Lisa Lisa "All Cried Out"

We were slow dancing. She was singing along to Lisa Lisa's "All Cried Out." She was smiling. Her hair was perhaps the hugest 'do at the Prom. It was totally 80s.

Let me see if I can describe her outfit.

Black stockings. Some kind of black tutu frilly thing, with a studded belt twice wrapped around her. She had some kind of black undershirt on, but over that was a ripped up black t-shirt, off the shoulder a la Flashdance. Jean jacket with the sleeves rolled up. Covering each forearm---what must have been hundreds of bracelets. And on each hand, a pink lace glove.

Eyeliner. Eyeliner. Eyeliner.

And her hair. Huge. The top pulled into a ponytail on the top of her head. All of it crimped for the evening. It smelled of hairspray. A pink feather earring.

In short, she looked like a young Madonna.

I, on the other hand, was desperately trying for a punky coolness, with my Miami Vice jacket, with the Clash t-shirt underneath, hair spiked straight up. And sunglasses. At night.

"All Cried Out" by Lisa Lisa blasted over the P.A. and she sang the ballad at the top of her lungs as we slow danced the night away.

And now, whenever I hear "All Cried Out" it takes me back to that night . . . five days ago.

Yes, last Friday, my wife and I re-lived our youth, at the "Awesome 80s Prom" hosted by WXLO in Worcester.

I can't tell you the last time I saw her that happy. Just the getting-ready process made her giddy. She and her friend Nikki had an absolute blast trying on various outfits and hairstyles and make-up scenarios, acting like teenagers again. Going to the event was just icing on the cake.

And good Lord, what a scene. We were not the only ones excited about going back to the future. Sixteen hundred folks dressed from Prom 1985. And a handful of folks in amazing costume: Beetlejuice, Marty McFly, Pac-Man, Tom-Cruise-in-Top-Gun-dress-whites.

Music cranking, with videos on big screens of all the hits of the 80s. And when I say my wife was singing along to Lisa Lisa, I mean the real thing. They had Lisa Lisa on stage, running through her hits. She sounded good.

I can't say that I have really ever spent any time wishing I could do my teenage years all over again. But it's cool to now have prom pictures in a Clash t-shirt, instead of that white tux I wore in 1986.


See the video on Youtube.