The saga of the "Duck Tape" prom
How many parents, these days, can claim their daughter's prom experience was
an inexpensive endeavor? For that matter, how many parents can say that their
daughter shopped for her formal at the hardware store?
It wasn't our idea, and it probably required more than the
usual effort from the prom-goers, but at least we can truthfully say this was a whole bunch
easier for us parents.
Perhaps we should start at the beginning.
Our daughter, Laura, has just finished her Junior year at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park, IL (this is 2002, by the way). Her extracurricular passion is theater --- not onstage, but backstage. This is something she calls "crew" --- the "crew" are the folks that put together sets, props, costumes, --and especially the lighting for stage productions. To Laura the actors are secondary; if the lighting was technically acceptable, the show was a smashing success.
So, what does this have to do with a "Duck Tape" prom dress?
Well, crew folks are always having to improvise, and one of the most valuable of
the improviser's tools is (you guessed) "Duck Tape". Laura has some in
her purse for emergency purposes at all times.
While surfing the Web late last winter, Laura chanced upon the Stuck at the Prom Contest and declared that it was her intention to go to prom, with a date, and both would be wearing Duck Tape formal wear.
Now please bear in mind that Laura has always been
too busy with
important stuff (like Crew, or band, or church) to worry about this "dating"
stuff. She has no boyfriend; to my knowledge, she's never even had a date at
all. But she's going to the prom, with a date, and they'll be wearing ---- "Duck
Tape".
"Where would she come up with a date?", you may ask. We didn't know. But Laura had her own ideas, and she went recruiting. She found Nate, a crazy guy who had already graduated, and who had a girlfriend who actually blessed the entire venture.
As parents, we never cease to be amazed.
So, Laura started working on her dress, and procrastinated as is
human nature. Eventually, the day on the calendar was near, and there were only
the
beginnings of anything you could call a dress (let alone a tux).
Well, suffice it to say, there was a great deal of last-minute work, but, she did it. I would have bet money the project would die on the vine, but I would have lost. We bought the entire stocks of blue Duck Tape from several Ace Hardware Stores in the western Chicago suburbs, plus more black Duck Tape, and of course the traditional silver. When all was said and done we had a dress, a tux, a cape, a purse, shoes, and cane. Who could have imagined?
Not only did the couple wear their Duck Tape formal
outfits, but
from all reports, the night was a smashing success! Laura partied in her dress
all night from dancing, to dinner, to midnight bowling.
---and I thought I'd seen everything.