myPod Shuffle #7 - Push It

Tijuana... tequila... dancing until your feet felt like they were going to fall off...

I went to college at San Diego State University and several times a year a group would get together and go across the border to dance and party. We always went as a group because even then it was dangerous to be alone in Tijuana. You heard the horror stories about muggings, sexual assaults, injuries, and we always looked out for each other no matter how many drinks we'd had.

I can still remember the club on Revolucion where I heard this song for the first time. The song was released in the spring of 1987, and I was a sophomore in college. I had a group of close friends, and we all went out partying. The group usually consisted of a bunch of girls with several boys along for protection; although, sometimes we had to protect the guys against the "girls" and donkey show at the Bambi Club.

You knew who to cut off when, who to keep from trying to go home with everyone, who would get sick no matter what, and who to keep from eating the Tijuana Dogs sold on every street corner. We always had the designated driver, the designated muscle, and the designated drunk. We coordinated where to meet, and where to go at what time. And, somehow, we all made it through safely.

But above it all was the dancing. The pure, un-adultered joy of moving and grooving to the music. Dancing until you thought you couldn't possibly have any more energy to go on, and then the next song started. One of my friends referred to dancing at a club as "aerobics in hell."

Somehow you just pushed through the pain... because the gain felt sooo good. I really wish I still had that energy...