Moves Like Jagger
The first time I saw the Carolina shag, I was out with some guy friends at a long-ago demolished club in East Ocean View, a section of Norfolk, VA. We were 16.
I was enchanted by the intricate steps and statuesque movements. I immediately drove to Mary Ann’s house, collected her, and drove her to Vito’s. I walked her hand-in-hand to the dance floor and said–“learn this and teach me.”
Although I hung up my Weejuns a few years ago, the Carolina Shag has long been a footnote in our family legacy. When, several years ago, Mary Ann announced that she was giving up dancing, my youngest daughter Micah overheard her and said, “teach me dad.” She became a prodigy- at 13. We got so many dirty looks on the dance floor that we made her a tee-shirt that said: “He IS my Father”.
All that is to say, I appreciate good dancing when I see it. Maroon 5 created a dazzling song and video that applauds Mick Jagger’s stage moves. I have always thought that his dancing was a bit ludicrous with all that prancing, hopping, and exaggerated facial expressions. What about James Brown and any of the Temptations? But I can’t not watch him if he catches my attention. You have to give full credit to the most enduring performer in Rock history.
Mick, Keith, and the rest of the Stones have captured some amazing depth in their music. Some passionate like Wild Horses, recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL and some whimsical like the 1965 release “I can’t get no satisfaction,” probably my favorite Stones song. The lyrics of the song convey the frustration and emptiness of fruitlessly searching for satisfaction in numerous endeavors: “I try, and I try, and I try, and I try, I can’t get no, I can’t get no.”
I’m guessing that many of us experience that gnawing desire for fulfillment from time to time. Looking in the wrong places has led some to make disastrous choices. It’s possible that we were created with the desire to taste that fulfillment that seems to be just out of reach in this life.
Last month, my family and friends lost a dear and much-loved friend to glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. He was a treasure. His loss is palpable to his family, friends, and the community. The day before he passed away, he opened his eyes looked into the face of his lovely wife and said, “it’s real.”
The Bible tells us that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”This has meaning for anyone who craves purpose and the expectation that something really amazing is just on the horizon.
Hope is a powerful medicine and to lay hold on the reality of the unspeakable joy and gladness that awaits us is an anchor for the soul. We can’t understand it, but if we can focus on it from time to time, it will become a part of us and we can taste it. Especially as we get closer to it becoming “real.” This is what the Scriptures call “the joy of our salvation.”
“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
Kent
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