"Prom"enading

Proms are in full swing in this corner of the world right now. I noticed that many of the dresses have the full, southern belle skirt this year. That was the style during my senior prom in 1982. You know you’re not so young anymore when you see a clothing style for the second time. It’s been 25 years since my senior prom. I remember:
-A hoop skirt that was so big my date and I barely fit into the front seat of his parents’ Buick. He borrowed the Buick instead of driving his old blue Hornet. Scarlett O’Hara had nothing on me y’all. I heard a noticeable “pop” when I finally wrestled that big ole’ hoop out of the car. (I still have the dress and hoop, by the way.)
-60 hoop skirts bouncing around on the dance floor at the same time and LOTS of blue tuxedos—very funny. One thing about those hoops, you couldn’t get close enough for any dirty dancing.
-We double dated with another couple for our meal prior to the dance. We picked them up at the guy’s house, and his parents were hippies who never got over the 60’s. They lived in this big old gothic house. They were listening to the soundtrack from Rocky Horror, and I noticed a roach clip in the ashtray on the coffee table. This naïve country girl was terrified of being arrested before we could get out of there and yet oddly fascinated by those city folk. They WERE arrested a few months later for growing large amounts of marijuana in their home, which was no doubt germinating in an adjacent room that prom night. Apparently, my fears were justified.
-We went to a great seafood restaurant for dinner but weren’t worldly enough to eat anything other than fried shrimp.
-Our theme was “An Evening in Paris” because it matched the backdrop our prom committee could afford. Our pictures were taken in front of a fake Eiffel Tower.
-My date and I were both so skinny we looked like we had rickets. However, he thought I looked like Audrey Hepburn, and I thought he had great hair (it was feathered).
-We must have danced to Eric Clapton’s song “Cocaine” 16 times. And we parents complain about the content of today’s music.
-For some reason, about three hours into the evening I thought wearing my garter around my upswept hair (glorified bun) was cute.
-Most of all it was the first of a month-long round of activities that launched us into the world with excitement and big dreams. May 1982 was a great time!