Miss Ginger's First Prom!

That's right, dear 'Snaps, Miss Ginger never went to prom in high school.  You will all be shocked to learn, I'm sure, that Miss G was "the class fag", the one who was picked on in the hallways, mocked in gym class, and otherwise ostracized by all but a select few friends in high school.  Miss Ginger couldn't WAIT until 3pm each day so she could escape those terrorist boors, so there certainly is no reason why she would want to get all dolled up on a Friday night and watch them drink themselves silly on hootch they stole from their parent's liquor cabinet. Just not Miss G's scene.


So how ironic is it that on the exact same night that Miss G's    
old gang meets for their 30 year high school reunion, Miss G gets to go to her first prom! And with one of her favorite people, no less, Ms. MB, of OCD landscaping fame!   


At one point Miss G actually contemplated going to the reunion, but her discovery that 2 of the people she would have actually enjoyed seeing wouldn't be there reduced the number of people she might want to see to 3, and one of them she sees all the time in NOLA.  That, coupled with an unfortunate facebook interaction she had with some unfortunate coonass girl who's name was probably Tammy, made her decide she'd rather spend her time volunteering.


So what a fortunate coincidence that the kids from HATCH were having their prom on the same night, and Queen Ginger was invited to represent the Krewe!  HATCH is a wonderful organization here in Houston, hosted by the Montrose Counseling Center, that allows young people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity in a respectful, safe, and protected environment.  While other kids are at career fairs deciding what the want to be when they grow up, the HATCH kids are busy determining WHO they want to be when they grow up! It's a crucial decision for GLBTQ teens, and unfortunately, a decision some don't survive long enough to make.  

So the Queen, along with the Float Lieutenant, Vice President, and Secretary of the Krewe had a great time watching the kids have a great time!  It was certainly one of the most "colorful" things Miss G has ever seen, with girls, boys, gurls, boiz, queens, kings, and one young person designated as "Rainbow" on his or her shirt that Miss G could only label as "fabulous"!  There were kids from all walks of life, all colors of skin, and all different angles of the diversity rainbow when it comes to orientation and gender identity.  Once group of biological girls, who called themselves "The Gendermen", did a little lipsync performance dressed as bees, and they were just adorable!  2 different Lady Gagettes, one almost 7 feet tall with her shoes on, came together for an impromptu GaGa duet of "Bad Romance" that had the whole crowd on their feet!  Seeing kids with somewhere to go where they could be themselves, dress as they want, and act however they want to was pretty amazing.  Queen Ginger looks forward to doing more work with the HATCH kids, and looks forward to the next time she's asked to interview the students for the Youth Scholarship Fund.  It's great to be able to help kids find their way to becoming happy, stable, successful adults!