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This is my tribute to the Palomino Club in Greensboro, NC--the place where I grew up, the place that formed me into a brassier woman, the place
where I became wise in the ways of the world--in other words, wise in the ways of men. This is my tribute to the place I loved to dance, sweat, and twirl around the hardwood floor in the arms of the country men of Carolina; the place where I breathed in my share of second-hand smoke, drank a few Bud Lites but many more bottled waters, and had my hand stamped with an "X" and later with the over-21 Palomino mark. But most of all, this was the place where my boots would step, slide, scuff, stomp, shuffle, rock, grapevine, dig, turn, pivot, twirl, and otherwise make their mark on the dance floor. Man, I loved to dance!
"I'm a member of a country club, country music is what I love." ~ Travis Tritt
The building itself was not very noteworthy--marked by a modest neon sign out front (along with the "park in rear" sign)-- and the parking lot was riddled with giant potholes. Evidently it was a roller skating rink in its previous incarnation. You walked in the front door, showed your membership card and license, signed in, paid the cover charge, got your hand stamped, and in the colder months checked your Carhart jacket. To the immediate left was the women's bathroom with the men's on the right. Step around the partition, and you entered the club at the back of
the room near one of the three bars--with another bar on the right side and one near the D.J. on the left. On the far wall was the stage, with live music. Some chairs and tables lined the back and sides of the room, with Amos the mechanical bull and a few pool tables on the right side near the entrance. And in the middle by the stage was the much-used hardwood floor, with a rail forming a ring around the outside for the two-steppers.
"My Boots" Oil Painting, Fall 1996
2nd Place, Boone's Mill Apple FestivalMy first
visit to the Palomino was with a girlfriend of mine, Kaitlyn, and another friend of hers after their high school graduation--June of 1995. I was home from my first year of college. One night at the Palomino, and we were hooked. Afterwards, we went as often as possible, even when I returned to college (an hour and a half north in VA) and after my folks moved south to Charlotte and I spent m
y breaks there. When I got married in 2000, I moved too far away to go, but I always liked the idea that the Palomino was still there, and that I could go on my way through town if I really got the itch. It was comforting to think of the guys I knew still there, hanging out, playing pool (assuming they hadn't settled down by then). That thought was nice . . . until a few weeks ago, when I learned that the Palomino club was razed in July of 2000. I paid $2.95 to get the details from the Greensboro News & Record archives. The Palomino was demolished, and storage units were put in its place. I am
devastated.
"Life's a dance, you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, and sometimes you follow." ~ John Michael Montgomery
Kaitlyn is a blonde blue-eyed beauty to my brunette and hazel. We are both very tall and stood out over most of the women in the club, and many of the men. Together we made quite a pair, a dynamic duo. The beautiful thing about my friendship with Kaitlyn was that we always were attracted to, and attracted, different men. We never had a conflict over any guy. We always stuck together and always went home together. Sometimes going home included a stop for breakfast with the guys, sometimes we sent our phone numbers home with someone new, but for us it was always a girls' night out. We loved country music and loved to dance. We took every opportunity to
get out on the floor when our favorite songs came on. The perfect nights seemed to start when we would hear the first few bars of T-R-O-U-B-L-E as soon as we signed in at the front door.
Tracy Byrd playing at the Palomino
There were plenty of concerts that we saw at the Palomino...I know I can't remember them all: Tracy Byrd, Shenandoah, Rick Trevino, Rhett Akins, and Chris LeDoux (twice! He threw carnations out to the women). Kaitlyn and I also went to see George Strait at the Greensboro Coliseum, and Brooks & Dunn in Raleigh--an evening and a car accident I will never forget. Another of Kaitlyn's friends, Bethany, often joined us at the Palomino. One summer the three of us made a pilgrimage to Nashville. We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame (saw Alan Jackson's jeans from the Chattahoochee video), did some shopping, and danced the nights away (but not at the Wildhorse--we were too young to get in there unaccompanied.)
"She's a devil, she's an angel, she's a woman, she's a child. She's a heartache when she leaves you, but she'll leave you with a smile." ~ George Strait
During my junior year in college, Kaitlyn moved to Texas for a
while, then joined the Marine Reserves. I mailed a plethora of letters to her while she was in boot camp in Parris Island, along with collages and reminders of our Palomino adventures. She would write when she could. During her absence, I still went dancing when I could find someone to go with. I remember going with Davina, a gal from college, and her two Marine buddies, Eric and Dave, from Camp LeJeune. We had a full night of dancing, had to call a locksmith to get into the car, stopped by the Waffle House, got back to college at dawn, and I drew a sketch of Dave while we talked before calling it a night. When Kaitlyn graduated from boot camp 2n
d in her platoon (who knew such a beautiful lady could be so tough?) we had a grand reunion at--where else?--the Palomino. For a belated celebration of my 21st birthday, she bought me a couple Bud Lites, and we danced 'til "Happy Trails" came on at closing and they kicked us out.
"Kaitlyn and Me", Oil Painting, Spring 19972nd Place, Ferrum College Student Art Show
Also, there were the men. There's just not a Palomino without
the men. I could never forget them, but forgive me--I can't recall all the names. Roy was a constant, always there to talk to in between dances, with his circle of friends. Tex was also there, especially towards the end of our heyday, and was a good two-step partner (not always an easy thing to find). Adam, too--I remember going to breakfast with them once, when Adam gifted me with some fairly severe but amusing caricatures. Dean and I danced occasionally--he was just getting over a serious relationship (but who wasn't?). Robbie, Scott, and a multitude of nameless faces, including the three sexy men I danced with on my 20th, and who gave me birthday kisses.
"I could've missed the pain, but I would've missed the dance." ~ Garth Brooks
Sexy men, plain men, sweet men, scary men, young men, old men, tall
men (my most uncomfortable slow dance ever was with this really tall guy who was too used to bending over to dance with short women), short men (who did try but never really had a chance with either one of us), blue-collar, white-collar, guys with the tight cowboy-cut Wranglers (mmm!), guys with really tight "spray-on" Wranglers (uh...no!), guys with cowboy boots, many with cowboy hats, the rodeo men and bull-riders with the dinner-plate belt buckles who really did it up during the Tush-Push, the guys who would line-dance and the ones who preferred to watch the women, the guys who were good two-steppers (loved them!), and the ones who, sadly, only thought they were.
"Autumn Meditation" Watercolor Painting, Fall 1998People's Choice and 1st Place, Ferrum College Student Art Show
And then there were the men we dated. I'll let Kaitlyn tell her own stories--I'll just say she never lacked for someone interested in her. Of the handful of men I dated from the Palomino, there were a few of special note. There was Will, the army guy who lied about his age to go out with me (he was actually 30, not 25). My sister found us on New Year's Eve asleep on the couch and ratted me out to my folks when they came home. Kaitlyn died of laughter when my mother, after my dad left the room, leaned over and asked "Ho
w was his body?" There was Keith, my Bryan White look-alike, who never stopped laughing--I remember him going with me to buy art supplies while it was pouring rain outside. I remember him laughing, always laughing. There was David, who came to visit me at college and showed up in part of his fireman gear
(SEXY!) and later drove us down to the Palomino and back. And last but certainly not least, Mike, another fireman, who seemed so nervous with me, especially after my mother whipped out the video camera on him when he arrived at the house (really, Mom!). Mike was a sweetheart and I was always glad for a dance with him. The men who treated me with respect quickly won a place in my heart, and I hated breaking their hearts or my own by saying goodbye.
"We all take different paths in life, but no matter where you go, you take a little bit of each other everywhere you go." ~ Tim McGraw
As I said, I grew up at the Palomino. I went into my Palomino days young, naive, and clueless when a guy was interested in me. I left a few years older and a much wiser woman. I learned what kind of men to avoid and which ones were worth spending time with. I learned to say "no" politely, and how to say "NO" not-so-politely when necessary. I learned to trust my instincts. I learned that everyone there was hurting in some way, and so I learned compassion, both for others and for myself. I learned to see beyond appearances. I learned that girlfriends are often there when a man is not. I learned to trust my girlfriends' instincts. I learned t
hat when a man is overly and irrationally jealous, then it is probably more of a reflection of his actions than one's own. I learned that although I may give my heart to a man, I belonged, first of all, to myself and to my God, and ultimately would have to answer only to my own conscience. I learned to live without regrets. I learned that I am most beautiful when I cast off any self-consciousness and just be myself and have fun.
Time went on and eventually Kaitlyn and I found the men we would marry. Our times together became less frequent. We had one last girls' night out at the Palomino, and in 2000 were married within a month of each other. I said goodbye to the Palomino back then, but always thought I would step out onto that hardwood floor again someday. Alas, within a few months of my wedding it no longer even existed. And although there are other country bars in the world, it could never be our old Palomino. So now, I raise my glass (a stiff Jack and Coke) in a toast to all the good ol' days:
Goodnight, Palomino. And to all the Palomino men, to the Palomino ladies, to everyone else who loves to move your boots on a hardwood floor when you hear the fiddle and steel guitar, and especially to Kaitlyn--Happy Trails to you, until we meet again.
"You can take the girl out of the honky tonk, but you can't take the honky tonk [out of the girl]" ~ Brooks & Dunn
