The year was 1987. We danced to "Walk Like an Egyptian" and had nightmares about the rabbit scene in "Fatal Attraction." In May of that year girls put on their finest poofy dresses and stocked up on aerosol hair spray in preparation for the prom (side note: why do some schools say "THE prom" while some refer to it solely as "prom", as in "What about prom, Blaine, what about prom??")
Anyway, I was one of those girls. The dress I wore was borrowed. It was an electric blue dress that my boyfriend's cousin wore as a bridesmaid. I loved it, especially since it gave me the opportunity to buy electric blue eyeliner and eyeshadow to match. Of course, my boyfriend had a matching bow tie for his tuxedo.
The night started off normally enough. The rented limo took us to the Hilton hotel in Manhattan. Of course, the anticipation of the after-prom activities is always high. We wondered with excitement what Manhattan hot-spots would let in underage kids in formal wear. Unfortunately, the first place we tried was not such a spot, so the limo moved on. There were 6 of us. My best friend at the time was on a "blind prom date" with her co-worker's brother, Tony, a nice enough guy in a white tux.
Suddenly the limo jolted a bit, sputtered along and then stopped. We had broken down right there in front of The Limelight, a famous nightclub that was housed in an old Episcopal church. Broken down on prom night!! Well, this is one of those time where youth was truly wasted on the young. There we were in Manhattan, no chaperones, graduating high school and facing an uncertain future, and what did we do?? Did we leave the limo to hit the town? Nope, we stayed there. Guess in this day and age of cell phones it would have been easier to venture out but we were all a bit sheltered, and decicded the wisest thing to do was to stay put.
Hours passed and eventually the limo company sent a car for us. Not a limo, a car. Six of us promsters, our original driver and the new driver piled into a Towne Car like circus clowns.
We decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning. The next day we headed for the beach, but as pretty much every high school senior in Queens and Long Island had their prom the night before and had the same idea as we did, the fields were full. OK, so much for plan B. Plan C was a picnic in the park. We went to the deli for sandwhiches and snacks and what happened next will forever be emblazoned in my memory.
Tony was driving. As he was making a left from one major intersection to another, he, well, came in contact with a pedestrian. Til the day I die I will never forget turning around from the back seat and seeing the packages she had been carrying fly into the air as Tony yelled "did she get up??" When we told him that she had, he kept driving, much to all of our surprise. Then we heard a booming voice from the van in back of us: "Pull over you son of a bitch!!" Gulp. Tony pulled over and a burly man came to the car and promptly punched Tony right in the face through the open window as he said "you're following me to the police station." HUH??? This is the prom, dammit!! These things are not supposed to happen!!! I should be on my second application of sunblock right now slightly hungover from my experimentation with Bahama Mamas!
After giving our statments to the police, none of us was really in a picnic kinda mood so that was it. No post-prom party the night before, no beach day, and no second date for my friend and Tony.
To this day, I get a bit envious of kids who get to experience their prom the way it was meant to be experienced. I do feel cheated out of what was supposed to be a great night. The plus side, I always win the "who had the worst prom" game at parties.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
Pomp and Circumstance
The families eagerly await the arrival of the graduates, armed with cameras and bouquets of flowers. They have arrived early in order to get the best seats possible, waiting on line before the doors to the gymnasium open. Finally, the familiar tune of "Pomp and Circumstance" is heard and the graduates parade in, girls in white cap and gown, boys in green. Some have big smiles on their faces, some look a bit nervous. They take their places on the stage as the ceremony begins.
The graduates form groups and treat us to a few choral selections. We hear "Did you Ever See a Turkey?", "These are the People in Your Neighborhood" and "Brush Our Teeth". Oh, did I mention that the graduates are four and five years old?
This is my daughter's pre-school graduation. Thinking back, I can't remember any such, well, pomp and circumstance when I left pre-school. Yes, it's true we do make much more out of milestones now then back then. Now, everyone gets a trophy at the end of the soccer season, everyone gets a plaque for dance. Some have argued that this is not necessarily a good thing, that it waters down the "real" accomplishments. And before I had kids I might have agreed with them. But the fact is, my older daughter, who is 8, gets darn excited about her trophies. They are a testament to her hard work over the course of the season. Did they win every game? No. Not even close. But if you believe that "showing up is half the battle" then by golly, that trophy is well deserved. Yes, all of her trophies end up in a cardboard box on the top shelf of her closet, forgotten about the very next day, but I digress...
Milestones like my little one's graduation are not only for the children, but for the parents as well. Maybe even more so for us. They allow us those opportunities to reflect on our children; to have one of those "where does the time go?" experiences during our busy lives that make us appreciate the moment a bit more. I found myself being just a bit envious of the parents with children younger than our little graduates. They get to do this all over again (not me, I'm done. Finished. The ship has sailed. Don't get any ideas, friends and family, it ain't gonna happen.)
I realized that I started to feel a bit full of myself. You know how when a woman is pregnant and sometimes people will say that she acts like she is the only woman who has ever been pregnant? Damn right she feels that way! We all did, ladies, be honest, especially with our first. Yes, the room was filled with parents of graduates but I felt like jumping on that stage and shouting, "but you don't understand, that is MY daughter that is graduating!!! See her? She is obviously the smartest and cutest one!!"
So I say bring on both the pomp and circumstance! Let's celebrate at every opportunity! Come the fall my little one is off to kindergarten, where new experiences await her. Guess it's time to get her a cardboard box of her own.
The graduates form groups and treat us to a few choral selections. We hear "Did you Ever See a Turkey?", "These are the People in Your Neighborhood" and "Brush Our Teeth". Oh, did I mention that the graduates are four and five years old?
This is my daughter's pre-school graduation. Thinking back, I can't remember any such, well, pomp and circumstance when I left pre-school. Yes, it's true we do make much more out of milestones now then back then. Now, everyone gets a trophy at the end of the soccer season, everyone gets a plaque for dance. Some have argued that this is not necessarily a good thing, that it waters down the "real" accomplishments. And before I had kids I might have agreed with them. But the fact is, my older daughter, who is 8, gets darn excited about her trophies. They are a testament to her hard work over the course of the season. Did they win every game? No. Not even close. But if you believe that "showing up is half the battle" then by golly, that trophy is well deserved. Yes, all of her trophies end up in a cardboard box on the top shelf of her closet, forgotten about the very next day, but I digress...
Milestones like my little one's graduation are not only for the children, but for the parents as well. Maybe even more so for us. They allow us those opportunities to reflect on our children; to have one of those "where does the time go?" experiences during our busy lives that make us appreciate the moment a bit more. I found myself being just a bit envious of the parents with children younger than our little graduates. They get to do this all over again (not me, I'm done. Finished. The ship has sailed. Don't get any ideas, friends and family, it ain't gonna happen.)
I realized that I started to feel a bit full of myself. You know how when a woman is pregnant and sometimes people will say that she acts like she is the only woman who has ever been pregnant? Damn right she feels that way! We all did, ladies, be honest, especially with our first. Yes, the room was filled with parents of graduates but I felt like jumping on that stage and shouting, "but you don't understand, that is MY daughter that is graduating!!! See her? She is obviously the smartest and cutest one!!"
So I say bring on both the pomp and circumstance! Let's celebrate at every opportunity! Come the fall my little one is off to kindergarten, where new experiences await her. Guess it's time to get her a cardboard box of her own.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)