What's New?Changes to the other state pages are usually not announced; there's just too many of them and typically do not affect the general readership of this site.
March 15, 2026
- You can ignore the date at the top of this page and the top of the front page. I don't always remember to update the date. The page I update the most is the main Boston calendar page so I would always go there first (if I were just a normal reader of this website). As a matter of fact, I've recommended to my readers that they bookmark the http://www.havetodance.com/calendar.html page or make it their default home page if that's all they're interested in and don't want to have to navigate there all the time.
- Please note that a lot of you apparently expect that posting your events on Facebook is
enough to get them listed on this website. Occassionally, that will work if I happen to
be sitting at my desk at home at night and I notice something come through.
To be honest,
most of those announcements come through to my laptop during the day while I'm at work
and I do not update my webpages during work hours. If you're expecting me to remember
to go back to look for your Facebook announcements, you're going to be sorely disappointed.
The best way to get your events listed on this website is to send email. That will sit in my inbox as a reminder to do something about it. It also tells me whom I could contact for more information. I get that email on my computers at work and at home and I'll remember that I'm suppose to do something about it.
From the corner booth...
Those of you who have been following this website for most of its existence will already know that this area of this website is used for my Soapbox, an area where I will discuss something on my mind, whether or not it involved dancing. The title of this editorial refers to the booth at the former New Yorker Diner where we'd go for breakfast after an evening of dancing.
About a bazillion years ago, I was using a independent auto repair shop in Chelmsford; I think the owner was the brother of one of my co-workers. He (or someone at the shop) told me that he used to work at a car dealership in the repair shop and the dealership had a binder listing all the possible repairs they could on a car and how many hours it should take, regardless of how much time it actually took and they would charge those hours multiplied by their hourly rate.
At my current favorite repair shop, the owner showed me a car that needed a new fan for the radiator. The manufacturer listed 6 hours to do the repair because it involved removing the entire front end/bumper of the car to get access to the fan. The shop's chief mechanic created a special wrench that reached into engine compartment and allowed the fan to be removed without taking off the front bumper first. A six-hour job was reduced to 1 hour and they saved the car owner a lot of money on the repair.
I recently met someone who owned a 2021 Dodge Charger with the ScatPack option (8-cylinder with 485 hp!). As I usually do when I meet someone who has the same car as I do, I started a conversation with this person (I own a 2018 Dodge Charger GT with AWD myself). He mentioned that he had to replace his headlight (bulbs?) once and the dealership (next door to where we were standing) charged him $1800 for the job. I thought that was insane unless they were stupid and removed the front bumper to reach the headlights (that method was an option I saw on YouTube).
I had to replace my lightbulbs a few times in the last few months. The first time it was a pain because I did at night in the cold and my hands weren't as small as I needed. I did check out a YouTube video which made it easier (for the driver's side light). That first time took me about 45 minutes because the passenger side bulb was in a very cramped space and it was hard to reach in; I can now do it in about 10-15 minutes. Saved myself about $100 each time (based on what my shop would have charged me).
My suggestions:
- If you get a new car, first thing is learn how to change simple things like the lightbulbs. You'd be surprised at how little energy it takes and how much money you'll save by not taking it to a dealership. The more "exotic" the car, the more you'll save if you do the small stuff yourself. THere's a good chance you'll find a tutorial on YouTube about it.
- I do not recommend going to a dealership for repair work. They have their repair price book to follow.
You don't have to do your repairs at the dealership to
maintain your warranty. Find a reliable repair shop who won't rip you off.
There are three ways to get your repair done:
- Good
- Fast
- Cheap
I've always had American cars (3 Pontiacs, a Chevy, and now a Dodge). I always bought those because those were the cars I happened to like, rather than what people told me I should want to get. I don't see the need to go back to the dealership for repairs if I don't have to. I think there are a lot of great after-market parts. My repair shop has no problems using after-market parts as long as the quality is just as good (sometimes they're better)a and the prices cheaper.
This is a repeat but it must be said..
If you run a dance business, you need to know one thing: This website is free advertisement for you. I don't make money off this website. I definitely don't get paid to put your information on this website.
As a result, it is up to you, the dance professional, to get your information to me so I can add it to the webpages. Send it to me in email. My inbox is my list of things to do and I don't remove things until I take care of it or it had expired. If I get a Facebook announcement, you can bet that it probably won't make it to this website. I usually get those FB announcements during the day while I'm working so I'm not going to work on my website during business hours By the time I get home, I probably won't even remember getting the alert so I'll never get back to it.
I used get announcements about regular events from dance groups. When I asked one of the regional dance organizations to send me their listings so I could add them to the calendars, their representative told me that I was best off to get that information off their website. Guess whose events aren't listed on this website? Free advertisement and they were too lazy to send it to me.
If you're a dance venue and you're holding open public events again, please send email to me directly. I can't guarantee that I'll pay attention to newsletters and group mailings. And I definitely won't be looking at your social media for the information.
See you on the dance floor.
Regards,
Benson
Hey! If you want to send information to be included on this website, take a look at the formatting guidelines.