Since we’re talking about prom dresses and I’m still biding my time until the vampires return, I dug up some old dance pictures from high school.
I already posted the one from yesterday – That shimmering pink number was, in Natalie’s expert opinion, not safe to wear due to flammability, but we all know I like to live risky.
As you can see, above on the right, I have a little ephemera problem. I keep everything. If you wrote it, drew it, or made it for me, i have it in a box somewhere. Just ask my husband, who married me and thereby inherited a staggering amount of . . . well, nothing. Notes from class in high school? I have them. Left me a note on my door or car in high school or college? I have it. Doodled me a picture? I have it. Played in a band that i went to see and for which there was a flyer? I might just have it. Ticket stubs? Got’em. I drank beer out of a champagne glass from my junior prom last night. Extra points to the person who guesses the theme. (Hint: The year was 1989.)
So, we’ll start with Homecoming 1987: Crazy for You. Yep, Madonna, from the Vision Quest soundtrack, no less. Can’t beat that with a stick. And I wore the shiny dress. Can’t find the real pictures from that event, and honestly, i can’t remember much about it, except going with David, and we rode with an older guy. It was my first “date in a car.” We were not even out of my neighborhood before someone handed me a beer. I also remember thinking, “Oh, I’m not supposed to drink in cars. What do i do now?” But drink in a car, I did. And from there, we just know it was pretty much downhill. I don’t remember going to the dance at all, but i do remember that night being the first night I ever went to Lon Feldman’s basement. It was not the last time by a long shot.
Next up: Homecoming ’88 – When It’s Love. I can’t make this shit up, people. If you are keeping score, that is one Madonna. One Van Halen.
I went with Shane Nugent. People called him “The Nuge.” I did not call him that. Totally nice guy who was in my homeroom forever. (I was a “P” and he was an “N” – originally, they did homerooms by alphabet, and I was always between John Parker and Alison Peacock, which is how I came to be friends with the Homecoming Queen. After they changed the way they did homerooms, i was no longer with Parker and Peacock, but Shane and I were in homeroom together all four years of high school.) Anyway, I guess he asked me because he didn’t have anyone else to go with – we never dated or anything. I hadn’t been asked, so that worked out well. We went with Jeff Myers and I can’t remember who his date was. We ate at the Italian place in Roswell that for some reason I am thinking Van Halen ate at once? No idea where that came from in my brain, but it is stuck in there, and it would be awesome if someone else remembered that and let me know i wasn’t crazy. That is all i remember.
Oh, and I didn’t totally hate my dress. Blue velvet, with bows on it. I didn’t even hate the bows. Very small bows. Also, silver shoes. I always wanted silver shoes, ever since my mom had a pair in the 70s, and i used them for dress up.
Next: Homecoming 1989. I am pretty sure, based on the picture below, and the timeframe, that this was “In Your Eyes” themed. I went with SLP, just as friends, and it was fun. As mentioned in my comments for yesterday’s post – he was an easy date. No love connection, just two friends who wanted to stay out late and get their drink on. I believe that this was the infamous “wallowing” night, wherein there were many love triangles, and a few of the jilted lovers, myself included, sat around in someone’s unfinished basement (John Sabol’s maybe? Cannot remember) and drank a lot and acted all unlovable and probably listened to The Smiths.
Again, not really an offensive dress. I cannot complain. Gotta love that tissue paper background. Scott looks nice, hair kinda big like i remembered.
This is the piece de resistance, though – Group photo, capturing all of us in our gangliness, all fresh-faced with the world in our hands. Or at least the Atlanta skyline. Obviously need to start with Natalie – She kept AquaNet in business. That is some big hair. John behind her. Me and Scott next to John. Next up, to Scott’s right, are Brant and his date, who was a year younger than us, and for the life of me, i cannot remember her name. Leigh and Mike to their right. Then Matt and Stacy. Front row from left is John B. and I can’t remember that girl’s name either. Also a year younger than us. I remember her being nice. Camille and Duck. What the HELL is in Camille’s hair? Is that a purple bow? Last, but not least, Doug and . . . Carla, maybe? Something that started with a C.
Now, this is a mess of crossed lovers right here. I totally had an ongoing crush on John ever since he moved from Oregon in 7th grade. I used to stare at him in Ms. Stone’s class instead of paying attention to the Wrinkle In Time discussions, which is the only other memorable thing about 7th grade. Now, John and Natalie dated. I think at some point Nat fooled around with Brant, though. Brant and i had just had a recent fling, but then he met Leigh (Mike’s date) and they were all about the young love. I think Mike liked Leigh, too, but really he was in love with Virginia. Not sure why they weren’t together here. Now, I also had dated Matt the past spring, when we were Juniors, but we were still friends. I remember being at a party that fall and we were talking, i think in Mike’s basement (this may have been the fabled “Decant” night, with the fish bottle) and evidently, Stacy’s friends wanted him to ask Stacy out and they finally had to tell me to get lost, which is funny, so that Matt and S. could be alone. If I remember correctly, about this time, John B. also had a crush on me, but it was at the same time that I liked Brant. Well, Brant liked Leigh, but he and I were supposed to go see Hoodoo Gurus together, but then he finagled it so that I ended up going with John B., which was actually kinda fun, but i didn’t like him that way. We had Waffle House on Holcomb Bridge after the show. He later wrote a story and dedicated it to me, and yes, I still have it, because, let’s be honest, how often do you have a boy write you a story, especially one that is actually good? No idea what happened to him, but he was so nice. I guess Camille and Duck were dating? Camille, refresh my memory here. But maybe she had a crush on Mike? Doug and Carla were a “real couple” like John and Nat. No drama there, which is good, because now my brain is hurting.
I really want Nat, Scott, Mike, Matt, and Camille to pipe in with their memories of this night, because I am sure that there is some funny stuff I am forgetting. Pretty hysterical how much this picture jogged my memory of a lot of stuff I had forgotten.
And this is my senior Prom photo: I went with Jason. Jason, what was the theme? How did it feel to go to prom with Cruella DeVille? I don’t know WHAT i was thinking. Am i wearing tan panty hose? That is one hideous dress. Jason, did you get a haircut before this? I think they forgot to cut the back.
Again, drama with the prom here. Jason and i were going as friends, but by this point, I was completely in luuuuuvvvv with Charlie. Charlie was going to prom with his ex, Kristi. Again, I really don’t remember much about the dance (where was it? Downtown somewhere?) other than the fact that I just wanted to be with Charlie. Jason? I KNOW you will remember tons of other stuff.
Okay, enough for today. Matt, I spared you (and myself) the pain of seeing us in the bigass white prom dress Junior year. You owe me.
Yesterday afternoon, Todd called me out to look at some yard work he was doing. Turns out that one of the shrubs we’ve been basically ignoring until it is cool enough to prune is actually a really huge fall-blooming Camellia. It has about a kajillion buds on it, and just a few blooms yet.
It is really fun to go through a whole year’s cycle and have surprises pop up. We came in April. Since then, we’ve had a surprise Weigela (sp?), some shrub with a form similar to the weigela or a Forsythia, but with little white flowers on it that bees LOVE. A number of old daylilies that obviously need to be divided, but that i was just ultra-excited were there. Some kind of spring-blooming fruit tree. A cherry, maybe? Awesomely huge tulip poplars that remind me of the old Saddle Creek house. Tons of Azaleas and Hostas. Probably 6-8 Dogwoods. (Dogwood Girl’s natural habitat!) We also have two birdbaths that just came with the house. And a windchime. Anyway, i was v. excited to come across the Camellia and the Pyracantha (I think that’s what it is) and I am really looking forward to seeing what the winter garden presents me with – I foresee a lot of Holly and Nandina. There is a lot to be said for buying an older home and it’s established garden.
