But first a wee bit of history. For any of you who doesn't know the deal, my old high school, Kellenberg Memorial High School, got rid of prom going into the 2005-2006 school year. They made national news, as they were the first high school, public or private, that got rid of Prom. ABC News interviewed the principal of the school on the front steps, Stephen Colbert made fun of Kellenberg for a few minutes in his second show ever of The Colbert Report, and numerous other stations all over the country, like NBC, CBS, and Fox News also reported on it.
They got rid of it because the principal felt that it was a "flaunting of affluence", and that we all were wasting our time and money, and putting some of our lives at risk, with the stupidity that some people do on Prom night here on the Island. They did not want to have one of us God forbid die in a drunken crash out in the Hampton's days before we graduated from the school, and not live out the rest of our lives.
So, they instead replaced it with a boat trip around the city a few years later, and they named it the Senior Send-Off, but there were some stipulations that were in place. There were no outside dates, if you were going out with someone in the senior class, and you brought him or her... great, good for you. If he or she did not go to Kellenberg, and was in your class, then no bueno. You couldn't arrive or be picked up in a limo, and a parent or guardian had to sign you in and out.
That is what I had. Now that might sound bad, but it really was a great time. It was held just days before we would graduate, and it was five days until I started my orientation at Hofstra University. I had my Prom on Thursday, graduated on Sunday, and went to Hofstra on Tuesday, so all of those unknowns were all floating around in my head.
I felt one of the best parts of the day was the drive in on the bus. I sat next to my friend Mark, and we talked about sports for about an hour or so. The bus ride wasn't that long, but to get through a bit of traffic, and an about fifteen minute delay from leaving the school, we talked about baseball, basketball, football, and of course hockey. That was a lot of fun.
I also got to say my goodbyes to certain people, some of which people I could go without. I took pictures with my friends, and we danced the night away. I cried a bit, laughed a lot, and sweat my ass off. Now I didn't dance that much, but when you get 450+ seniors and teachers on the bottom part of a boat with not a lot of air conditioning, in the beginning of June, in New York, it is going to get hot in there!
But to spend about three and a half hours around Lower Manhattan, and around the Statue of Liberty, with some of the greatest people I have ever met in my life, then I guess in the end I didn't need a Prom. I guess in the end I was fine with my Senior Send-Off.
Did you have a Prom, or did you have something similar to me? Did you have anything at all? Is it good or bad that Kellenberg got rid of Prom ten years ago?
Here is the Stephen Colbert clip of when he made fun of Kellenberg all the way back on October 18th, 2005: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/kzin67/the-colbert-report-the-word---bacchanalia
DGS
Quotes of the Day: "'In a word, financial decadence.' Financial Decadence... that's two words!" - Stephen Colbert
"Yeah I know that this is a Catholic school, and Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But may I remind Brother Hoagland, our nation is big enough to buy some really huge needles, with eyes that you could drive a limo full of drunk prom kids through!" - Stephen Colbert
"What is this teaching our children? That affluence is not supposed to be flaunted? Do you know what would happen if the rich stopped acting rich?" - Stephen Colbert
(All of these Quotes were from the Stephen Colbert piece on Kellenberg, that I linked here.)