havana nights

i loved prom. junior and senior years (i wasn't one of those cool sophomores who got asked by a senior, though i did have c.j. otto-affiliated dreams of greatness). i loved the dresses, the intricate preparation, the accesorizing, the dancing (mario "the italian stallion" borgerding and i were the last couple to leave the dance floor our senior year), the atmosphere. i remember watching ed loiselle, my favorite high school teacher (and one of the direct reasons i entered the profession) and his wife dancing at prom as chaperones and i thought, "man, i can't wait 'til i can chaperone a dance." dorky, i know. sometimes little courtney-humm intricacies like my louder-than-god voice and my obsession with school supplies lead me to believe that my only true calling is high school teaching. my love of high school dances lends credence to this conviction. as a senior advisor, i finally earned my stripes to attend jsb, junior senior banquet.

to fully encapsulate my dorkiness and excitement, i will admit that i had robyn topic-humm send me a dress for the occassion. i mean, come on. i had to dress the part. pre-dance preparations ensued at homestead #1 for jamie, maddy and i, complete with a bottle of wine, three hair appliances and plenty of make-up. maddy made brian and i a corsage and boutonniere and after i pinned the flowers on brian's oceans 11 linen suit, we took his motorcycle down to school with me riding side-saddle and woo-ing the road workers with my scanty apparel. jamie, allison and i had a difficult time veiling our excitement as the servers (10th grade students) delivered smooties and food to our tables. during a few key songs we decided to start the dance party in the quad amongst the tables, lit by colorful bulbs under the chilly fall night sky.

passing notes during dinner is a jsb tradition and along with the inappropriate notes we circulated amongst the staff, while a some of us received a few notes full of sexual connotations from students... somehow both uncomfortably inappropriate and guiltily flattering.

when we made our way from dinner to the dance it was as if we were entering the auditorium that time forgot. wooden floors, colorful flowing draperies with sparkling lights, the stage equipped for live music. very 1950's. the chaperones certainly held their own on the dance floor and i am glad to say that we indubitably had the moves. multiple times during the evening i had to remind myself to remain somewhat cool, calm and collected in the light of my dreams of returning prom greatness. i am supposed to be a role model, after all. instead of a corn field all-night afterparty we had a few drinks to end the night out in style. on our drive home, i yelled, "make good choices!" from the back of the motorcycle to all of the students we passed. especially the couples (i assume this is more appropriate than, "no glove, no love"). though jsb did not include any of the admissions of infatuation that the "from this moment on" 2001 prom featured, the evening was a fabulous venture back to the future that affirmed my gratitude for being 23 and not 18.