<p>Well, since my previous plea for details has apparently been sucked into the ether, could I please prevail upon all you good folks who attended your region's balls to report?! They sound like a good time! Details! Details! I think I've forgotten what fancy dress looks like...but I have a really good imagination! I'll be checking in with my plate of chocolate cake and a good Merlot, so please don't disappoint! Thanks in advance!:)</p>
<p>Momof1...</p>
<p>Our local Ball was 12/26 at the Union League in Phila., a magnificent establishment.</p>
<p>The event was great and so was the food...salad, tomato bisque, filet, asparagus, & chicken in a cream sauce. I admit that I was a little disappointed in the desert since it was white chocolate, not dark..but hey at least I saved on those calories!</p>
<p>Prior to dinner there was an open bar & appetizers served in two richly paneled rooms. Top shelf booze I might add, I also noticed that the bartenders asked the mids & cadets for ID.</p>
<p>The parents were led into the main dining room by a sole bag piper...</p>
<p>The mids and cadets all looked very handsome, especially as they were formally presented with their escorts. I noticed that the female mids had to wear their SDB's, I understand that most of the ladies would have preferred to wear a gown.</p>
<p>The most touching part of the evening was the presentation of the "Honor Table" to the fallen, prisoners of war, and MIA's. One feature was the glass turned upside down since those being honored are unable to raise their glass in a toast. </p>
<p>The toast was definitely cool...to the flag, the Commander-in-Chief, to each branch of the military, to the fallen, and finally to the parents.</p>
<p>Then there was the "grog" recipe...the ingredients added by a rep from each academy... I never did sample it!</p>
<p>Our speaker was Congressman Curt Weldon of Pa. ( check out "able danger" on-line to find out about this Congressman)...he spoke of the commitment of the young men & women attending the academies, and concluded with the sad story of one of his nominees' who was killed in Iraq.</p>
<p>There was a band and almost everyone danced, including my husband although I did have to pull him out of his seat!</p>
<p>Anyway, it appeared that a great time was had by all...I do hope that you have the opportunity to attend next year.</p>
<p>I forgot to add that since ours was hosted by both USMMA & USCGA, the centerpieces were adorable lighthouses. One of which I was able to take home since I had the winning number.</p>
<p>Plus there was a power point presentation of these two academies.</p>
<p>momof1,
See USMA thread for some great photos that shogun posted of the All Academies Ball in Los Angeles. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=129689%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=129689</a>
prayerful mom,
Why would female mids wear SDBs when they have mess dress? My daughter would have worn mess dress if required, but loves dressing up in beautiful clothes, so instead she wore an exquisite gown, wrist corsage, manicure, pedicure...</p>
<p>The cadets and mids, dressed in their formal uniforms, walked confidently up the curved staircase. Accompanied by dates equally dressed in their most formal wear, the couple made handsome representives of the Acadamies.</p>
<p>The initial hour was for cocktails and photographs. As one after the other came up the grand staircase, beaming parents could be seen off to the sides. It did not matter what Academy was being represented, the long gray line or the mess dress blues [which are actually black], each couple looked amazing.</p>
<p>Of course, there had to be dinner. A fabulous dinner of stuffed chicken breasts, rice, and green vegetables. Did I forget the salad, presented with appropriate flourishes, the meal was off to a grand start.</p>
<p>The prentation of the colors by a local JROTC group set the tone for the speeches and presentations. I have to admit that this part of the night did go on just a bit too long. The 1963 graduate of the USAFA [the host of this ball] spoke just right and even when asked what cadets [by the way it just doesn't sound right when the hostess used the term "middies" over and over again] should do with their low interest loans, he gave a great response: Spend some of it! Spend some, save some, and enjoy what you have earned. [I think the mother asking the question hoped he would say that it should all be saved.] The slow part was the repetitive introduction of each cadet/mid present and the presentation of a coin to each '06 attendeed. The cadets were getting wrestless. [Note to others: Speed this part up. The grand march sounds interesting; at least it gets them up and out of their chairs.]</p>
<p>Finally, the DJ was permitted to cut loose. [Did I mention that door prizes were awarded to about 1/3 of the attendees and each of them was presented $50. You can imagine that this went over VERY well.] It took a moment, but the fact that these are 18 - 22 year olds finally took over. They took to the floor and started dancing away. It was great site. Especially, when, despite their formal wear, some of the cadets started break dancing on the floor. They are, after all, just kids.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there was not quite enough dancing time [too much speech time] and the night came to an end all too soon. Lights out at 11p for this group. They soon dispersed to the winter air.</p>
<p>Amid laughing and joy, mother and I returned to the hotel, where our mid asked if he and his date could "go for a walk." We smiled at each other as we pushed them out the door.</p>
<p>I'm living vicariously through all of this also as my cadet just didn't want to go. I ended up watching chick flicks last night with most of her high school teams. We giggled and cried over the movies, but I kept wondering how the Ball was going. Now I have just a year to figure out how to make sure she's dying to go to the Ball next year. ;)</p>
<p>Reading these, it sounds like such a wonderful night of celebrating with your cadets/mids/coasties/newbees/doolies..... can I assume that all within a designated area come together for this event regardless of academy? And I noticed some are hosted by different academies- is this something that rotates between them, or is it up to each area? Do all areas participate? </p>
<p>Sounds like you all have lots and lots to be very proud of! Congratulations on your young men and women who have gotten this far!</p>
<p>Thanks so much to all that have responded so far! It just sounds so exquisite! Maybe we will crash Hawaii's ball next year, since we will likely be at the HaleKoa rather than here in the ice and snow! </p>
<p>Here in Alaska the balls have historically been held in Anchorage. We live 400 miles away in Fairbanks, which is actually close compared to academy students from Nome or Haines. (Here's a map <a href="http://puffin.ptialaska.net/%7Ejgreeley/alaskamap.gif%5B/url%5D">http://puffin.ptialaska.net/~jgreeley/alaskamap.gif</a> ) Soooooo, if we drive in the middle of the winter, we drive through the 40 below cold and dark on a two lane road which passes right by Mt. McKinley and it takes about 8 hours there, 8 hours back. A 3 day ordeal that we have done countless times for swim meets (you wouldn't imagine the miles on our Jeep!) If we fly, it becomes a thousand dollar 2 day ordeal, and we hope the car doesn't freeze up in the airport parking lot while we're gone. :)</p>
<p>I guess you have to live here to appreciate this last part, but here goes. I did propose that we rotate between hub cities (Anchorage, Fairbanks) in an odd/even arrangement, and the counter-offer was that we could do it halfway between the two. :confused:</p>
<p>There is nothing between the two. Just lots of highway, moose, and a couple of gas stations. </p>
<p>Left that one alone.</p>
<p>Anyway, so I am very happy to live vicariously through y'all, although I would really love to go if our mid ever showed the least bit of interest in the sojourn.</p>
<p>:D :D :D Talk about some fun! It was fabulous! I can't begin to explain what happens inside when you see all the kids grouped together. DRATS! I gotta come back later to post more. Seems I've just been voted as the DD for this evenings fun & games with a bunch of middle-aged nut heads. </p>
<p>I will leave you with these parting thoughts: I found out my kid dances just like his Dad..... Wow..... It was bad.....</p>
<p>:) I will eagerly await more information! As it is, we (we being long-suffering H, DS, DS's swimteam teammates, "the council" of friends, and assorted and sundry others) are going out on the lake behind our house to blow off a ton of fireworks! If you show up, too, don't forget to dress warmly (for 20 below tonight) and bring plenty of anti-freeze! If we are lucky, mother nature will contribute her own light show with auroras! Be safe and happy, everyone!</p>
<p>HA! HA! My sundry assorted lot are wimps! I had them whirled around town and back home by 10 pm. Cause were all OLD! Ya always know when its time to head to the house when they start singing the Eagles and hitting each other.</p>
<p>Back to the ball More or less exactly how Bill & PMom described. Being the newbs we are, we were blown away first seeing all the uniformed young men & women with dates decked out in their finery. I got rooked into sitting at the sign in table for USMA as no one could do that table. Jamz called me a Benedict Arnold & took my photo in front of the USMA sign. BUT every time people came up to sign in, I got off a Go Navy under my breath. USMMA & USGA hosted this years ball. It does rotate yearly and the smaller academies usually act together due to them being a smaller group. I think the thing that struck me the most, was seeing some of the young people again after seeing them freshly appointed a few short months ago. They've really grown into something profound. Self-assured and well spoken. I noticed a huge change. It seems they do understand the large footsteps they've chosen to walk in and there wasn't one person out of the 150 there who were not extremely proud of them.</p>
<p>The guest speaker, an Army COL, gave an unusually long speech (12 minutes) . Engraved wine glasses were at each place setting for the toasts and for keepsakes. A kid from each academy was chosen to give the toast to their respective academies. Yep. Jamz was chosen for USMMA. :D Then each young person was asked to come to the microphone & tell a bit about themselves and to ask their parents to stand. The hubby & I made a pact right then & there, that depending on what the boy said, wed either stand or wed turn and look around the room as if looking for the parents of said Plebe. He ended up doing well, so we stood.</p>
<p>Dinner was the usual group fare of salad then chicken with some sauce over it and the pretty little limp veggies. The cheesecake hit the spot. Then on to the dancing. The DJs all over this state always begin dances with Carolina Girl. Its just the done thing here and there were some Cadets from West Point that could shag beautifully. No English ideals here either. The Shag is our state dance folks. All of them danced & danced. I did notice that they seemed to line dance to just about every song. At first I thought it was cute but when they did it to Sweet Home Alabama, I had to shake my head. Sacrilege. </p>
<p>We cut out about 11pm as the dance ended at midnight. Then the fun began. Good thing we were in a suite and could shut the kids out because they came in & out 100 times before going off to the Waffle House next door for patty melts & sweet tea at 2am. No cigars though. There will be photos to come. </p>
<p>Hey guys, Happy Happy New Year out there in cyber space! Im raising my glass & you do the same. A TOAST! A health to you, a wealth to you, and the best that life can give to you. CLINK CLINK</p>
<p>Hey JM -
Where in SC was the ball held? Was this your first year to attend?Thanks for your great descriptioin of everything! Sounds like something to look forward to next year!
You've got Carolina Girls stuck in my head now! (Yeah! Best in the World! You know it!).</p>
<p>Bz! Best in the World! You know it! I'm assuming you're from this fine state as you know our anthem so well. This was indeed our first ball. It was held in Columbia at the Embassy. It will most likely be held there next year as it is a central location. The only thing that dampened spirits was the Gamecocks loss that occured during the COL's speech. You could hear the screams from outside the ballroom & I saw every head turn towards the closed doors. No one had the guts to get up and go see what had happened. I had to flick my husband's leg under the table to get him to turn back around. Then I realized it didn't matter because everyone in the room started a low buzz and all were squirming around in their chairs. To clue ya'll in: They played in the Independence Bowl and we'd all gone into the ballroom with the Gamecocks having a 21 - 0 lead. Sadly, they ended up dying and Missouri won 38 - 31. Our newspaper the next day had this headline: "Missourable end! USC squanders a 21-0 lead with second half collapse" We're all in mourning.</p>
<p>A few generic photos taken by the photogragher of the evening</p>
<p>Kids will be kids
<a href="http://www.partypics.com/ver2/ViewImage.aspx?OrderNo=26127209&Roll=00002&Frame=_MG_0864%5B/url%5D">http://www.partypics.com/ver2/ViewImage.aspx?OrderNo=26127209&Roll=00002&Frame=_MG_0864</a></p>
<p>Line dancing to Sweet Home Alabama. No I'm not in it...
<a href="http://www.partypics.com/ver2/ViewImage.aspx?OrderNo=26127209&Roll=00003&Frame=_MG_0922%5B/url%5D">http://www.partypics.com/ver2/ViewImage.aspx?OrderNo=26127209&Roll=00003&Frame=_MG_0922</a></p>
<p>SC class of 2006
<a href="http://www.partypics.com/ver2/ViewImage.aspx?OrderNo=26127209&Roll=00002&Frame=_MG_0850%5B/url%5D">http://www.partypics.com/ver2/ViewImage.aspx?OrderNo=26127209&Roll=00002&Frame=_MG_0850</a></p>
<p>Ahh, Columbia...I remember it well. That is where my mom, (my husband was deployed) our son and I evacuated to during Hugo! Luckily our home only lost a roof, very light damage for the storm! The house next door had to be torn down and started again. </p>
<p>I loved the pictures! Especially "Kids will be Kids!" What a handsome group! Just proves that even "good kids" have a great sense of humor! Thank you so much for posting these! Y'all are awesome!</p>
<p>Too bad about the Gamecocks! The Honor's College at USC was probably son's 2nd choice (as if there were such a thing! Most of the college catalogs got burned in a bonfire last nite - I think his mind is made up!).<br>
Thanks for posting the pics JM - enjoyed seeing all those great Carolina kids. Hope we make it next year! Are you in the upstate? We're in the LowCountry. momof1 - were you living down here during Hugo?</p>
<p>Yep, we still have that home in Summerville! We really love SC and Charleston! Maybe someday we'll head back south and thaw out our toes! Or do Alaska in the summer (nowhere better!) and SC in the winter. We'll have to wait and see what the next decade or two bring!:)</p>
<p>Sounds like a great plan Momof1! Bunny boots to flip flops....... What a concept. Nothin' can be finer than the sun in Carolina! Well, maybe except today. Its rainy yucky out. Bz, have you ever stopped by the Carolina Cider Company? We go out of our way to stop in there. Always come out with an arm load of goodies! SHRIMP & GRITS! I love that place! BOILED PEANUTS! We're in Aiken but tend to do alot of run-around in the lowcountry. It just has this "feeling" about it that keeps ya going back. Once a year, we do Edisto for a week. Nice place to go to get away. Only the Piggly Wiggly offers any kind of excitement there. :D </p>
<p>Two more days with my Plebe.... I don't wanna send him back....The "dark ages" begin now & I hope it doesn't get too bad. We'll all have to share some unique ideas for boodle boxes to lighten & brighten it up abit. Not too many breaks to look forward to and lots of hard work.</p>
<p>JM - Haven't been to CCC - where is it?
Shrimp & Grits - yum!
Rainy here, but WARM - currently 64F!
Went out to the beach at Hunting Island yesterday & we could see Edisto clear as a bell!</p>
<p>Hope everyone else is staying warm too - even you, momof1!</p>
<p>It is off of I-95 at the HWY 17 exit around Beaufort. Hope you're able to check it out sometime. It is too too quaint. We pack picnics & go to Hunting Island sometimes. Best beach ever! Feels just like Jurasic Park driving through it. I always hold my breath expecting to see ancient things roaming around amongst those palms. I have photos galore of that beautiful lighthouse. Are they finished with it's restoration yet?</p>