Senior Prom

SOME STATISTICS about last Saturday's senior prom at Catonsville High School: It was a production in four acts, lasting 14 hours, requiring three modes of transportation, one change of clothing, two crowns for the prom king and queen, two tents, three bands, 430 gowns and tuxedos, and an estimated 100 hours of parents' volunteer work. My wife and I watched the first act on Tori Wilt's lawn in Old Catonsville. Thirty-seven prom-goers - 18 couples and a single - gathered with camera-toting parents and grandparents for the send-off.

Christina Gorecki faced a difficult choice this spring: play the clarinet at Carnegie Hall or attend her senior prom at Perry Hall High School. The opportunity to be a part of the National Wind Ensemble won out and in May, Gorecki, 18, will be on her way to New York for a week of rehearsals, sightseeing and a performance May 25 at one of the world's most famous venues. "I expect New York to be a lot of fun," says Gorecki. But "I am kind of intimidated going in. ... The players are a caliber like no other I've played with."

OWEN BROWN Middle School pupils held a senior prom last week, complete with music, dancing and food. But one detail made this prom different from most - the seniors at this gala were senior citizens from the Owen Brown Senior Center Plus program. Thursday's event was a celebration of friendship between the senior citizens and a group of about 20 pupils who has been visiting the senior center twice a month for crafts, games and conversation since the fall. "It's fun to help other people.

The women were decked out in their best dresses, corsages and a few hats - one was white with black polka dots accompanied by a matching outfit. The men wore suits and military uniforms. They danced, they talked, they ate and they laughed as teens from Atholton High School mingled with residents of Sunrise Assisted Living Community at the fourth Senior Senior Prom. "It really and truly connects the circle of life," said JoAnn Dols, director of community relations for Sunrise, where residents range in age from 29 to 99. The prom is one of several academic and social activities each year involving Atholton students and Sunrise residents as part of an intergenerational partnership program between the two institutions.

THE LONG Reach High School National Honor Society was very busy last week. Led by the group's co-adviser, Ann Strozyk, a Gifted and Talented Program resource teacher at the school, it sponsored two community outreach projects. On Thursday, the group made and served taco dinners to families at Ronald McDonald House in Baltimore. The next day, members held their second Senior Prom for Seniors, a dance for senior citizens. While the billing was for dinner and dancing, the real draw was camaraderie -- for recipients and students.

EXCITEMENT BUILDS for months before the senior prom: shopping for the right dress, hairdresser appointments, manicures, limo rental and choosing tuxes. Despite all the planning, sometimes the most unusual things go wrong -- and become memories forever. Take the story of the boy and his father's tux. This is a true story, but the names have been changed to protect a mother whose son is at college, but might hear about this column. Five guys who had been friends through school banded together for senior prom memories.

THE MUSIC spanned the 1940s through the 1990s. And the people spanned several decades, too. Seniors from Glenelg High School and senior citizens from western Howard County came together April 17 at the fifth Senior Senior Prom at Glenelg High School. Members of Glenelg's National Honor Society sponsored the event. Kiva Feldman, the organization's president, planned the evening with the society's three other officers: Blair Heinke, vice president; Katy Vance, secretary; and Gia Palacorolla, treasurer.

I WAS in the presence the other day of a 101-year-old woman with silver hair and creamy blue cataracts. Her eyes sparkled despite the opaque gauze, evidence that lights still burned within her mind and her heart. She had a strong chin, perfect features and the embracing smile of a woman who must have been the queen of her senior prom -- around the time, I figure, of the Great War.She sat at a round table by a window filled with afternoon light, dressed in a handsome green suit that nodded to her Irish ancestry and the approach of another St. Patrick's Day. As a large party swirled about her, she seemed engaged and happy, and completely up to speed on the various developments in the lives of everyone with whom she spoke.

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They danced to the musical stylings of the 19-piece Mr. Dance orchestra. Graceful couples twirled, dipped and sashayed to the sounds of their youth -- Glenn Miller, Frank Sinatra, Benny Goodman -- the men in classic tailored suits, the women in chiffon, silk and satin.And when it was time to choose the king and queen of the prom yesterday, there wasn't really any competition. Bill and Betty Byrne, who effortlessly glided around the Boumi Temple dance floor all afternoon, were the obvious choice for the honors at the Senior Citizens Prom, sponsored by Loyola College.