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2O2 4 – 2O2 5 GU I D E to Y E L LOW S P R I NG S 61 a practice she gave up follow - ing the loss of her husband, Buck Truitt, who died in 2018. “There was so much going on emotionally, and I just couldn’t function because of the loss,” she said. “But danc- ing [in September 2021] was momentum for me, and I was like, ‘OK — we’re going to have a community dance.” Blackwell-Truitt said she feels that dance is central to her being; her grandfather, Barrett “Buck” Gee, was a tap dancer who used to hop trains and perform from city to city in the early 20th century, sometimes with legendary tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. When his five children were born — including Blackwell-Truitt’s mother, the late Anna Gee Blackwell-Hagans, who was a celebrated local pianist — he taught them all to dance. “It’s been a really great reality for me to recognize that this is a part of my blood — I per- formed with my mom a lot, and “I just didn't have the mental energy, I guess — the desire to try to pull something like that together,” she said. “So I thought, ‘Okay, I'll just wait and see what happens next year.’ Then it’s 2021 and, oh, here we still are.” During that time, Blackwell- Truitt also underwent knee surgery, which kept her from dancing for months. After physi - cal therapy, as well as working with her son, Kyle Truitt, who is a personal trainer, she said she was cleared by her doctor to return to her passion. She had the chance to do so in Septem- ber 2021, when World House Choir Director Cathy Roma asked her to choreograph and dance to a piece the choir would present, “I Feel Like Going On.” As the song’s lyrics repeat — “Though trials mount on every hand, I feel like going on” — Blackwell-Truitt said returning to dance after the isolation of the pandemic and her surgery “got [her] started again.” She also began belly dancing again, now my sons Kyle and Justin and I get to perform together, and Buck, when he was living, just kind of keeping it in the family,” Blackwell-Truitt said. That family connection to performance, she said, might be why dancing has always been so close to her heart. “It’s a part of me. I just have this need — a desire — to move,” she said. “It's hard, but I never look at it as work. If you love something that much, why would you consider it work?” ♦ Fresh roasted peanuts, fine chocolates and candies.  1576 E. Main St., Springfield, Ohio 45503 937.323.2591 Since 1937 • Non-medication approach • Restorative Intervention Mental Health Wellness • In-person or online • Cognitive /memory assessment Neurofeedback Therapy • Autism • ADHD / PTSD • Anxiety, Depression • COVID Brainfog • Chemo Brain Homeopathy/ Thermography • Natural/safe remedies • Early detection • Breast health/ maintenance Mind/Body Wellness • Therapeutic Massage • Reiki • Reflexology • Reconnective Healing • Restorative Yoga • Sound Healing An Integrative Approach to Health, Wellness & Spirituality 937-769-5019 • 1525 Xenia Ave.,Yellow Springs • TLC-AC.com • myneumind.com 113 Corry St. Yellow Springs, OH 45387 ART • APPAREL • JEWELRY BATH & BODY • ACCESSORIES & MORE shopurbanhandmade.com power to the artist