I had quite an exciting day yesterday.
First, I took an ABQ senior transport van to a local senior community center for their 9:30 AM to 1 PM Halloween party (it's free door-to-door transportation for ABQ seniors, but you only get two hours, and must schedule a week ahead of time).

Several other local community centers brought their members as well, so the gymnasium was full of people.

There was a room full of games to play for prizes, a live band on stage that covered hits from the 40s to the 80s, and plenty of couple salsa and ballroom dancing, since most of the people there grew up when dancing was the main social interaction.

I've been tentatively venturing out to attend local events, but didn't think I could dance since I had to take so much pain killer from having a routine hospital procedure the day before, and was feeling a bit woozy.

But whenever I heard my old beats, I was on the dance floor pulling all my jitterbug, salsa, ballroom, and 70s dance moves, spinning and boogie-ing down.

I was wearing a long, maroon,flared, asymmetrical tunic top, a pink coral necklace, black leggings, and fleece-lined slip on boots. The long top resembled a knee-length dress and swirled out when I spun around.

This surprised my new friends, who knew I had cancer, and they cheered and clapped for me, but almost everyone else was dancing also. The others were mostly in their 70s, while I'm only 67.

I'd usually get dizzy after about eight minutes and have to sit down for about ten minutes before resuming dancing.

From the time the van picked me up until I returned, a huge grin never left my face.

When I got home, around noon, I started to walk my 12-lb rescue dog, Fergie, but as we came out the side gate to the backyard, we heard sirens, screeching tires, and loud shouting, as the cul-de-sac suddenly filled with racing cars.

First a tiny blue car, pursued by police cruisers, then police vans, and as they hit the end of the street, almost in front of the house, everyone was leaping out and racing pell-mell down the street in front of me, shouting, "She went THAT way! Quick! Cut her off!"

I realized their "perp" had gone down the almost vertical cement water channel I use to reach the desert valley below, and the police couldn't get through the neighbor's yard to cut her off.

So, I held open the side yard gate and offered for them to cut through there, and go over the back railing.

They came charging into the backyard, but when they tried to go over the railing, they could then see how steep and impossible it was, plus the girl had vanished.

So I took off on my walk with Fergie, looping around to Paradise Meadows Park, through the desert valley, and up the almost vertical concrete water channel the "perp" had apparently also used.

When we passed the jumble of cars and vans, still in the cul-de-sac, they were all sitting around chatting and relaxing, apparently waiting for the girl to return for her car.

As I passed, one of the cute young cops said, "Don't worry, M'am-you're safe!"

SO adorable!