The King of Dirty Dancing

When I first took my current nursing job, oh, so many years ago, one of my first experiences with my new coworkers (and soon to be friends) was to go out to dinner and a movie with a big gang of them. I barely remember the restaurant we went to, but I remember the movie quite well. We went to see Ghost. I can't remember if I'd ever seen Patrick Swayze before, but I knew I'd never forget him after seeing that!

Since then, I've seen Road House, Dirty Dancing, and several others, including,"To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar," where he played a drag queen--quite well, actually--but I've always liked Dirty Dancing the best. It showcased his greatest talent. Did you know he taught John Travolta how to dance? I read that somewhere a while back. One thing for sure, whether he was dancing or just standing still, he could make you feel the heat.

When I read that he had pancreatic cancer, I knew he wasn't long for this world. Hardly anybody survives that one, and he lost that battle on Monday, but he certainly put up a good fight. He'll be missed.