Sunday, December 25, 1977, 8:00 am, Day 698

This dance keeps getting postponed. First, I was told there was supposed to be one Wednesday night, but nothing happened. Then, the Christmas Dance was supposed to begin last night, but was then put off until Sunday night. This dance was going to be Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and possibly Tuesday, but I don't know any more. For sure it should start today, as the court barrie has been all prepared and the record player and amplifier have arrived.

Tuesday, December 27, 1977, 11:00 am, Day 700

Therefore, I packed up my cutlass and surveying stuff and headed for the bush. It really helped my mental situation. Part of it was just getting out and doing some good honest work. But also, besides just the work, I took alot of time to just sit down and have a good, long talk with myself. I forget all of the ideas that were discussed, but do remember that alot was covered and that my head got cleared out alot. That afternoon, when I came back into town, I was very cheerful, greeting people left and right, and well able to absorb anything that they might throw at me. That was the start of my good Christmas.

Christmas evening the dance started. The dance held alot of uncertainties for me, but they all came out perfect for me. First was the price of the dance. This was important because my finances were low, and I had promised to pay for a few of the females. I kept wandering around, asking people, but nobody knew for sure. Some said as high as 2.00 leones for men and 1.00 leone for ladies. It turned out to be only half that, so I was in luck. I put about 30 mint candies into my pockets and took 4.00 leones for admission, and off I went. All other money I left in my room, so that I couldn't be talked into buying any soft drinks or anything. Every time someone asked me to buy them something, I would just show them that I didn't have any money, and then give them a mint candy. It worked oay.

Second, was the point about having someone to dance with all of the time. I didn't want to end up dancing with myself. At the last Kamiendor dance I often got turned down when I would ask someone to dance, and then they would go and dance with someone else instead. I didn't want this to be a repeat of that. Therefore, I was particular of whom I would give a ticket to.

I had previously promised to pay for Fatmata, but I didn't because when I saw her she looked very preoccupied with other men. I felt I wasn't going to pay for her then, since this would probably be the case during the dance also, as it also was with her the last time. During the dancing, she always had someone hanging on all of her, with her really enjoying it. She never gave me a second look. Yesterday, after the dance, she asked me about the promise that I made, and she acted like she was insulted, but I didn't let it affect me. Therefore, I did right by not paying for Fatmata Lamin.

The 6 ladies that I did pay for this time, though, I got good response out of. I got my fill of dancing out of each one of them. There were also many other ladies that I danced with that night, and more that I would have if I had found the time. I only got turned down twice, and those were from people claiming they were tired when they were actually tired, so it was okay. They didn't get up and start dancing with someone else right away, so they were telling the truth.

The third uncertainty that I had was how Sia Kundi and I would fit together during this dance. Last time, I paid for her and she rejected me quite often. This time I figured that I wasn't going to pay for her. I surely wasn't going to pay for her husband, Tamba Kabba. I felt that Kabba should pay for Kundi, as she was his wife. It worked out differently, though, and all to the best for me.

It seems that Kabba's main objective of Christmas Day was to get as drunk as possible. He was going to the dance and he knew that he wasn't in any condition to keep an eye on his wife., so he officially gave Sia Kundi to me for the evening. He told me that I was to dance every dance with her, and to make sure that none of the other men around started to make any moves on her. Therefore, I paid her way in, but before I did, I made it very plain to her that I expected her to dance at least a few dances with me, and not be like last time. She agreed.

During the dance, Sia Kundi was no problem. I danced my share with her and got good response from her. She did all of the right things like look at me, laugh, and smile, to make me know that she knew I was there and appreciated that fact. During the times that I was off dancing with someone else, I always managed to locate her at least once during each song to see who she was dancing with, how they were dancing, what moves he was making, and how she was enjoying it. She was very proper, even too proper. Whenever a man tried to dance close, Sia Kundi would always dance with her arms crossed in front of her, making close contact impossible. I was dancing closer than that with some of the other ladies and still managed to be proper about the whole thing.

The fourth uncertainty that I had was how I would do at the dancing itself. Always, in Kamiendor, if we are just off and around somewhere and someone wants me to start dancing, I am too self conscious or shy or something, so I always refuse. Therefore, when an actual dance is held here in Kamiendor, I always wonder if I can overcome my shyness to dance as good as I am able. I found out early this time that that would not be a problem. I was at the shop, which is right next to where the dance was to be held. It hadn't started yet, but the people were there hooking up all of the speakers and lights and things. When they were done, they put on one song just to try it out. About three of the ladies ther got up and went onto the veranda and started dancing. I felt an urge to dance also, so I quickly followed it. I was in perfect form right from the start and was enjoying it. Uncertainty #4 was just taken care of.

My last uncertainty was how I would enjoy that dance in general. With these other four taken care of satisfactorily, this last one was also pretty certain. There are other factors to be noted though - 1) My health is excellent. 2) I had a good night's sleep the night before, 3) All of the little kids were kept out of the dance for most of the time so that they couldn't disrupt the evening, 4) The sound system was good. The music was loud but it wasn't turned up so much so that the speakers started acting up. Therefore it was all loud and clear coming out. 5) The selection of songs was also good. Nothing was played twice and everything that was played wasm good dancing music. He had cassette tapes instead of records. 6) Almost everyone around was dancing properly. There wasn't any almost-obscene groping and grasping like what was at the other dance. 7) Also I didn't notice anyone having to pracically drag a girl out onto the dance floor to get them to dance. Everyone was civilized about that also. 8) It was a good clear night with a full moon, and it wasn't hardly cold at all. A person could manage quite nicely with short sleeves. All of these things added up to good enjoyment.

A few things had me worried, though. At times it seemed to me that the number of females was dwindling quicker than the number of males. The thought occured to me that all of my females might go off to bed, leaving me there alone, thereby lessening my enjoyment. I made it though. Two of my ladies had to leave early because their husband didn't allow them to stay out too late. the other four, though, did pretty good. Sia Kundi went at 4:30 AM, and Small Bondu left at 5:00. Finda, a 17 yearold school girl who came up to her family for Christmas, left at 5:30, leaving just Mamie and me to stick it out to the end. The dance ended at a little before 6:00 AM. I was disappointed at this, because at the beginning of the evening they told us that the dance would continue until the sun came up, but here it was still dark.

I only got two hours of a bad sleep that night, and was burned out all of the next day. Tamba Kabba slept until 4:00 in the afternoon. All of my ladies were up early, as they had to go back to work as usual. I went to bed at 8:00 PM last night and got a good solid sleep, so that I feel fine today.