Senior Prom

Why do old people want to relive high school?
Frank, 69, and Marjorie, 66, were among several people attending a special prom for the community sponsored by the Weimar FFA and held at the Weimar VFW Hall. The event was the brainchild of Erynne Treptow, 17, the vice president of the Weimar FFA chapter.

"We had our own junior-senior prom, and after it was over I thought about having something for the older residents of the community," she said. "We used the same theme, 'Starlight Paradise.' We already had the decorations, so I brought it up at a chapter meeting and put out a sign-up sheet."

Treptow said that as a member of the FFA, she's been involved in a number of community service projects but most of community events were for young people.

"We do things like coats for kids and adopt-a-kid for Christmas," she said. "But we've never done something big for the older residents. We go to some of the nursing and retirement homes and dance and visit with the residents, but we've never done something on a communitywide basis. We called it a prom for senior citizens, but it was actually open to everyone."

Really. One of the most boring stories of the week. It keeps going:

The playlist for the dance included country tunes, a few polkas and the occasional early rock-and-roll. FFA Chapter President Cole Ulrich, 17, said it was a little different than what he'd danced to at the high school prom.

"It's a little different," he said. "A little less rap and hip-hop and more country. We wanted music the people could relate to."

Another of the FFA volunteers was Clint Anders, 16. He said the idea of Sunday's prom was one that appealed to him right away.

"A lot of people see FFA as being raising animals," he said. "But a big part of it is community service. When I heard about the idea, I thought about the fact we still had all the decorations from our own prom and thought it was a great idea."

My guess is Clint Anders gets beat up a lot for being such a feeb. But that's not the point here. God help me, I will not be wishing to relive high school when I get up in years. And if some do-gooder honor student wheels me to one of these things against my will, you can be damn sure I will demand the DJ play "Straight Outta Compton." I will also spike the punch. Then I will go start a fight with the principal. Clint Anders is gonna wish he'd never met Frankie Machine.

One more thing: Welcome Grace Nearing of The "Next Blog" Blog to the blogroll.