Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: GATHERING (07/14/16)
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TITLE: I Polk-a You, You Polk-a Me | Previous Challenge Entry
By Karen Dick
07/20/16 -
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Suddenly Grandmother appeared in front of us. “Hyvää päivää!” She smiled and bent down to squeeze my brother’s cheeks.
Father spoke to her in Finnish and kissed her while we gazed at our surroundings.
“Why are we here, Mother?” I asked.
“This is a gathering of the Finnish community. We’re joining these people who are a part of your family lineage and celebrating the beginning of summer.”
I glanced around at the crowd of strangers and slowly nodded.
“Why don’t you kids sit on the chairs against the wall while we dance?” Mother suggested. She gently pushed me in the right direction.
“Okay.” With a sigh, I pulled my brother by his sleeve and led him to our assigned seating.
Once situated on a folding chair, I was captivated by the room full of Finnish people smiling and conversing in a language I couldn’t understand. There were couples dancing the waltz in front of me, including two elderly women. Leonard, my younger brother, sat next to me and seemed just as mesmerized with our viewing.
I leaned over and asked, “Where did Gary go?”
“I think he’s by the food.” Leonard nodded his head toward the side of the room. I spotted my older brother eating something with a look of pain on his face.
“I didn’t think that food looked very good,” I whispered to Leonard.
“I don’t think he wants to dance,” he whispered back.
Right at that moment Mother and Father stopped whirling around the dance floor and stood in front of us.
“Katie, why don’t you and Leonard dance?” Mother smiled broadly.
Certain that I had not I heard her right, I simply stared.
“Get up and dance. It’s fun! We’re going to do the polka now.”
The accordion music picked up speed. Laughter erupted and more couples swarmed the wooden dance floor.
Father grabbed mother’s hands, leaned to his right, and they galloped away. Leonard and I peered at one another and knew there was no getting out of it. We stood and faced each other.
“What’s the polka?” He asked.
“I don’t know, but we’ll do what they do.”
Grabbing his hands I said, “Here goes nothing.”
After a period of awkwardness where we pushed back and forth and stepped on each other's toes, we settled on a shuffle step. We leaned to the right and shuffled, then leaned to the left and shuffled. A twirl was thrown in and giggling erupted. Breathless and red faced we stopped and collapsed into our chairs.
“That was fun!” I exclaimed as I wiped sweat from my brow.
Leonard poked me in the side and smiled. “Let’s get some food.”
We made our way through the dancing adults and to the refreshments. I examined the many varieties of dishes. Meat balls, gelatin salads, breads and cakes. A large piece of Pulla was all that made it onto my plate. I quickly went back to my chair and took a bite of the sweet doughy bread when my mother plopped down on the chair next to me.
“Mother, why are some women dancing together?”
“Oh! Well, I believe some of the men have been visiting their cars.”
“Why?”
“Well, um...I believe they are doing some imbibing. I’m going to go find your father.” Mother quickly scooted off as two young pairs of eyes watched her grab Father and whisper in his ear.
“What’s imbibing?” Leonard asked.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders.
Suddenly a loud voice called for everyone’s attention. Silence ensued and heads turned toward the stage. When the speaker finished, people once again spoke to one another and proceeded toward the outside doors.
Father appeared and Leonard asked, “Where is everyone going?”
“Let’s walk outside. There’s a surprise.”
My family moved together into the cool evening. A snap and a large crackle caught my attention. In a field behind the building was the largest bonfire I had ever seen. Flames leapt into the night sky as the wind whipped the smoke away from the crowd.
I looked around at the people who surrounded us. I took my parent’s hands in each of mine, breathed deeply and smiled. This is my family.
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