It was with some trepidation more than 60 years ago, as a senior in high school, I asked a young lady, a junior, to accompany me to my senior prom. To my delight and surprise she agreed. Fortunately I had a friend, another junior but not attending, who offered me his tuxedo for the festivities. I was not, nor ever was a ladies man, so the event was special and probably embellished over the years with memories.
Sequel to the story: As I went off college to find the real world, my friend with the formal wear and my date, both juniors, had another year and another prom, and, I suppose in an attempt to relive my fun and excitement, he wore the tux and took my very date to their prom. I’m not the only one with the memories.
So now, I’m at Trinity View. Last night we had what’s called the “Candlelight Dinner”, the primary social event of the year. No tuxedos (except for Chef)! They don’t fit us seniors anymore, but we all get dressed to the nines (do they still say that?).
Hank Whitfield and Bob Devereaux shared the problems of remembering how to tie a Windsor knot. With the COVID still out there, but carefully kept safe from us, we still wore our masks, maybe suggesting a masquerade ball, and safely spaced throughout.
The ladies were gorgeous, and my date, yet another junior from that same high school class of yesteryear, though I didn’t know her then, is the lovely woman who shares my Trinity View apartment. You’ll have to ask her about her memories!
An unbelievable meal, courses exquisitely prepared by Chef Larry Carnes and his multi-talented cooks and presented by dining manager Margaret McVay leading a crew of impeccable servers (are the servers impeccable or is the service impeccable? Just checking). We seniors were all in agreement that there wasn’t a restaurant in Asheville, known for its high cuisine, that could provide and present a meal of that quality.
Nobody got up to dance, though Charlene Hughes, decked out in a furry Russian Ushanka hat, proposed a few Cossack kicks. I’m sure some of us dreamed and wished we had danced the night away, but what an event, the Candlelight Dinner, or for those of us who remember special events of a lifetime, another “Senior Prom!”
