For my senior prom my friends and I rented nothing, no limo, no tuxes, no hotels for the after party - none of it. Because we went to Winterland to do our dancing to the Grateful Dead. We had real good windowpane were were saving for it, and we went to the city, shopped for records and tapes at Tower (Stevie Wonder's Talking Book on 8-Track), went to a restaurant we all loved (Mel's), went to the show and then hiked out at Ocean Beach and Lands End and watched the sun come up behind the Golden Gate Bridge. That was what? (Way too long ago, that's what), almost 40 years ago and I've never regretted that decision for a second.
I'm sure we:
-spent way, way, way, way less
-danced more
-had a better band
-looked better in our real clothes then the high school tot's playing adult dress up
-had our own cars, with our music systems in them, and we were free to go where we wanted, not to the 'official approved activity'
-had a better dinner than that formal stuff, (Really. Real milkshakes served by girls on roller skates, or some place where your paying as much for the decor and the snob appeal as you are for the food?)
-got a hella lot higher (like third bardo)
-and oh yeah, I had some nice sex play that night too out in the dunes
Oddly enough our parents were thrilled, as they were all worried about the prom night drinking/driving/screwing thing. They knew we were good kids and, well, what they don't know won't hurt them, but it's true we never drank at Dead shows.
are you sure you wanna miss prom?
Not just yeah, but hell yeah. The fun you make is a hella lot more fun that the 'approved activities that have been sanitized for your protection" kind of almost fun that are constantly foisted on kids.
