Prom just ended. Only it was about two hours earlier than it could have been. I left early. Know why? You wait. Here's an analogy. It was like being stuck in the 5th circle of the Inferno (the place of the gluttonous) while listening to a Herbie Mann's flute solo for hours. And after all the hype and the sparkles and cheer, my classmates and I were locked in a hotel conference room listening to popular ruckus. I really think prom has outlived its usefulness. I mean, I'm sure it was quite a shindig back in the 50s and 60s, but there's got to be a more swell way to go about a gathering. When the idea comes to me, I'll horde it away so others can suffer like I did tonight. Just kidding. But here's one of the things that made my night toastable; hopefully something I will remember for the rest of my life. Approximately fifteen of my friends had the audacity to have a group picnic in a park alongside the river before the big gig. It turned into more of a potluck and veggi-feed than a barbecue (as it had been sold to the masses). Frisbees flew and cameras flashed. But I think by socializing and conversing with compadres that I wouldn't normally have gotten together with on any given Saturday--that's what made the evening so fruitful. (Said in a sing-songy Wizard of Oz tone): And that's what prom is all about... it's a once in a lifetime potluck. If you make it so. What a waste of HTML.