Seniors Night On The Town - Event Photography

It was an absolute joy and blessing to be a part of Karleen Schmidt's Seniors Night On The Town. As I hid behind my camera lens, I was able to watch people as they interacted with their friends, laughed at jokes, tasted great food, and my favorite part of the night - danced to their hearts content.

I was brought to tears several times while watching the special era of people, the senior citizens, enjoy a night specifically designed for them. To honor them. To honor their era. To give them a taste of what they used to enjoy so much. It is really amazing to me to watch these people dance. They are so good at it. They move so well and in sync with each other. It makes the 'dancing' of today look like swaying in place, looking like a goon, or worse. Something I don't want to talk about on a G-rated blog.

I watched these couples, many of whom have probably been married for decades upon decades, and I thought to myself, how many times have they held hands and danced like this? Are they remembering back to their wedding day when they danced just like this? Or maybe back to the days of their courtship, when they most likely frequented dance halls and tore up the dance floor in the classy way they did in the 1930's and 40's. These people have so much history and wisdom. So much grace, it chokes me up to even write about it.

I was telling my parents about the night and about how touching it was to me. Yet at the same time, I was explaining why it's sad to me, to experience something like that too. It's sad, because those traditions of classy dancing haven't continued. There aren't places for that generation to go and dance like they used to; which was a motivating factor for Karleen to put on such an amazing event. As my dad said, those traditions aren't going to continue beyond their era. Once these people are gone, it seems like the traditions of that era will be gone too. That makes me so, so sad.

So, for the night, I let myself watch, smile, giggle and even cry at the sight of these amazing people, enjoying a night dedicated to them. To the people who lived through the Great Depression. To the people that survived a World War and the many wars that have since followed. To the people that saw the explosion of technology and the huge changes that this world has gone through in the last 50+ years. To a generation that deserves recognition, love, and support from all of us who have come after them. To a generation who's ways are being trampled on and shoved aside by the Internet, reality TV, iPods, cell phones, email, club-style dancing, and modern music.

This night was for them.

Thanks for reading. Add in a special prayer today for those seniors in your life; that they feel the love and respect that they so greatly deserve.

Enjoy the ride,

Laura