A few months ago Bryce Maine was sitting around a table in Eufaula, Alabama making plans for the high school prom.
“I asked my nanny who she went to prom with and she said she’d never been,” the 18-year-old senior told me.
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Bryce was a bit surprised that his grandmother – his nanny – had never gone to prom.
“Every woman deserves to go to a prom,” Bryce said.
And from Bryce’s perspective there was no one more deserving than his sweet grandmother, Catherine Maine.
The idiot principal could have made an exception for a grandmother. The principal is typical of many Americans, a total lack of common sense!
(From KTLA -Ch 5 Alabama…”Safety of students and staff is the first and most important of the many tasks of a school administrator,” Steve Hawkins, principal of Eufaula City Schools, told WTVM.
“For the 10 years I have been high school principal, we have denied requests each year from students asking to bring older dates to prom. We do not chance leaving any stone unturned when it comes to safety. Most high schools have an age limit for prom attendees.”)
Doubtful there would be an ‘hanky-lanky’ on the dance floor. If ‘safety’ is the genuine concern…then Mr. Hawkins should gain that assurance by providing an adequate TSA style search at the door of ALL attendees.
I would imagine that the grandmother was tickled pink to having been invited by her grandson. Her slight giggles while being searched might also provide for a charmingly tender and joyful moment for all who attend.
Ten years as Chief Warden….er, I mean principal of the school. Maybe the school is 10 years overdue for a replacement.
Common sense?
Common sense would be Granny saying, “Thanks for wanting to do something nice for me but I want you to go to the prom with your girlfriend.”
These people sound like they want their 15 minutes of fame and they’re getting it.
Why should schools be made to accommodate every stupid idea that a kid can think up? Proms are not for grannies, they’re for and about kids at a special time in their lives. They are not about creating a sideshow to get your name in the news.
Snowy
Compassion runs deep in some families…more often putting ‘we’ before ‘me’. Many small towns USA still strong regarding God, Family, Country.
I would imagine that the girlfriend may be cut from the same cloth,…and would be delighted to even join the young man and his grandmother at the prom sharing the time with them there. He probably learned his compassion and good manners from oft being around Gram, …she in turn would no doubt insist on turning in a bit early thus leaving the gracious girlfriend and her caring grandson the rest of the evening to themselves.
Compassion should run deep in families and for all humanity, however that does not give you the right to take over a teen prom and change the focus and purpose of it to the sideshow of an old woman in a prom dress. Do you not realize this had already become a media feeding frenzy and would have continued to be one at the prom? Is that fair to the other kids?
You cannot restore a missed prom to an old woman. A prom is a function of youth, of attending your first big fancy dance with a first love or at least a boy you have some romantic feelings for, not your grandson.
A very compassionate restaurant owner has offered the boy and his granny a nice dinner and an opportunity to dance instead of going to prom. It seems to me that will be a very nice alternative for this sweet young man and his granny.
Backpacker and nodiscusing.. what part of “This school has a policy of no one over 21 here” ?? If you make THIS one exception, then you have set precedent for others to push for THEIR ”Exception”.. Then it becomes a free for all..
MY HS that i went into, allowed you to bring a person FROM ANOTHER school to the prom, but they had to still be in high school. NO college, no one NOT a student. Since it was a “STUDENT prom”.. So are you saying that ths deen should have said “OK, thee are the rules, but what the hell, we will let you violate them just this once???”
An unusual situation, but certainly poses no “security” problem for the school. One might wonder why a senior in high school would do this,
baitfish
My bets on that the kid loves his grandmother…..and wishes to provide her an opportunity to recapture a dream once desired,….but never fulfilled.
Kudos for the young man’s compassion toward his grandmother (as seen through the eyes of one from an older generation)…. a quality we do not see, nor experience, often enough.
Bryce Maine….lead on!
The fact he knew the rules ahead of time (only under 21s allowed), does fly in the case of the cudos he deserves though..
It is far too easy to say ‘No’. But with a little intelligence that principal could have easily created an appropriate alternative. All he had to do was to designate Granny as a school chaperone for that prom.
I was going through the comments to see if anyone had the same idea I had before I made a comment. Now that I’ve commented, I guess I really haven’t saved myself from making a comment. (Or something.)
There are times when the best plan of action is to use common sense (a dwindling trait) instead of following the rules. It’s like the idea of zero tolerance of___________ (fill in the blank) because there is always a gray area. Zero tolerance is the refuge of those who don’t want to take any responsibility for their decisions so they hide behind the rules and make no decisions. I could see the ban if Bryce was bringing a 25yo biker-chic with tatoos, piercings and into S&M. Does the (un)principal(ed) think Granny might hid an AK-47 under her gown and massacre those present because she hadn’t gone to a prom years ago? Oris the principal afraid of grandmothers? Remember the touching scene in “Meet Me in St. Louis” when Harry Davenport (Grandpa) asks Judy Garland to be his date to the Christmas Dance because Tom Drake’s tux is locked in the cleaners? This is just the reverse!
But when does making this and that and the other “exception” to the rule get to the point where you might as well not even have that rule in the first place??
How very sad! I can honestly feel their pain, having had custody of my granddaughter since she was 2 years old. She is now nearly 21, and we are best friends and do everything together. This precious young man should be applauded for wanting to share this special event with his grandmother. The school should make exceptions for situations such as this. That grandmother would have cherished being able to share that with her grandson.
Gran, backpacker, mort, joe, player, NV, discus…
Refreshing to see likeminded individuals who can appreciate compassion and kind acts,…and remember how many times in life that laws and rules and punishments have been adjusted to allow for moments of compassion and grace. The story does not tell whether any probable attendees had protested, or if there were insistent cries of “Injustice!” from hardliners who would be attending the prom…although it appears that there are a couple on this page who would have no doubt led that charge. It’s been my observation in life that some who go anal over rules can usually be found tweaking them on occasion themselves. Of course none of the ‘naysayers in this room would ever go over the speed limit, roll through a stop sign, or commit any other societal infraction in life, etc….or at least admit to it…because if they do/have they might be referred to as a hypocrite. Am really surprised at the prom age limit: 20 and under? Pity the student who is married to someone 21 or over….”you can come, but not your spouse.” Sometimes situations occur in order to give us opportunity to revaluate possible overbearing regulations.
As we go through life, and near it’s end, may we all be found delighting in the knowledge that, “Mercy rejoices against Judgement”.
[Am really surprised at the prom age limit: 20 and under? Pity the student who is married to someone 21 or over….”you can come, but not your spouse.]
Why do you see it as outrageous that the school has an age limit for what is supposed to be a STUDENT prom?
(“Why do you see it as outrageous that the school has an age limit for what is supposed to be a STUDENT prom?”).
‘Outrageous’? Your word,…not mine. (See below for accurate assessment)
(My statement: “Am really surprised at the prom age limit: 20 and under? Pity the student who is married to someone 21 or over….”you can come, but not your spouse.”)
Spouse may be a college student, or military, or other …..which happens on occasion,…and have witnessed ‘leniency’ granted on occasion where the basic RULE of thumb had not previously taken into account other harmless variables that a student wishing to attend THEIR student prom may present. It appears not to be the case for this unfortunate student, but is apparent that this particular school leadership have their drawers wound up pretty tight. Reminiscent to those few curmudgeons we unfortunately encounter in life who would hesitate not in shutting down their neighborhood kids’ lemonade stands: notifying local authorities because the youngsters have no license, rampant health code violations, tax evasion, business too close to the street, etc…..a bit overboard for a lot of us, but evidently there are a few crusty individuals out there that demand that those kids “toe the line”. Why, their not adhering to our rules!
(continued…)
There is wisdom in that from time to time we approach the rules and guidelines that we have drawn up, for the purpose of reviewing and re-evaluating lines that have been drawn in the sand. It gives an opportunity for all to consider if there could perhaps be a better arrangement presented whereby those affected might better be served. (Caution:…..Humility required.)
I remember all those times that liberals and Obama disregarded rules and laws out of “compassion”.
We have a country full of illegal aliens because of “compassion” and Obama’s unwillingness to do the hard work of changing the law instead of just ignoring it.
We have “gay marriage” now because it was the compassionate thing to do.
We are paying for operations for transgender prisoners because it is the compassionate thing to do.
If you want the prom open to everyone then you need to work through the school board to actually change the rule so that it says everyone can attend the prom regardless of student status, age or anything else. Instead of doing the hard work of changing the rules you want an exception made just because it’s so sweet to bring granny.
Sorry, Big Harry thinks it would be sweet to go to the prom with his little student boyfriend too. Will you be compassionate then?
Exactly my point snowy. WE have seen what ‘being compassionate’ and allowing this one time exception to the rule has wound up leading to… I would rather tow the line, than put us on that slippery slope the liberals LOVE pushing us down..
I agree that this is a very special situation and admirable of the young man to want to give his nanny the prom experience. I deeply sympathize with their disappointment. However, if an exception was made for them, what do you want to bet there would be more who would make the same request, only it would be a demand because the principal set a precedent. Next thing you know, ACLU would be suing on someone’s behalf because the school wouldn’t allow a student to bring a 30 year old thug as her date. You see where this could go?
“You see where this could go?”
Actually, with a bit of common sense, no.
I disagree rick. We have already seen what making exceptions have led too.. Such as with gay/lgbtqm marriage and such.. Give an inch and soon you will be being asked to give a mile..
Girls can take girls and boys can take boys but a young man cannot take his grandmother. Amazing!
Since no one over 21 is allowed at the prom, I take it there will be no adult supervision, including no faculty members in attendance. Then if something disastrous happens, I surely hope the first person the authorities go after is principle Hawkins, and that he is then removed from office for dereliction of duty. Unless of course principle Hawkins is under 21 and became principle at the age of 10.