In Augusta, it's called the Chizzle Wizzle Ball, a formal dance at Cony High School which occurs the week of the Chizzle Wizzle show, a student-run variety show which is claimed to be the "longest continuous student variety show in the United States". Year # 118 for them in case you're wanting to offer some competition! :-)
Hanging out at the formal wear shop in early March, one begins to understand that such events are rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Even weddings are largely "smart casual" affairs these days, but tuxes, cummerbunds, and white shoes are few and far between. It's easier for the guys, of course. They know that if they basically all look alike, then they haven't messed up. The girls, however, live in dread that there across the dance floor will be someone else in an identical dress. When I lived in Aroostook County, where bridal shops are few and far between, such occurrences were commonplace. There are treasured photos of two, three, even four dance-goers in identical dresses lined up together, all displaying a "less than amused, but I'm a good sport about it" smile.
The end result of the fancy clothes and the dinner and the newly scrubbed and vacuumed "ride" is a sense of separateness. The effort to which one goes to get ready for the big dance sets that time aside as "special." We know going in that the pictures and memories of this night will last a lifetime, and so we prepare.
On Holy Thursday, our church will be remembering Jesus' final night with his disciples, how they shared a meal at Passover. At some point during the meal, the youngest participant is invited to ask, "Why is this night different from all others?" It is the question that opens the door to the telling of the holy history of the Hebrews' deliverance from their oppressor.
We are approaching a holy season. Let us not drown these days in ordinariness, diluting their power in a vat of the "every day." Let us cloth our hearts and spirits with prayer and fasting and repentance, coming to God's holy festival days with a sense of expectation.
Why are these nights (and days) different from all others?
Thom, love the blog! Read all your posts thus far. Thanks for sharing. I like this one this morning because I have discussed being dressed appropriately with my kids on different occasions and with my students, many of whom have never gotten dressed for any specific reason other than to have clothes on. Missing rituals are, I think, what drives so many to drugs. They ritualize it looking for meaning, being unguided by elders or scared away from more appropriate and healthy rituals.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to you future posts. Thanks
Enjoyed the Chizzle Wizzle piece...brought back a flood of memmories from '54 - '62! No more endmen. The guys used to have so much fun with that! Choosing the gown was almost as fun as choosing a wedding dress! Boy, did the guys look great in the tux get up! Yabba Dabba Do! Thanks for the memories! toddyrose@gmail.com ToddyRose.blogspot.com
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