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Charlotte Warr (Andersen)
For those who went to semenary, do you remember the notorious COMPUTER DATE DANCE?
Mr. Loveridge (I think) was the person from South who was helping put it all together. The idea was to have all the semenary boys and girls from South, East, Highland, and maybe even West high schools, fill out these dating applications which were then to be fed into whatever primitive computer they had at the time. The computer would come up with the perfect match for each of us, in theory.
I was imediately on board. I enthusiatically filled out my card, and then started dreaming of my perfect match and finding true love. I made myself a very cute dress with scallops on the neckline and hem from this deep pink velvet my mother had in her stash and adorned it with sparkling rhinestone buttons.
I found out my date's name (I still remember it, but I won't put it here) and when he was going to pick me up. The dance was to be held at the Cottonwood Mall on a Saturday night after all the stores were closed. He was from East High and he arrive with his friend in a convertible. Sorry guys, I don't remember the make and model, but it was a hot car. His friend's date lived way up on the east side of town and went to Highland. We went to pick her up. I was very shallow at that point of my life so I will tell you that I didn't think she was very pretty.
Off to the mall we go, we found a place to park, entered the mall with the guys leading and we girls following behind. The first thing these guys do is head down the mall to find their buddies. They had set up a photography station in a recessed area to photograph the couples. Only, not every couple got their picture taken. There were several couples in the queue and none of the girls were very attractive. My date and I did not get in the line but his buddy and his date did. Shallow me figured out very quickly what was happening. They were having an ugly date contest.
I was so relieved not to have had my picture taken. But the whole thing was humiliating. After the photo booth our dates quickly abandoned us to hang with the other cool assholes from East. There was no dancing. The other girl and I just stood there being wallflowers. We didn't have anything in common - I don't remember her name; just that she came from a posh neighborhood. After a grueling hour the guys came and got us and took us home.
Had I been a better person, I would have done one of two things. I could have called my parents to come and get me. Or, even better, I could have found one of the semenary teachers and ratted those assholes out. But I did neither. I just survived the evening. I hardly ever wore that pink dress again - it had bad associations.
Word eventually got back to the people in charge. I remeber seeing the photo of the unfortunate girl who had "won" the contest. There were repercussions for the guys who participated, but they probably only got a slap on the wrist of some sort. Okay, got that off my chest. 
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