Prom Reminiscences

This column was written by CBS News Early Show Co-Anchor Harry Smith.

A few years back, a friend of mine named Jock Bickert and I threw a prom for adults and gave the money to charity. The idea was simple. A lot of us had lousy times at our proms – and if not lousy, something less than the dream-filled promise of our fantasy-filled youth.

(Click here to listen to MP3 of Harry Smith's commentary.)

I was president of my sophomore class and our job was to clean up after the junior prom. Five minutes after we got there, my friends started taking the goldfish out of the beautifully constructed Lagoon of Dreams and started throwing them against the wall. Splat. Splat. We cleaned it up, of course. But I had to answer for the debacle in the dean's office Monday morning.

Junior year, I bribed a beautiful cheerleader into going to the prom by offering her some of my mother's incredible homemade brownies. To my unending shock, it worked. But when my father found out her last name and her religion I was told in no uncertain terms that the prom would be our first and last date.

I knew then my dad was wrong. I tried to start an argument, but there would be no debate, no negotiation. It was a time in America when people were proud of their prejudices. I was embarrassed that my dad was so proud of his.

By senior year I had a steady girlfriend. We acted like old married people. The pictures turned out ok, but I don't remember having a blast. Do you?