Stardust Ball – 1961

I was looking through pictures from years back when I noticed these were taken at the Stardust Ball in 1961. What makes these special is that Joyce, Ted, JoAnn, and I are in these pictures. It is a reminder that all of us were at the same event. Joyce and Ted had graduated from Sam Houston in 1959. It was my senior year, and JoAnn was in the 10^th grade and had just started at Sam Houston in January.

JoAnn was in the Houstonettes, Joyce had been in the Houstonettes when she went to Sam Houston, and my date, Pat Hawkins, had been in the Houstonettes but she graduated in 1960. I do not remember, but I guess prior graduates could also buy tickets to the dance. I have memories of other things we did together, but these are the only pictures of us together at a formal function like this.

I feel sad for the kids today who do not experience what we were able to experience. To not have all the technology of today, but have social lives with people our age and families just like ours. To spend an entire evening and not looking at text messages or postings on social media. To hold someone of the opposite sex close enough to smell their perfume, to see how they had their hair fixed for that special occasion. To feel like they had taken time to select the dress and everything for that night and had chosen to be with you.

I used to think, a bad night at a dance was better than a good night at home alone. At a Stardust Ball and a Prom, it really did not matter if you even danced, it was the excitement of the event. To see your friends all dressed up and looking like a million dollars, at that point, you did not think about where you lived or the things you did not have. For that night, you could live your dream. These memories are just as important as any others that we share with our grandkids.