The Chicken Dance
Speaking of the Chicken Dance…
…following a recent Newsboys concert, the first song played as exit music was, in fact, the Chicken Dance.
As the crowd herded out of the arena, I very subtly flapped my wings and twisted my shoulders along with the music.
The girls watched in horror.
I wondered if they were even familiar with the Chicken Dance; Americans seem genetically predisposed to perform the Chicken Dance whenever the music hits their eardrums. Like the YMCA…you just gotta do it.
Is this one of the things that we take for granted until the terrible day we learn that we’ve failed as parents because our children do not know the Chicken Dance?
Worse.
The girls practically threatened to renounce their citizenship based solely on the fact that they admitted knowing the chicken dance, but clearly feel no compulsion to perform it.
I observed many other people in the crowd absentmindedly flapping their fingers, twitching their elbows, and twisting their torsos as they shuffled through the crowd.
Yes, clearly I have failed as a parent and as an American.
Why is the chicken dance so deeply ingrained in us? To be honest, it’s ridiculous. It’s embarrassing. It’s a *polka.*
Yet it’s everywhere.
Why?
We’re attracted to silliness.
We yearn to be silly.
But the world has driven too much of the silly out of us. The world has taught us that to be grownups, we have to act mature and normal and be in control all the time.
In the face of the troubles in this world, we all need silly. *I* need silly.
Maybe that’s why God brought me my two silly girls.
And maybe that’s why I did the chicken dance in front of them.
What’s the silliest thing you’ve done in public? Leave a comment and get your silly on today!
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About Christine
I am a writer, a project manager, and a corporate refugee with a heart for orphans around the world. My two daughters were adopted from Ukraine at ages 12 and 14. I post about writing, chasing dreams, and making a difference in the world, and sometimes I share fun snippets of fiction in-progress.
The silliest thing I’ve done in public is join in the chicken dance with my silly wife.
…and thank you, honey, for helping me embarrass our daughters.
The silliest thing I’ve done I can blame on my age! In my very early 20’s, while with a group of friends in NYC, we decided to hit the roof at the Empire State Building. As we all walked through the lobby heading for the elevators, we were impressed with how high the lobby ceiling was—approximately 3 stories high.
I bet my friends that I could kick off my sneaker and hit the ceiling in one try. I showed them. I did it. And that’s when I learned that the Empire State Building has a drop ceiling in their lobby.
I spend the next few hours walking around Manhattan with one shoe. Not my finest moment, but my friends still think it’s a fine memory!
Brilliant, Skottydog! I just hope it wasn’t raining!!