Morning, all. Happy Friday!
It's also Prom Night for the oldest.
Wow, that's HUUUUGE Friday then.
Oh yeah. She gets out at 11, has a manicure appt at noon, taking pictures at 5:30 and then dropped off at the venue downtown at 6. Big doings.
Ahhh, to be young again!
No. No. No. No. No.
I went to high school here in Enumclaw, which in the early 80s was far more of a hick town than now (and it's still a bit of a hick town). So, prom night, senior year, 1983. My girlfriend Phyllis and I are double-dating with her cousin Tim and his girlfriend Tris. Tim had already graduated three years earlier. They asked me to select the restaurant for dinner, because I knew the big town better than they did. They wanted something elegant. I talked with Tim and explained that elegant was going to be spendy. He was working for the water department, making more money than me, so he said spendy wasn't going to be a problem. In hindsight, I should have defined exactly what "spendy" actually meant. Hindsight.
So I booked us a reservation at Henry's Off Broadway in Seattle. I advised everyone that we weren't doing the tuxedos and ball gowns thing, or we'd be flagged for hicks. No limo bullshit. Little black dresses for the ladies, black or blue suits for the guys, and we'd take Tim's car. Tim looked a bit uncomfortable in a suit, but it worked. Classy, and not like a bunch of kids pretending. The families were impressed.
I knew I was in trouble after we were seated. Tim looked at the menu, then leaned over to me and whispered, "There's no prices." That's when I realized that Tim simply had no concept what he was in for.
Fortunately, I had a credit card - a perk of being a grocery clerk and member of the UFCW. I told him I'd take care of it, and we'd settle up later. He was quite distressed to later find out he owed me $200. That was a lot of money in 1983.
I ran into Tim and Tris several years ago. He insisted they take Carol and I for dinner in Seattle. He asked me to pick the place. General hilarity ensued. I thought better of suggesting the Union Grill, and instead suggested Seraphina, which is very nice but not $100 a plate.
Prom night? No thanks. It was lunacy then and it's gotten steadily worse.
