Anyone who has ever attended a teenage dance knows what fertility rites are all about. The younger boys circle and chase one another, the younger girls group in gaggles giggling at the older boys. Most of the middle peripheral males stand along the walls lying to one another about fantasy exploits. The few older boys who dance get lots … of dancing with girls who would rather be with much older boys.

You get the picture. So there we have it — loud, hard-driven, down beat music, gyrating bodies and hopes of reproduction.

And it does not end there.

The Men of Las Vegas revue came to Moriarty, specifically to Blackies on Tuesday, Oct. 14, to entertain the ladies of the Estancia Valley and give them the rush they left behind in high school. They succeeded, or they would have if their bus had not broken down in South Dakota! Monday evening I made Bill, my faithful husband and companion of 42 years, drive me over to pick up tickets for the event at Blackies. Kathy Schuitt new owner of Katrinah's East Mountain Grill, was going to accompany me to keep me out of trouble. It put Bill's mind to ease if she went. He feels Kathy has all the common sense I lack.

I feel at 61, I have all the "wild and crazy gal-ness" left over from the Steve Martin era and together Kathy and I could have left our mark on Blackies. Unfortunately the world will never know. As I walked into the warm, friendly atmosphere with Halloween decorations greeting me and a smile from Kate the barkeep, I was shut down.

"I am here for the Men of Las Vegas tickets?"

"Sorry, we can't sell you any," was the reply.

"Are you sold out? I called ahead."

Well, yes, they were almost sold out but it seems Kate had just hung up on the Las Vegas Men's tour guide. Dee Anne, the manager of Blackies, had the sad news that the Boys on the Bus were going round and round, round and round in South Dakota, never to trod the stage of downtown Moriarty, New Mexico. Dee Anne explained Blackie's would have to return everyone's money but at least she would have her day off. Dee Anne and Kate are some of the nicest people I have ever met and their condolences to me were heartfelt, you could tell. It was a terrible disappointment to cancel what would have been a surefire winner of enthusiastic ladies encouraging artful and artistic talent in manly dance and exercise.

Alas, how sad! The thrill was gone. What was I going to do with all the dollar bills I had just gotten from Wells Fargo at Smith's in Edgewood? And those poor lads, stuck in South Dakota without green or red chile to keep them warm.

The smell of Blackies kitchen was a killer. The folks sitting at the tables eating had big grins on their faces, full tummies, and didn't appear to care if the show did not go on. Ah, my big chance to recapture my youth just before I go in for bariatric bypass surgery at the end of the month. Bill laughed all the way back home to Edgewood. He said it served us right and we should act our age. Ha! I am acting my age. I am sitting on the couch, eating a small tub of rocky road ice cream and playing the music from "Saturday Night Fever."

You are never too old to Boogie down. Roaring Mouse … disco lives … out.

Neighbors is an occasional column by folks in the community. If you have an idea for this column, send it to Rory McClannahan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .