Profile in Callers and Cuers

Linda and I started dancing in 1978. We took lessons at the River City Squares in Austin and learned under Pat Castro. I started calling in Sep 1981....went to 4 Callers Colleges in 4 years....in Pensacola, Florida, Hot Springs, Arkansas, Estes Park, Colorado and Dillard, Georgia. Callers Colleges are very intense 18-hour days of calling and studying the intricacies of square dancing and all the related subjects: choreography, leadership, timing, music, sound equipment, how to emcee, etc, etc. Linda and I are blessed to be able to meet hundreds, no thousands of square dancers over 28 years of calling. The ultimate financial reward from my calling was to be able to put our two children through college. One thing I really enjoyed was cutting records. I cut 9 records. I would still be doing this, but the caller (friend) who released my records died. After that, I slowed down on recording them. Recording records was the most enjoyable "work" I've ever done! Nothing is neater than to be recording in a sound studio goofing around. It's like magic. I've probably called 20 states but never out of the US. I did get a chance to call in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, but I declined as it was during a dangerous travel time (after 911). In 28 years of calling, I've probably traveled over 1,000,000 miles. Only hit two deer, have had plenty near misses. One of these days I'm gonna add up all the miles and get an exact count as I still have the travel records.