11 years after I was supposed to attend my senior prom (I didn't end up going), I finally made it tonight, although I have to add a slight caveat - it wasn't for my graduating class, and I got to go as a chaperone/adult and not as a happy-go-lucky 18 year old on my way out of high school and a step closer to the real world. Instead, my attendance was one of the many side-benefits of being married to a high school teacher. Last year, I had the privilege of attending Junior Prom on my birthday, and this year, a little over a year later, I got to take the same kids to their Senior Prom - held on a Hornblower boat for a San Francisco Bay tour.Despite being older than these kids by more than a decade, and finding myself slip into the realm of being an old fogey, aghast at some outfits, some intimate dancing and not "getting" every rap tune, we still managed to have a pretty good time. The boat cruise went through some of the most breathtaking sights around the Bay - from Alcatraz to the Port of Oakland, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and by downtown San Francisco. The boat itself featured full meals, desserts and drinks, and two separate dance floors - one with fast-paced, mainstream music, and another (much less popular) that was considerably more mellow.
Though we tried to be the stand-offish security types who look askance at odd behavior, we too got on the dance floor - trying to beat these teeny-boppers at their own game. Unfortunately, the musical preferences strayed closer to rap than the occasional techno anthem - though we were treated to a variety from Fat Boy Slim to Green Day. One of these days, I swear I'm going to volunteer as DJ and see if I can win some converts. But that's one of those unrealized dreams, probably.
So long as I stay young enough to avoid looking creepy, I won't mind doing this year after year. We should get out, and the price is right. Most of the kids are there to have a great time, and the less "square" the chaperones, the better off they'll be. At least now I have a positive prom story to go with my own Junior Prom travesty and skipped Senior Prom.
Listening to ''The American Way'', by The Crystal Method (Play Count: 8)