Like girls sifting through dresses at Macy’s, the teens milled through aisles of sparkling pastel- and florescent-hued homecoming gowns, stepping into dressing rooms to try them on and then modeling them before their mothers.
But it wasn’t Macy’s. The girls were at a South Florida flea market where the charity Becca’s Closet gives used and new gowns to high school students unable to afford one. One mom said her hours as a nurse’s aide had been cut. Another whose mortgage payment had increased said she felt humiliated to ask for help.
“I heard money was really tight, especially in our household,” said Desiree Banton, a 16-year-old who attends a technical school and was trying on peach, lime green and bright blue gowns. “And my birthday is around the same week, so I knew it was gonna be really difficult to get everything done for homecoming.”
Too much is too much and too much has been not only spent but encouraged to be spent on these events. We create the problem of money spending to the ends of earth with our children when we allow huge amounts to be spent for dances, parties, etc…Which is why many who are now in college and even some in high school who are carrying around credit cards are maxed out on their limits and in debt so early in their lives. What baby wants baby gets…..hard lessons are bound to be in their future sooner than they should be due to over indulgent parents and society!
[i] Schools Downsize Homecoming Dances [/i]
And none too soon.
Maybe they should outsource homecoming to India.
I remember in the 1930s depression when small grade school girls were wearing petticoats made from flour sacks and were lucky to get one good meal a day. We may be facing similar very shortly.
Oh, yeah? And where do you suggest we get “flour sacks” today?
Frankly, I’ve NEVER seen flour come in a sack, only a paper ‘carton’. Same with potatoes, no sacks, only plastic bags.
“Smiling” Jim Elliott
Florida
You’re not old enough.