“Stairway To Heaven”

Day 328

Wow! Was it really 20 years ago today that I attended the Windsor High School Prom?! It is quite startling to realize that two decades have come and gone; and while I may not remember everything about the prom itself, I have my journal entry to reflect back on to help me remember:

Saturday April 27th 1991,


2:19 am - Tonight was the Junior - Senior Windsor High School Prom. I was a nervous wreck this morning, not to mention terribly tired. I got up at 7 to help dad remove the middle seat in the van. Then I went back to bed. At 9, I got up again because I promised Alice that I would help her decorate for prom at 10. Mom rushed me to Windsor and then Alice and I went to the Holiday Inn to decorate. Before I knew it, I was actually blowing up balloons (something that I have never done before in my life). We decorated from 10 to 1:30 and my fingers were swollen red from tying the balloons. But it was fun. After we finished decorating I came home and then left again to go to the store to pick up some last-minute items for this evening. From 3 to 6, I was a nervous wreck. I stayed down in my room and just panicked. I wanted to be dead. However, at 7 o’clock, I put my contacts on, as well as my tuxedo. Soon, I was all ready, and me, Dad, and Mom were off. The van was perfectly decorated. We arrived in front of Alice’s house and I came in and posed with Alice for non-stop picture taking. She looked very beautiful. Then we went to Pizza Hut and ate it by candlelight. Then we went to the prom and danced the night away. At 1:30, my “hired help” picked us up and took us home. At her doorstep, I kissed Alice goodnight.

Hmm…a little short and bland, huh? I definitely need to fill in the gaps there, because I actually do remember more about this day, and there are quite a few details left out of my journal entry.

At the time I was still not driving (because of a car accident I had a few months before), so my parents agreed to drive me and my date to and from the prom; they decided to act as chauffeurs, so they fixed up the inside of the van to resemble a limo. They set up a little table in the back of the van; placed a very nice tablecloth and laid out little treats, fancy drinking glasses, sparkling grape juice in a champagne bottle; a little boom box was set out and played music from some movies that Alice and I had seen together on previous dates. And to ensure privacy, my parents draped a curtain to separate the front of the van from the back seat.

At Alice’s house I faced my own version of paparrazi, as Alice’s parents and friends were there ready to take pictures galore of us. It was daunting to say the least. I told Alice that she looked very beautiful in her homemade dress. And then we posed and smiled for what seemed like an hour!

Then we were able to leave (finally!) and my parents drove us to Pizza Hut, where we got a cheese pizza and were able to eat it in the back of the van. My parents drove us to a nice, secluded place, and Alice and I ate while listening to romantic, instrumental music.

Then it was on to the prom. The theme of the prom was “Stairway To Heaven” - that timeless classic song by Led Zeppelin. And at one point the song was played, and I danced with Alice and soon learned that this is a very long song; beautiful, but long! And I remember that when we weren’t dancing Alice was visiting with many of her friends and I was on my own, feeling very much out of place. Who was I? I wasn’t a student at Windsor High, and I wasn’t necessarily Alice’s boyfriend (we never really established that), so I felt like a stranger in a strange land.

My parents picked us up after 1 am, which felt so late to me - probably because I had been dancing most of the night to “Stairway To Heaven”! I remember that Alice and I sat in the lobby of the hotel and had a quiet conversation. And I kept thinking to myself “are you going to kiss her at the end of the night?” There was this pressure, mostly self-imposed, to kiss Alice, and I was very nervous, because this would be my first real kiss. Yes, I hadn’t had a real, true kiss at this point. And the clock was ticking, so to speak.

When my parents arrived at Alice’s house, I escorted her to the front door…paused a moment…thanked her for the wonderful time I had…and then I asked if I could kiss her. She said yes, and I threw caution to the wind and kissed her. A simple, chaste kiss. And maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been feeling so overwhelmed with pressure. It would have been magical and memorable if I hadn’t been so stressed about it.

That was my first experience with the prom. It was a great experience, and I owe it to my parents for their kindness and creativity in making it a special experience for Alice and I. I am glad I had the experience, but I was definitely ready to go to my own high school prom, where I would be surrounded by friends, not strangers. And that would happen the following year…