Sound and Fury

Good writing comes from asking questions about our world.

This exercise, done in class, had us generate ten different questions (following the model of "I want to know why...?") and choose one to free write about. Note that the ideal question does not deal with any large issues (I want to know why we're here), but rather is more specific (I want to know why the cashier at the grocery store never looks me in the eye).
So with no further ado...



I Want to Know Why...

I want to know why that Dancing Dan guy started dancing. I mean, who wakes up one morning and thinks, "hey, I think I'll find some street corner and dance for the stopped traffic"? It doesn't make sense.

He must have had some reason to chose dancing. I mean, why not mime at the side of the road, or perform Hamlet's soliloquies for the passing cars? But no, he picked dancing. Maybe he took dance for 8 years when he was younger. Maybe his mom was some famous burlesque dancer who was always teaching her kid to groove. Maybe he went to one of those hippy schools that made him express his inner feelings through interpretive dance. Or, well, maybe he just likes to dance.

But what made him decide to dance at the street corner? Could it be that he wanted people to make the obvious jokes? Maybe he feels strongly about road rage and wants to do his part to fight it by providing road-side entertainment. Or perhaps he suffered from serious abandonment issues as a child, and as a result found in adult self a pathological need for attention and validation from total strangers. Of course, maybe he just likes to dance.

My cousin thinks he's an idiot, that his sudden jumps and spins are dangerously distracting, and she's glad he got that stunting ticket. My mom thinks he's fantastic, and loves driving by him. She says nothing cheers her up more, and was so happy when that radio station paid his ticket for him.

Me? I'm not sure what I think of him. No, that's not true. I think he was at the corner, one day, listening to his music as he waited to cross, and he just started dancing. I think he had so much fun, he didn't cross the street, but stayed there dancing all day, and came back again the next day, and the day after that, and the day after that.


Marina Reid