I know (https://lemm.ee/post/32371959) already, but what's it like on your end? It's hard to miss here, people are everywhere going on joyrides and whatnot. How are you all engaging in it? Any interesting stuff to say about your experience?

Call it a hunch, but I think hyperlinking is broken.

As per this post, watch out for leading words that match a BBCode tag.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and reckon that the missing words are in relation to the proms of high school? Surprising absolutely no one, I've never actually attended even a single school dance. I bailed out on my twenty year reunion earlier this month, too. I dunno, I just always hated school, and the thought of being there for even one moment longer than was necessary never sat well with me. I did make an attempt to go on one extra-curricular sea kayaking trip with some classmates from marine biology, but wound up in the hospital before I even got my feet wet. 😅 My only regret is that I missed out on the opportunity to make a rad, studded leather dress and torment any of my crushes with it, but looking back on it, it's probably for the best that I didn't.

The missing words were me trying to link to the other instance of the question by me. But yeah, it's related to high school proms, whether it be senior proms, junior proms (never had those), or college/university proms (if that's a thing). I hated school too, in fact the bittersweet legacy of my classmates is none of them are getting along outside of school (and yet I'm the one they didn't want to invite to the five year?)

However, prom tends to be a neighborhood thing, not just a school thing. As far as the eye can see, I can see people prepping for it. If you're picturing people blocking the road in their dresses, you're not far off. I went to my senior prom at my brother's insistence, not that I'd do it again.

Ah, that's interesting that your whole neighborhood gets in on it. Are there a lot of families on your street with kids who are the same age? I didn't have many friends, and the few I did have lived in better neighborhoods. (One of the reasons I was bullied so much was solely because of the town I lived in; there was nothing wrong with it, but it was a joke that that was where the dirty, poor kids lived, so the richer families would always make snide remarks about it, and the hate just manifested somehow.) It certainly is a bittersweet thing, seeing how everyone else has deteriorated over the years, while I'm in the best shape of my life; physically, financially, and in all other ways. I'm happy and doing work I love, while they're going through multiple marriages and divorces, fighting over custody/paternity of their(?) children, and desperately trying to shill MLM garbage on faceplace. I'd never really judge anyone for such things because life is hard and we all have our struggles, but for those who tortured and tormented me on a daily basis, yes, I'm going to pour a drink and revel in the schadenfreude, as they post their lovehoney affiliate codes, and memes about how hard it is to live with the ̶c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶r̶e̶n̶ choices they made.

Not all on the same street, but all definitely close by to one another, maybe for every six homes in town there's one who has a child who spruced things up for the occasion. There's a lot of scenery here too and much of it is used to their advantage, and that can be seen as you stroll by. Of course things are all wrapped up though. The only difference between long ago and now in my new settings aside from the decor or colours is an entry fee spanning a month's paycheck, so it's a miracle anyone could attend. Many of them are related to my old classmates and, if one is looking for schadenfreude, it has always been easy to get one's school foes' relatives to sympathize with you, like a sword of damocles even.

Muahaha, nothing is more dangerous than a loose-lipped loved one with good intentions.

Also schools: charges three hundred dollars for it, disallows same sex couples or poly couples, mandates a dress code, and blasts it with awful Styx music from the 1970's and only two activities

Nah, that mock gay wedding on the playground was the most momentous part of my life.

I did give prom a try. Diarrhea from the party food ruined it. Aside from the clothes I wore, that's all I remember.

Wait, what's wrong with Styx? Ó×Ò

I never went to prom. I just never found it important nor interesting.