Halloween

Friday was a pretty interesting day around campus. I had heard that the Halloween parade was a pretty big deal around town. I'd never even been in a parade, let alone lead one. I had my first clue that this was a big deal when I saw the fire engine and highway patrol with lights ablaze blocking the roads for us. I wasn't prepared for the crowds when I turned the corner leading this year's parade. I think there was a large crowd, at least. See, for my costume (I was Elwood Blues, and Dr. Keiter was Jake Blues, of the infamous Blues Brothers), I had to get Rayban sunglasses (fortunately the pharmacy had the cheap imitation Raybans). Of course, I wear prescription sunglasses, and the costume sunglasses were not, so the whole crowd was a blur. Fortunately, all our yard duty assistants were dressed up as referees and were positioned at all the turns to ensure we didn't lose any children. Black and white stripes stand out even to a nearly blind Elwood Blues impersonator, so I didn't wander too far off the prescribed parade route. I'm not sure, but I was told that this year's parade may have set a record. I think we completed the whole route in about 8 minutes. Not sure whether the record was longest or shortest parade. By the way, I'm considering having the yard duty wear the referee outfits as official uniforms. They just seem so much more appropriate on the yard that way.

Then on Friday night, we held our first middle school dance of the year. Since it had been more than 25 years since I last attended a middle school dance, I was not quite sure what to expect. The student body officers had done a great job, and the cafeteria looked great. I had to smile as the dance unfolded, exactly as I would had expected. The DJ had the music, lights, and fog machine all working at maximum efficiency. As the students arrived, they all clung together for safety in small clusters near the exits. After a few minutes of scoping out the scene and seeing if it were safe, a small cluster of girls bravely ventured out into the danger zone of the middle of the floor, and tentatively started swaying back and forth to the music (ironically, I think it was "Single Ladies" by Beyonce that got them to dancing). Slowly, as the other students began to realize that the first group of girls hadn't turned to stone, or some other horrible tragedy, they began to slowly join up, until all but the most untrusting of students were in a mob dancing in the middle of the floor. I had to chuckle to see the boys who probably considered themselves "players" to be the last ones to let loose of the safety of the walls, and head on into the fray, even then, only with the safety of their "homies." I found myself at first patrolling the perimeter of the dance like a beat cop, looking for "perps." After a little while, I began to relax, as even my most notorious students were behaving themselves, and I found that instead of having to be the warden, I was able to enjoy myself some. I do admit, I had to show off some vintage 1980's dance moves when prodded by a group of students. They were duly impressed with my "Rainbird" and "Lawnmower" moves. The dance was progressing well, and then horror struck! A slow dance! Suddenly all the chaperones were on full alert. We were scrambling looking for our 1950's Catholic school nun standard issue yardsticks to be able to swat wayward hands. Our fears were not realized however, as there were only about 10 brave souls who ventured into this new frontier, and it was easy for us to verify all hands in proper places. I had a huge surprise when Bonnie, an eighth grader, asked me to dance! What to do? Slow dance with a student? I harkened back to my short stint in Arthur Murray Dance Class (A birthday present for my wife) and struck the proper ballroom carriage. Right hand high on her shoulder blade, left hand "washing windows." We had an enjoyable conversation, which I had to cut short when Krysta, a 6th grader, cut in on Bonnie. I found my dance card becoming full!

It was a very enjoyable evening, and I am very proud of how well our students behaved. They all seemed to have a great time, and it was great to see students in a different light. Thank you to Mrs. Bickley for all her hard work in putting this together. I look forward to the next one!