Dick Rinaldi likes to joke that Wednesday nights are the only time he can hold another woman in his arms for a few minutes without being banished to the couch by his wife.

But that isn't why he took up ballroom dancing. Twenty-five years ago, when Dick first took to the floor with his wife, Verda, he simply hoped to prove that he was more Fred Astaire than Frankenstein.

After a few months of lessons, he was gliding effortlessly across the dance floor, gracefully leading Verda to a Latin beat. Dick was 47 then; Verda was 45. Today, at 73 and 70, you'll find them every week at the Murray Arts Center, dancing the tango or fox trot until the owner announces that it's time to shut the place down.

"One of the last romantic things you can do as a couple when you get older is dance," says Verda, a petite woman in golden high heels and perfectly coiffed blond hair who looks and feels 20 years younger since she started dancing.

Who needs "Dancing With the Stars," she says, when you can shine in your own reality dance show right here on State Street in Murray?

Eager to share their enthusiasm for a pastime that has found new popularity with the success of ABC's strictly ballroom television show, Verda and Dick recently met me for a Free Lunch at Mimi's Cafe — (chicken pot pie for Verda, penne pasta for Dick) — down the street from their favorite dance hall.

"It's about the last place left where you can dance ballroom," says Dick, a retired Air Force meteorologist who bears a striking resemblance to Clint Eastwood.

Now that so many people are watching "Dancing With the Stars," he says, "we're hoping that more young people will give it a try." He puts down his fork and laughs. "For all you guys out there, it's one terrific way to impress the ladies."

Growing up in the small town of Bernalillo, N.M., Dick didn't know a samba from a salsa when he met Verda at Our Lady of Sorrows High School. Not that it mattered. Because Verda was two years younger, she wasn't allowed to attend Dick's junior and senior proms. He spent his teen years stepping on somebody else's feet, until Verda graduated.

After their college years, the pair married and settled in New Mexico, raising five children. Other than an occasional whirl around the dance floor on New Year's Eve, "we didn't do much dancing," says Verda. "First, we were too busy. Second, we didn't know how."

All that changed after they moved to Utah 25 years ago to be close to four of their children, who were attending Brigham Young University. Somebody at church talked Verda into dragging Dick along to participate in a dance festival at the Salt Palace.

Dick was impressed. "Where else can you go up to a woman you barely know, ask her to dance, hold her in your arms for five minutes and afterwards, she thanks you for it?" he says. As Verda raises her eyebrows, he laughs. "She'll always be my favorite dance partner, " he says.

Verda, of course, doesn't feel the least bit threatened. She's still vibrant, thin and healthy enough to wear out any of the men on "Dancing With the Stars."

Now, if only they'd give her a chance.

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