My Second-Last Grad

A couple of years ago, for a Throwback Thursday post, I had found a photo of myself, ready to head off for my Grade 12 graduation ceremony. It was a night to celebrate and say farewell to friends who were heading off to college or university, or who were leaving school to start a full-time job.

Other friends at the party, like me, would return to high school in the fall, to complete Grade 13.

In that Throwback Thursday post, I described my outfit: a navy suit. I loved that suit and would continue to wear it for years to come, at special occasions.

Only, I didn't wear that suit for my Grade 12 grad. I wouldn't have that suit for nearly a year later, when I wore it to my Grade 13 grad.

Besides the difference in suits for the two graduation celebrations I attended, there were differences in those evenings. In Grade 13, I joined three other friends in a limousine that we rented, when we rode around the city in luxury. Our driver would pull over, every once in a while, to refill our champagne glasses or to stop at a place where we could take photos.

That was my Grade 13 grad suit and experience.

In Grade 12, I had a girlfriend, Sue, who I was taking to the grad. I remember that evening, because when I arrived at her house to pick her up, Sue's parents had just surprised her with her graduation present: a brand new Mustang GT. Two-door. Convertible. Red.

And here I was, in my parents' 1980 Pontiac Phoenix. Four-door. Hatchback. Beige.

A few days later, Sue and I broke up. She had met someone else, a guy that I worked with at the paint and wallpaper store but who went to a different high school.

Meh, water under the bridge. We remained friends for years later.

I didn't have my blue suit for that grad party. I still wore navy slacks (polyester, if I remember) but had a grey tweed jacket with suede patches on the elbows. Again, I wore a light blue shirt but this one had a white collar that was held at the lapels by a gold-plated pin. My tie was of a knitted wool that ended in a blunt cut, rather than a point.

Corsage in hand, ready for my date.

I don't remember the shoes. They may have been black, though I seem to remember a dark-brown suede pair with gummed soles that I used to wear a lot around that time. They would have matched the brown elbow patches on the jacket.

And my parents' Phoenix.

But not the blue pants. Oh well.

Maybe that's why Sue left me for another guy. I did see him driving her Mustang one time, shortly after Sue and I broke up. And he was always well-dressed.

So you can forget what I said a couple of years ago, on another Throwback Thursday. That wasn't 1983, it was 1984. The photo was shot as I was waiting for the limo to pull up. I was better-dressed a year later and had a better car. And I didn't need a date because I had a bunch of friends.

Happy Thursday!