Tangoed up & Blue

By Patrick J. Cole and Barbara Merlotti

This is a collection of poetry, prose, and illustrations to share what one man has learned about love and death and dancing.

It is divided into three sections to convey the passages from "innocence" to "self-absorption" to "acceptance".

It is filled with words and art that will hopefully provoke the reader to smile or frown, recognize or disagree, and ultimately, consider dancing as a way of expressing feelings that cannot always be put into words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 29, 2008
• ISBN: 9780595615599

Patrick J. Cole

Patrick J. Cole is a management consultant and poet that finds delight in Nature which is often pointed out to him by a canine companion while he attempts to walk mindfully through the woods. Cole mixes his psychology background, perennial wisdom practices, and poetry to deliver his simple message: there’s joy to be found if we know how to look for it. Oh, he’s not the calm, cool, Zen cucumber you might expect. He still feels a range of emotions as he attempts to maintain his PBS practice. What’s PBS? His Zen Buddhist mentor explains that it means Pause, Breathe, and Smile – or, if that doesn’t work, Peanut Butter Sandwich. Both can help avoid negative knee-jerk reactions that often only make life more difficult. While practicing PBS, Cole lives with his wife in rural Missouri relatively near St. Louis. 11/30/2021: Patrick J. Cole is a management consultant and poet who finds delight in nature, especially the hidden wildlife often pointed out to him by a canine companion while he attempts to walk mindfully through the woods. Cole mixes his psychology background, perennial wisdom practices, and poetry to deliver his simple message: there’s joy to be found if we know how to look for it. Oh, Cole might look calm, cool, and collected, but he still feels a range of strong emotions as he attempts to maintain his PBS practice. What is PBS? His Zen Buddhist mentor explains that it means Pause, Breathe, and Smile—or, if that doesn’t work, Peanut Butter Sandwich. Both can help avoid harmful knee-jerk reactions. While practicing PBS, Cole lives with his naturally beautiful wife in rural Missouri, relatively near St. Louis.

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Copyright © 2008 by Patrick J. Cole

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. Art by Barbara Merlotti

ISBN: 978-0-595-50560-9 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-0-595-61559-9 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

For me, to dance is to be awake, aware, and attentive. It is moving meditation and the healing balm of therapy encapsulated in the touch and look of my partner.

So this book is dedicated to all my dance partners, and

especially to my favorite dance partner and wife, Linda Merlotti.

Without her none of this would exist.

Contents

Introduction

Starting Out

First Love

New Love

Secret Names

Signs of Love

If Only Once

Muscle Memory

Struggling

Don’t Leave Home Without Me

Communion

Father’s Fav’rite Boy

Why We Dance

Time is Nobody’s Friend

One Way Private Road

Contra-Body Motion

Letting Go

This Time

Love Lessons

Dance Proficiency

Too Stubborn to Die

Embracing CHANGE

Love Questions

The Passion and the Shark

Natural Beauty

Epilogue

Introduction

Traditionally, a woman is expected to follow her dance partner. That is to say, when a