Cutting the Rug  Tonight was not what my ideal New Year's Eve would be, but it was a lot better than it has been in years past, than it would have been had we not gotten involved with the local UU church.  There was feasting and conversation, really good conversation, and the kids got to play with other kids.  There were beverages, alcoholic and not, and champagne at midnight.  It was pretty all right.      My ideal New Year's Eve would include dancing and possibly karaoke, perhaps some silly games like Twister or one of those word games they have out now, you know the ones, I think one is called Dirty Talk or Dirty Minds or something like that, where you get a clue and you have to overlook the obvious innuendo to discover the real answer.  I understand there are several like that, might be kinda fun in the early portion, or the very late portion, of a New Year's Eve.  But the dancing, ahhhh the dancing.      Dancing is a very important thing to me.  There is a very wide range of expression and purpose attatched to dancing, from the obscene to the divine, and I think that for most occasions a dance of some sort is appropriate, if not required.      Weddings for instance.  Sure, dancing at a wedding is a great way to enjoy yourself, but also the bride and the groom and the guests are all doing something that is greater as a whole than the sum of its parts.  They are all moving to a common rhythm in a similar way and yet each with unique style and flair.  Individuality and commonality.  Then there is the sexual undercurrent that is appropriate for the appearance of newleyweds, having to do with the bliss between partners and even procreation.  Plus, it's just damned fun.  Sharing the joy by having fun is a great honor, I think, to all concerned.  It's a kind of magic.      I am probably fixating on this topic cuz there was no dancing at my wedding, my husband saw to that.  He purposely arranged the tables to exclude the possibility of any dancing space, and acquired friends to porvide music that was not dance-friendly.  This despite the fact that we had discussed all this and drawn out the floor plan together.  He knew how important this was to me, even though I did not expect him to dance; I knew it wasn't his thing and respected that.  He, in turn did not respect my wishes to dance, and that pissed me off.      I am not normally a grudge holder; I tend to brush off offenses rather easily, but this was a biggie to me.  It still hurts.      So, anyway, the greeting of a new year is another fine opportunity to trip the light fantastic.  However, making the arrangements to do so these last several years has been well nigh impossible, for the same reasons as the wedding.  Every year I press to get to go to a party, and every year I yield to his wishes.  And then a few months ago he told me, "Well I guess you don't wanna do anything for New Year's cuz I know it's not imrotant to you and you'd rather go to bed early."      With a straight face he told me this.  He really believed it.  Where is the alien that left this pod person here?  When I had picked my jaw back up off my shoes and tried to remind him how important this night is and how I get shot down every year, he honestly had no idea.  He really thought this is something I don't care about.      To his credit, when he took me to the holiday ball his military unit put on this year, he did dance with me, miracle of miracles.  It's a bit late, though.  And nothing can replace a wedding.