Do you remember your graduation? Is it something that is fresh in your mind? Is there parts of it that no matter how hard you try, you just cannot forget? Parts that no matter how hard you try, you can't remember? What a time in someones life. It is suppose to be a time for fun and partying before the great trek into real life and the job world that continues till you retire or die trying. My graduation was one for the record books!!!
Grad was on every one's mind. There is the ceremony on Friday. Then comes the dance Saturday and after parties. Then the post grad party breakfast. Then there is the Sunday fun...... OMG what a weekend..
Everything starts with all the girl going to find just the right dress. This is something that I have come to look at as nothing more than a futile effort to out do the other guy. Something that is suppose to be so fun, turns into something that we have been taught not to do, for our whole lives. Who has the best dress, shoes, hair, car etc. etc. etc. Money out the window for things that will be worn for a matter of hours, then tossed into a trunk, bag or given to charity. God forbid anyone should ever see that same dress on anyone else, or on you again. These days, it is even worse, because now the dresses cost you a mortgage payment and then some.
My dress was fairly simple. Brown velvet bodice with off white crepe skirt, simple and very elegant. It made me happy and that is what counted. Off to the ceremony, Grand March and then the dance. All the parents are sitting in the bleachers with a million cameras. Stop, stand still, look this way then that. My god, by the time you got to the "The Dance". A place where parents are not allowed and the teachers stand guard, so you don't get to close to your partner. If they only knew. The dance is over and now comes the partyyyy......
We were lucky. One of the students, who was also a friend, had a father who owned the drive-in-theater.... Now what a streak of luck. The movie was over and now the fun began. Movies all night. Locked into the drive-in with a bunch of crazy grads and who knows how much beer. Her dad opened the drive-in to the grads for the night and showed movies till dawn. It was a great time. There were parties all over town. Some big, some not. Everyone had a great time. I think I finally staggered home around 4am, only to be dragged out of bed at 7am for the "morning after breakfast", which by some form of luck was at my house.
My wonderful Dad dragged my sorry butt out of bed to greet my guests.... Who's idea was this anyway. I wanted to do nothing more than sleep.
Oh my head hurt. Sitting on the fence post of the yards only gate, I welcomed each guest, with a finger pointing at the coffee and food (like any one of us was going to eat anything). Throwing up, or not doing so was at the forefront of each of our thoughts. So much fun the night before and then misery for the morning. We had one or two of the kids that showed up walking around the outside of the lower lawn for so long, they actually wore a path in the grass. hahaha. Bodies sleeping on the grass. The coffee was a huge hit. Toast and a bit of bacon were eaten, but I think of the 12 dozen eggs we had, only one or two dozen were used. It was a good thought, but I don't think anyone really realized how bad everyone was going to feel. There were lots of kids that showed up. Some parents were there to help, but I think it was more to see if their kids were still alive. What a night. Now off to the barbecue at Kokanee Park...
Now, Kokanee Park is approx. 12 miles east of Nelson along a very winding road. This can cause some problems for people who have been drinking and some that still were. It can give you the feeling of motion sickness very easily. The partiers were on the way.
Everyone arrived at the park and began making their way down to the beach. On the beach was a sight that few had seen previously. Bodies of kids everywhere. Some sleeping, some groaning loudly and some just laying their holding their heads or sleeping. Piles of beer bottles were everywhere. I don't think I have ever seen that many beer bottles. They were neatly stacked in pyramids intermittently down the beach. Monday morning they would be stacked neatly all around the edge of the roof of the high school. Someone knows how and who put them there. I never did find out.
The barbecue was a ball. Everyone showed up, including lots of family members. The weekend was a raging success. No one died. Only one person hurt... broken arm from falling off Hamilton's Mansion roof. Funny only two of the grad students showed up for school on Monday. I think the rest of us slept for most of the day... Anyway what a weekend to remember. Everyone had fun. Most will remember with fond memories, "The Graduation of 1971".
No comments:
Post a Comment