Reminiscense after a sighting in Wal*Mart

Originally I was planning to come home and crash, but the sight of post-prom teens at Wal*Mart this evening kicked off a spate of nostalgia. Of course, MY senior prom was in 1979; we danced to disco, baby, and everyone was wearing their finest polyester (Funny how things come back around, huh?). Our class spent *years* organizing it---it was held in a ballroom at the Contemporary Hotel at Disney World.

I went with BC (GK's brother), having asked permission to borrow him for the evening from his long-time girlfriend---they've been married since 1985; clearly it was meant to be---who had no desire to go. He didn't have a car, so I borrowed my dad's '71 Toyota wagon, and that was the longest drive I'd made since I'd gotten my license the previous summer (about 50 miles each way).

Finding a dress was a nightmare---even then, I was NOT petite. I ordered a dress from the Sears mail-order catalog---yes, I AM that old!---and though it encompassed my circumference, it was well above my ankles. Found this out with, like, three days to go, and ended up at the Mall with my dad, the one and only time in my life I ever went clothes shopping with him---and that was *quite* enough! We went through Sears and Penneys and finally found something at a now-defunct emporium called Jordan-Marsh (I think it was Jordan-Marsh....). It was/is pink and grey, fitted through the bust and free-flowing the rest of its length, with a pattern that always makes me think of cotton balls.**

BC gave me a corsage---which surprised and delighted me. I hadn't been to any other dances and hadn't expected that at all! We had a nice time, although somehow, I remember the buffet better than the dance itself. (Little Swedish meatballs? All you can eat petit fours? KC and the Sunshine Band could NOT compete!)

I/we got lost coming home: ended up taking a seldom-used two-lane highway that seemed to go on forever. Every time the radio cut out, I kept waiting for the Mother Ship to beam us up. (CE3K was a fairly recent release, and if extra-terrestrials were looking for somewhere off the beaten track to boost people from, that was it!) Emerging onto a bigger road into civilization, I conscientiously stopped for the STOP sign---there hadn't been another car in sight for the last hour, but my license was only about nine months old at that point---and my car promptly sputtered and died.

Who should come to my/our rescue but another post-prom couple---someone I actually knew; he was in my Architectural Drafting class, and behind the wheel of his dad's Vette. (Corvette, not Chevette, just to be clear on the point.) It was about 3:30 AM when I finally got home after dropping off BC. Thankfully, just around the corner from my place...I still live in the same house, and so does he; although he's moved several times in the interim, he bought his folks place a couple years ago.

I *wish* I had scan capability. I have prom pix, and at least one other picture of me in that dress in daylight---I wore it to a friend's wedding a couple years later, when my golden hair was about the same length it is now, but before L'oreal was helping it be golden.

Anyway, I hope those kids who were at Wal*Mart tonight will be able to look back and smile at this evening circa 2035. I wonder what the world will be like then?


========================

** Yes, I still have it, sentimental bitch that I am. It's a size 16, and I will never fit into it again in this lifetime unless I lose at least 150 pounds, because the last time I weighed 225, which is what I weighed in 1979, I tried it on for grins and giggles, and obviously things had shifted somewhat, because I thought my tits were *never* going to come back out of it.

Reminiscense after a sighting in Wal*Mart

Originally I was planning to come home and crash, but the sight of post-prom teens at Wal*Mart this evening kicked off a spate of nostalgia. Of course, MY senior prom was in 1979; we danced to disco, baby, and everyone was wearing their finest polyester (Funny how things come back around, huh?). Our class spent *years* organizing it---it was held in a ballroom at the Contemporary Hotel at Disney World.

I went with BC (GK's brother), having asked permission to borrow him for the evening from his long-time girlfriend---they've been married since 1985; clearly it was meant to be---who had no desire to go. He didn't have a car, so I borrowed my dad's '71 Toyota wagon, and that was the longest drive I'd made since I'd gotten my license the previous summer (about 50 miles each way).

Finding a dress was a nightmare---even then, I was NOT petite. I ordered a dress from the Sears mail-order catalog---yes, I AM that old!---and though it encompassed my circumference, it was well above my ankles. Found this out with, like, three days to go, and ended up at the Mall with my dad, the one and only time in my life I ever went clothes shopping with him---and that was *quite* enough! We went through Sears and Penneys and finally found something at a now-defunct emporium called Jordan-Marsh (I think it was Jordan-Marsh....). It was/is pink and grey, fitted through the bust and free-flowing the rest of its length, with a pattern that always makes me think of cotton balls.**

BC gave me a corsage---which surprised and delighted me. I hadn't been to any other dances and hadn't expected that at all! We had a nice time, although somehow, I remember the buffet better than the dance itself. (Little Swedish meatballs? All you can eat petit fours? KC and the Sunshine Band could NOT compete!)

I/we got lost coming home: ended up taking a seldom-used two-lane highway that seemed to go on forever. Every time the radio cut out, I kept waiting for the Mother Ship to beam us up. (CE3K was a fairly recent release, and if extra-terrestrials were looking for somewhere off the beaten track to boost people from, that was it!) Emerging onto a bigger road into civilization, I conscientiously stopped for the STOP sign---there hadn't been another car in sight for the last hour, but my license was only about nine months old at that point---and my car promptly sputtered and died.

Who should come to my/our rescue but another post-prom couple---someone I actually knew; he was in my Architectural Drafting class, and behind the wheel of his dad's Vette. (Corvette, not Chevette, just to be clear on the point.) It was about 3:30 AM when I finally got home after dropping off BC. Thankfully, just around the corner from my place...I still live in the same house, and so does he; although he's moved several times in the interim, he bought his folks place a couple years ago.

I *wish* I had scan capability. I have prom pix, and at least one other picture of me in that dress in daylight---I wore it to a friend's wedding a couple years later, when my golden hair was about the same length it is now, but before L'oreal was helping it be golden.

Anyway, I hope those kids who were at Wal*Mart tonight will be able to look back and smile at this evening circa 2035. I wonder what the world will be like then?


========================

** Yes, I still have it, sentimental bitch that I am. It's a size 16, and I will never fit into it again in this lifetime unless I lose at least 150 pounds, because the last time I weighed 225, which is what I weighed in 1979, I tried it on for grins and giggles, and obviously things had shifted somewhat, because I thought my tits were *never* going to come back out of it.

Yeah, I *am* pimping Wal*Mart

I think I may finally have found the perfect purse...and it isn't a purse.

One of the difficulties of my job has been hauling around the stuff I need...I've always favored bags the size of watermelons, but it's hard to find the right kind of bag. Tote bags are poorly organized, and have a tendency to be open at the top, making them prone to spill their contents at inopportune times. Briefcase-type bags tend to be too regimented---they aren't flexible enough to hold things like an umbrella, a liter of soda, a folder full of papers, a notebook or two PLUS a wallet and incidentals.

There are two bags I've had, out of dozens over the years, that served me well. One was black leather and styled like a doctor's satchel, meaning the top opening folded back, allowing complete access to the contents. I found it at a yard sale somewhere. It was a bit smaller than I would've liked, but was still very versatile, and I was quite bereft when the latch broke. The other bag I got retail, from the fabled J Peterman catalog (Yes, Virginia, there IS a Peterman!). The size is great, it's very useful---I've had it for going on ten years now, and there are only two things about it that I would change: one, I'd offer it in black, and two, I'd put two zippers on it, so one could wear it left or right-handed and maybe close it with a baby padlock if necessary.


The Peterman bag

Then I found something that combines all the best features of both bags. It's spacious, opens like a satchel but has two zippers that can meet in the middle, has enough room for the purse I was carrying, PLUS lunch, umbrella, a small family of polar bears, a couple of books, and all that jazz. Roughly this:



except for the color, which is beige and tan. If big bags aren't your thing, it would also make a terrific gym bag or overnight bag. For someone like me, who has a lot going on and going with them, it's a great find. It's the next best thing to Mary Poppins' carpetbag, only without the portal to another dimension.

Manufactured by Rooster, sold on the tool aisle at Wal*Mart, about $16, plus tax.

Yeah, I *am* pimping Wal*Mart

I think I may finally have found the perfect purse...and it isn't a purse.

One of the difficulties of my job has been hauling around the stuff I need...I've always favored bags the size of watermelons, but it's hard to find the right kind of bag. Tote bags are poorly organized, and have a tendency to be open at the top, making them prone to spill their contents at inopportune times. Briefcase-type bags tend to be too regimented---they aren't flexible enough to hold things like an umbrella, a liter of soda, a folder full of papers, a notebook or two PLUS a wallet and incidentals.

There are two bags I've had, out of dozens over the years, that served me well. One was black leather and styled like a doctor's satchel, meaning the top opening folded back, allowing complete access to the contents. I found it at a yard sale somewhere. It was a bit smaller than I would've liked, but was still very versatile, and I was quite bereft when the latch broke. The other bag I got retail, from the fabled J Peterman catalog (Yes, Virginia, there IS a Peterman!). The size is great, it's very useful---I've had it for going on ten years now, and there are only two things about it that I would change: one, I'd offer it in black, and two, I'd put two zippers on it, so one could wear it left or right-handed and maybe close it with a baby padlock if necessary.


The Peterman bag

Then I found something that combines all the best features of both bags. It's spacious, opens like a satchel but has two zippers that can meet in the middle, has enough room for the purse I was carrying, PLUS lunch, umbrella, a small family of polar bears, a couple of books, and all that jazz. Roughly this:



except for the color, which is beige and tan. If big bags aren't your thing, it would also make a terrific gym bag or overnight bag. For someone like me, who has a lot going on and going with them, it's a great find. It's the next best thing to Mary Poppins' carpetbag, only without the portal to another dimension.

Manufactured by Rooster, sold on the tool aisle at Wal*Mart, about $16, plus tax.