By Jeanni Ritchie

The Christus St. Frances Cabrini’s Hospice Promise Foundation held their second Senior Disco last Saturday night at the Ball Senior Center.

The benefit dance assists patients and families with essential, non-hospice related expenses they are unable to afford themselves and provides funding for patients’ last wishes, burial assistance, and community projects like bereavement camps for children.

During a very touching tribute ceremony, Air Force Tech Sgt Scott Meche, Pineville, pinned all veterans in attendance. Following the pinning, the crowd stood in impromptu unison and sang as the DJ played Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA.

It was then that I noticed Julie Kerry signing the words to the patriotic hit.

“I think we taught together,” I’d said. It was 1996 and I remember vividly how hard she worked with one of the girls in the first grade department where I’d been student teaching. She was a speech therapist and the child was a selective mute. It had profoundly impacted me at the very start of my career.

But I didn’t bring up the story at the dance or the fact that I’d looked for the girl often over the years. I just told her my name and we reminisced over our school days.

There was a lot of reminiscing going on at the Senior Disco as well, not just with old friends but memories and tunes as well.

I started dancing to “You Dropped the Bomb on Me” while an older gentleman exclaimed he’d never heard such a song. I laughed. At least it was some consolation that I was in the younger demographic of the senior citizen dance of which I qualified in age to attend!

Bryan Bunting and Suzanne Morrison were crowned King and Queen of the Disco, their boogie shoes outdancing the rest.

It was a great evening of fun for a very worthy cause!

To find out more about Christus Hospice or upcoming dances, call Teresa Bledsoe at 318-266-8656 (office) or 318-792-0706 (cell).