BAGLY's Prom

For of you who don't know, BAGLY (The Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian &Tansgender Youth) held it's annual prom this past Saturday. This was the 25th anniversary of the prom. Wow! 25 years! If only I had been aware of it when I was in high school. (Actually the first prom would have been held during my senior year in high school...Do the math, I'm 43).

My fiance (we're getting married next week) and I volunteered to chaperone the prom after seeing a listing for it in our church's newsletter. We weren't sure what to expect since we had never chaperoned before, although we could recall our own experiences in the not too distant past.

We had to be at City Hall for a 6pm orientation session for all adult volunteers. We weren't sure how to dress so we wore shirts and ties, kind of like the chaperones we had in high school. I felt like science teacher Mr. Smith, "Don't block the stairways, we need them open as fire lanes". "You need to keep room between you for the Holy Spirit" (we didn't actually get to say the latter, since they didn't play any slow songs while we were there) It was a great night.

Boys were dancing with boys, girls were dancing with girls and yes, girls were dancing with boys, all in an atmosphere free of sex, drugs, violence, weapons and pressure. Everyone seemed to be having a great time, even the adults. The only adults present were the chaperones who wore name tags identifying them as such. Our instructions were to keep the fire exits free, watch for adults that weren't labeled volunteers and keep an eye out for anything "out of place."

The night went smoothly, no problems that we could see, the kids seemed to be having a great time and were very respectful to an "old guy" like me. The BAGLY advisors were well organized and an old hat at this stuff. My better half and I were showing our age by wearing ear plugs (it helped especially being in the same area as the dance floor).

At our appointed time we got our coats and ventured home through the rain soaked streets of Boston, smiling. We both felt a sense of pride and satisfaction in knowing that these kids could go to a dedicated safe space and have a good time dancing with their peers. It was good thing.