“My favorite show growing up was called Solid Gold. It was a...

“My favorite show growing up was called Solid Gold. It was a little like American Bandstand, but with a dance team. And the lead dancer was named Darcel Wynne. She was a black, regal woman. Long ponytail. Long fingernails. Body shaped like an hourglass. Even her movements had curves. Nobody could dance like Darcel. She’d kick up high, then next thing you know she’s touching the ground. I used to jump off the furniture trying to copy her moves. But there weren’t too many places to dance in Omaha. Not like they danced on Solid Gold. The closest thing we had was the American Legion Fashion Show. The American Legion was like a gang. They had their own colors, their own emblem. And once a year they had a fashion show. My Grandma was on the organizing committee. She was always recruiting. She’d walk up to every woman on the sidewalk, and say: ‘Look at those hips. You belong in the fashin’ show. Ooooh Weeee!’ It never took much to make Grandma say: ‘Ooooh weee!’ Because these weren’t no dime pieces. These was just regular women on the corner. But next thing you know they were at the American Legion clubhouse rehearsing for the fashion show. We had a former model named Ms. Darlene who would show us how to turn. All the other little kids were just doing regular turns. Simple stuff. Because they weren’t watching Solid Gold like me. Darlene taught me this turn where I would stick out my arms, just like this, and tick around like a clock. Tick, tick, tick. Like Diana Ross in Mahogany. On the day of the show, when it was time to walk the stage, I did the clock move. Tick, tick, tick. I’m just a little kid. And that’s an adult move. So the whole crowd went crazy. They jumped out of their seats and started screaming. Everybody’s cameras were flicking. My Grandma was out there somewhere, shouting: ‘Oooooooooh weeeeeeee!’ I still use that move sometimes, even today. I like to dance a little bit when I’m auctioning my clothes on Instagram. Just a little something to keep it interesting while people are joining the live feed. And guess who follows me on Instagram? Darcel Wynne. She’ll be watching the stream, writing in the comments: ‘I see you! I see those Solid Gold moves!’”
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