delighted to see her in a incredible black skirt - and a black bra. Like M3SM and I, she wasn't gonna off it all - but to this dirty old man (wait-I was in my very early 20's back then- it just seemed like I was a dirty old man because 3-4 years, even in that context, can seem like lot), it was wonderful to see such beauty.

Never knew what happened to her. Will have to press those who were there in those days to see whatever happened to her.

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*= yes, I know you quibble w/ me entitling it 'live giving, but I remember, and I remember well - you dansed when we dished it out, and you loved it. You loved that party, this party, that other party and then some. Hater Ha Ha.

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