Senior Senior Prom-- MAC

 I'd heard about senior senior proms and, as a big fan of the sit-com, Hot in Cleveland, I had heard about the senior senior prom...but having not attended my junior nor senior prom as a kid, I took this as an opportunity to have a "once in a lifetime" experience. And I was not disappointed.

The plan was for me to get my things together and drive to Burlington to my girlfriend, Bonnie's house. In order to talk me into going BACK to the city after having spent a week working there, Bonnie offered her place as a resting place for the night. She is a hoot and a holler and we laugh at everything one another says, or as I like to put it--we are in the Mutual Admiration Club.. The MAC.

Now, I CAN dress up and HAVE dressed up? But what does one really pack to spend an evening with 70 and 80 year olds when the "theme" has been loosely dubbed "60's and 70's? I mean, I was raised in the '70's so even I can do that math! These high end of the Baby Boomers? Were raising kids in the 70's so really...were they supposed to don clothing that they had saved from when their kids were teens?

I do vaguely recall the '70s and remember Cyndi Loper and Madonna. Lots of short socks and heels. Lots of pink and black. Leather and lace and really everything in between. Cork platform shoes. Horizontal stripes. Most of the fabrics we wore were "non-breathable" aka synthetic. We used to sweat like crazy just doing the stairs at school. And the fabrics all factory made in China, made me scratch! The 70's to me were a hot, scratchy horizontal nightmare. We teetered around in high sandals, tightly wrapped in bright colors. I recall 1976 being a Bicentennial year and one where I found THE ONLY cotton shift in town. It was red, white and blue, had seems up the front and fit me perfectly.But that dress wouldn't do for the prom, even back then when "peasant dresses" were worn by brides and bridesmaids--we dressed as if we were all yearing for the by-gone days of slavery and mint julips... saying things like, "Daddy's horse had a bad fall," and "Oh, this humidity is makin' me so uncomfortable!" whilst fanning our pretty little noses with one gloved hand and holding a parasol with the other. We wore "body suits"--really they were short or long sleeved acrylic get ups that gymnasts wore to swing around on parallel bars and do flips on mats. But we all had them--mostly scooped necks and tight tight tight. Some snapped at the crotch, others did not, so urinating was always a tossup as to whether we would just pull it aside or disrobe completely...it usually came down to how much TIME we had to pee.

So, getting back to the prom. We arrived all dolled up in a rain storm that frizzed our hair and tried to ruin our makeup. We persevered. And we had a "couples" pic taken. To be fair, most of the "couples" were both women, not because VT is the gayest state around, but because most seniors above a certain age are widowed women. We danced all night to "Rock Lobster" and "Love Shack" (or is that the same song?) and we laughed and ate from styrofoam plates and drank punch from plastic cups. The food was catered and very fancy for a spread set up at a senior center. There were crab rolls and stuffed mushrooms that were rather delicious. Fresh fruit salad. Chocolate dipped fresh strawberries, the works.

We had so much fun dancing in lines following Donna Zeo, the dance instructor that at one point (sober as a judge) I said, "I just do not want this night to end." (Ok shouted it) and the folks there were very happy that we were all there, we multi-aged whipper snappers. The volunteers had genuine smiles. The lighting was dimmed. Festive atmosphere. So much fun.

Bonnie and her husband, David, and I left after the lights came up, the tables were nude and the garbage was hauled to the outside bin. We were raring to go, so Bonnie and I sat up most of the night mutually admiring one another's life stories, struggles and triumphs. It was a wonderful senior, senior prom, one the likes of which this AARP member? will probably never see again.