Thread by @roywoodjr

At 17, I worked 35 hrs a wk (violating child labor laws) to have what I thought would be a prom night that ended with (hopefully) at least a kiss. Instead, I ended up alone in a hotel room eating leftover Red Lobster, watching The Richard Bey Show. a brief #PromChallenege Thread

https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/1229790208834572294

I was determined to pay for prom myself. My father died 6 months earlier & I could see the stress my mother was carrying as we became a single income home.

I didn't need much.

A Tux, dinner for two at Red Lobster, condoms & a room at the Rime Gardens Inn & Suites.

First the Tux. The go to spot in Birmingham is Mr Burch. @MrBurchFormal Dude was PRESSING me to get a white tux. “You gone be fresher than everybody youngblood. TRUST ME! This white tux is one of a kind. You gone be the only one with it, ain't nobody else ordered it yet”

Tuxedo secured, next, Condoms.
There was no reason I needed them. We were both virgins and We’d discussed sex early on and agreed she’d let me know if ever she was “ready”. So I never pressed the issue.

But then I thought,

“What if she decides that prom night is the night?”

But if you're gonna lose your virginity, it shouldn’t be with cheap health department condoms. It's gotta be top shelf. Convos around safe sex were taboo in the 90’s. Buying condoms could get you looks of shame at the register. ESPECIALLY if the cashier was an old black person.

The only way to guarantee I didn't run into someone from church or my mama's friends was to buy my condoms on the white side of town. It was one of the few times racism came in handy. They too busy following you around the store to judge you for trying to have sex.

Condoms secured it was time to settle on a hotel for my prom night make out session. An old co-worker at Subway had his honeymoon at the 'Rime Gardens Inn & Suites'. All I remember him saying was "The mattress is so soft man...so soft." He kept saying it was the "pinnacle"

Before you judge, remember. This was '96. Even the city of Irondale shows respect to Rime.

"At the height of it’s success, several Fortune 500 companies designated Rime Garden Inn as their preferred local facility for executive transitional housing." cityofirondaleal.gov/redevelopment-…

Executive Housing......Executive.

Being 17 w/ no credit card Rime Garden was the only place that would give me a room for cash and take a cash deposit.

Prom night was set. We went to Red Lobster , it was amazing. It would be the only thing that night that went to plan.

My prom night unraveled as soon as I hit the front door.
Off the top. TWO classmates had the SAME DAMN TUX!! He aint have to lie to me like that. YOU TOLD ME NOBODY ELSE HAD IT! Mr Burch was a gotdayum liar. Respect to Marquelon & Adrien pictured here, but I'd been lied to.

As the night progressed people kept saying “see you later tonight”, Come to find out my girl spent the entire night inviting OTHER COUPLES TO OUR HOTEL SUITE!!

That hotel room was $200 plus a $400 cash deposit. I delivered pizzas until 11pm on SCHOOL NIGHTS , WITH A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON to pay for this room. THEY AINT WELCOME IN THE EXECUTIVE HOUSING!!

WOODGRAIN ON DA DISHWASHER!!!

- EXECUTIVE HOUSING!

Next thing I know it's 1am & watching re-runs of 'Comic View' with 4 other couples. The ladies decided it was time for us to take them home and we complied. I dropped her off but I couldn't go home.Not when I have a $200 bed cross town. I drove back to the Rime Garden

My prom night ended with me alone on a couch in a "one of kind tux" eating Cheddar Bay Biscuits watching the Richard Bey Show (O.G. Jerry Springer).

Worst part of prom was next morning when the store refused to refund my unopened condoms. Cashier said "Just cuz it didnt happen last night don't mean it aint gone never happen. An unused condom is God's way of saying "keep trying."

Still not sure if that's good advice or not.

Nothing to sell. No SoundClouds. But FedEx is breaking off $$$ to small businesses. Please consider voting for black woman shoe designer
Salone Monet

smallbusinessgrant.fedex.com/#/gallery/than…

Just your name and an email. None of that crazy registration stuff.