Military Ball

I arrived at the Moringside Inn at 6:00 on the 15th not knowing what to expect. It has been years since the Linganore NJROTC program could hold a military ball. This one had a lot of publicity, but almost didn't take of because not enough people wanted to go. They thought it would be too "uptight" and "controlled" becuase of its military nature. I think they missed out on a lot of good fun.

I was a bit nervous at first, since I was one of the only people without a date. This made it kind of difficult to go through the ceremonial sword arch (a cdouble row of officers holding their swords at present arms). Normally a girl is escorted by her date. One gentleman dhad to go through twice so that I wasn't unescorted. He was so polite to me, most people probably thought I was his date. It made me feel special.

Dinner was excellent--the Morningside Inn staff provided a very nice buffet dinner. I got to sit at a table with Jen, Kat, Scully, Flor, Cdr. Lane, an assistant princiapal and a teacher chaperone. I loved getting to see all the guys in their service dress uniforms. Everyone looked "spiffy," even Cdr. Lane. The girls' dresses were like prom dresses, and some were semi-formal. My favorite was Charlie's blue full lenth prom gown. The color was amazing and made her extra pretty.

The best part of the ball was the dancing. There was every kind of music--slow dances, pop, oldies. The biggest surprise was when the commanding officer asked me todance during the first song. That was the first time I had been asked to dance. Lots of people were shy at first, but once the first dance was over, the cadets were enthusiastic. We even had some break dancing. Two men showed off their skills by flipping over each other. Near the end of the night, there were more slow dances. The couples were cute, but the two boys who were without dates were silly enough to dance with each other.

I was reluctant to go at the end. It was such a wonderful night for me, and everyone bonded closely. Hopefully, there will be more group events for our unit. Many more. I'll be sure to write about the next one, too.