Dancin' in the Streets

Dan and I walk hand in hand down the red dirt road to the local market, the sun blazing through the low hanging clouds in the late afternoon blue sky. A group of children stand by the road singing and beating a plastic tub as a drum. They spy us as we approach. A small girl in a bright indigo dress jumps to the center and points her fingers at me, a universal invitation to dance. I'm never one to refuse a dance so I shake my hips and we join hands and dance in a circle. The rest of the children run up to us and take our hands, hanging on us, joyful, bright, genuine, a momentary universal connection. Dan and I are left smiling as we wave goodbye and continue down the road basking in the glow of spontaneity.