Tap Shoes, Trophies & Twang

 Every once in a while, I catch sight of something on one of my shelves that pulls me back through time with the gentlest little tug. Tonight it was my dance trophies — the golden silhouettes, the raised arms, the shine of a world where rhythm was everything and my tap shoes practically lived on my feet.

One trophy in particular always makes me smile.

The big one.

The bold one.

The one that says “I LOVE DANCE.”

I won that for student choreography… on my very first try.

Not my best routine — not even close — but somehow, that early attempt earned second place. Beginner’s luck? Maybe. But I like to think it was the universe giving me a wink and reminding me that dance has always lived somewhere in my bones.

But my best work?

Oh, that routine has a heartbeat of its own.

I choreographed a tap number to Roy Clark’s “Sally Was a Good Ol’ Girl.”

A song full of personality, sass, and a rhythm that practically begged for taps that flirted with the beat. I built that routine from the ground up, and every step — every shuffle, slide, and riff — is still etched into me like a memory my body refuses to let go of.

And in the audience that night was a guy I had just started dating.

His name was John.

He watched me take the stage with the kind of confidence only music can summon. He sat there somewhere in the dark while I tapped my way through twang and timing, and neither of us knew it then, but that dance was marking the very beginning of our story. A little rhythm. A little charm. A little fate.

Somewhere in a box, the VHS tape of that performance still exists. One day I’ll transfer it to digital, and I’ll get to watch that younger version of me pop back to life — tapping out the opening notes of a love story that’s still going strong.

I may not dance like that anymore.

My knees have their own opinions these days.

But the music? The memory? The spark?

It’s all still here.

Because in the Land of Osbourne, the past isn’t gone — it’s just waiting for its cue.

And tonight, those trophies stepped right back into the spotlight.