I was struck by "change" at a party I attended recently. The setting was a Yacht Club, the hosts a couple in their mid- twenties celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary. Apart from the parents and assorted relatives, the other guests, also, were young. The crowd seemed to be performing a pantomime, for the shrieking noises of the band and the tumult of voices trying to rise above the racket of the music was undecipherable.
I thought back to my senior college prom in1937, dancing to the lilt of a Strauss waltz and the witty melodies of Cole Porter. A dance often ended with "the dip", where the man bends backward and draws his date into a graceful embrace. A "dip" today means a potato chip scooping up a glob of guacamole. But last Saturday the youngsters were having a marvelous time. In fact, they were more alive and animated than the girls were at my prom. I’m sure I could have found a 1930's version of the Yacht Club scene at many clubs the night of my prom, but that was not the norm as it is today. Few among us in the 1930's ever saw a Yacht Club, let alone a party in one, except in a
More later, Joe
P.S. If my yacht club reference has you wondering where I'm at, it's Salem, Massachusetts.
Thank you again for a delightful evening. The food was fantastic, the company very fun and our drive afterwards was cool, too.
ReplyDeleteMy mother and I enjoyed reading through your blog posts last night after we got home.
I found a lot of images of suffragettes wearing long white dresses. I tried to send one to you at your email --josephtaylor@verizon.net -- but it came back. Is that the right email address?
talk to you soon
Jean