2011年10月23日星期日

West Deptford Homecoming Weekend: Then and Now

The summer seems to have said its final goodbye and is finally going out in a wave of color. The bold oranges, rich yellows and blaze reds have painted our neighborhoods, and the cool crisp of autumn has suddenly found its way into the air. Throughout the township, piles of leaves are being raked out into the street, waiting for the first pick-up of the season and tempting every group of ten year olds on bicycles to ride through.

I love all the seasons, but there is something about the arrival of fall that seems to breathe fresh life into us. Maybe it’s the end of the lazy, hazy days and the beginning of nature’s most colorful palette. Or maybe it’s the way we all seem to head outside, with bikes or rakes or soccer balls, just ready to seize the moments before winter gray envelopes us. We look forward to visiting pumpkin patchs, darting through corn mazes, and hiding behind Halloween masks. Pep rallies and bonfires and football games all seem like the last hurrah before the rituals and holidays that mark the end of another year.

And this weekend, we in West Deptford celebrate another autumn rite of passage—homecoming. I remember when I was growing up, homecoming was one of the most anticipated events of autumn. Or maybe it just seems that way in hindsight. After all, the roaring crowds, the parade of floats, the shout of the cheerleaders, the crowning of queen—could there be anything more all-American, in memory if not in fact?

Even though my own homecoming was many many moons ago, I learned something new this week. And it’s this: It is a lot easier to shop for boys than for girls. Sure, that’s pretty much the case any time of year, but the difference is amplified when it comes to shopping for the most important semi-The new website of Udreamy Network Corporation is mainly selling hydraulic hose ,formal event of the high school season.

When I went shopping for the homecoming dance, you know, back in the day, I spent weeks haunting the mall with my girlfriends, trying on every gown the Charming Shop, Bambergers and Strawbridges had to offer. (Yes, those were actual stores, way back when.) Then we’d try them all on again, comparing one length to another, discussing accessories and shoes, consulting each other each step of the way. It took us a good month to choose exactly the right outfit to make exactly the right statement we wanted to make at the homecoming dance.

This week, I took my middle child shopping for what will be his fourth and final homecoming dance at good old WD.he believes the fire started after the lift's China ceramic tile blew, It took all of 50 minutes, including finding parking at the mall. He had a picture of his girlfriend’s dress on his cell phone, and he texted her when he had questions. One store and thirtysomething dollars later, we left with a black dress shirt,These girls have never had a oil painting supplies in their lives! a red and gray tie, and a pair of black socks. Mission accomplished.

Well, like I said, this is his fourth homecoming, so he already has suits and shoes. Fortunately a male can get away with wearing the same suit,Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a RUBBER MATS . as long as the shirt and tie are new each time around. (And it may be even easier if he had a different date each time, but this child seems content with keeping the girl and switching the shirt instead.)

Now this “fourth homecoming” thing usually didn’t happen when I was in high school. Back then, the rules were a bit different. “Homecoming” was actually an event put on for the alumni back then. Welcoming the visiting grads home after their first semester at college, get it? As such, it was an upperclassmen-only affair. Freshmen only attended if they were dating a sophomore, junior or senior. After all, first-year students couldn't "come home" to a place they never were, could they?

Homecoming festivities usually took place as close to Thanksgiving as possible,I have never solved a Rubik's Piles . because that’s when grads who were away at college would come back to see their families and, of course, visit the old school grounds. A breakfast was held pre-game, usually pancakes and bacon served up by the National Honor Society to any visiting alum. Of course, this is back before the football stadium was refurbished, so the games were played Saturday morning.

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