European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Last laugh thank you for the party and loud tunes what Dave Barry i in Quot f you done to have enough drama in your life you need to chaperone a party for a group of seventh graders. Quot chaperone comes from the French words a Schape a meaning a person a and Quot Rone Quot meaning a who is aging very rapid we recently had a party for our songs 13th birthday. We rented a Holiday inn function room on the theory that it was roomier and less flammable than our House. We hired two Nice Young djs to play ugly music really loud so that the youngsters would enjoy it. We ordered a Large Quantity of cold cuts for the youngsters to ignore As Well As a Nice fresh vegetable Platter for them to actively avoid. We stood near the door and greeted the guests and their parents As they arrived. There seemed like a lot of guests More than we recalled actually inviting. Apparently this party was giving off some kind of powerful airborne adolescent hormonal chemical attract ant that was causing 13-year-Olds As far away As Homer Alaska to demand that their parents drive them to it. People were streaming into the function room. The kids would melt instantly into the throbbing Blob of youth that had formed in the Middle of the dance floor. Their parents would look us Over trying to discern whether we were decent people or Branch davidians or what. A. There was no Way we could talk to them because the sound system was cranked up to kill zone playing songs that consisted of angry men shouting things like this song is pais makes you insane this song grows big warts. On your brain so wed smile at he parents Tike Ward and june Cleaver and gesture to the vegetable Platter As evidence that we were responsible. They a nod and Scurry out of the function room before their ears started to bleed. Meanwhile in the Center of the room things were getting very dramatic. Of course we had no clue what was going on because we Are grown ups and therefore Way too stupid to grasp the complexities involved in being a seventh grader. Later on our son Gaye us a much simplified version which was that this girl had been going with this boy but then she dumped him although she liked him and wanted to still be his Friend but the boys Best Friend got angry at the girl and called her a bad name which caused her to become extremely upset and burst into tears and she thought that the a Boyfriend had put the Best Friend up to this which he Hadnot in fact he did no to even know the Best Friend had done this and now he the sex Boyfriend was very upset because she thought he was responsible and he was also angry at the Best Friend who was also very upset because he was just trying to help out his Friend and now everybody was mad at him so everybody was upset and everybody a friends were upset and things were just so dramatic and awful that it did not seem possible that life As we now know it could continue on the planet Earth. As i say it was actually far More Complex than this with dramatic new developments occurring every few seconds and important news bulletins circulating through the party at Well Beyonta the Speed of Light. The Central throbbing youth Blob was constantly pulsating and mutating and splitting into smaller groups and subgroups to whisper hug discuss commiserate or a if it was a group of boys a punch. Every few minutes a group of maybe 14 girls a at least two of them crying and at least one of them saying something like a i can to stand it a would Rush past us out the door and into the ladies restroom. Moments later a clot of boys would Rush out and go into the menus restroom. Tatien there would be tense diplomatic negotiations Between restrooms with a Small party emerging from the menus restroom to talk with a party from the ladies restroom. A the just wants to talk to her a Quot she a very upset a then everybody would surge Back into the function room and the throbbing Blob would change form a few times and then suddenly the priority code red Alert signal would go out again Back to the restrooms at times virtually All the party guests were engaged in High level restroom conferences leaving us grown ups virtually alone with the vegetable tray and the sound system our eardrums Lorn to shreds wondering if next year we should skip the function room and just rent two Large restrooms. At one Point As Small groups of seventh graders were streaming urgently past me in both directions a Young lady having clearly been briefed by her parents on proper etiquette stopped momentarily and said to me Quot i in a having a Vety Nice time. So  the party lasted three hours which is 46 years in chaperone time. Finally the parents came Back and the music thank god stopped and the lights came Back on and All those urgent dramatic figures turned Back into seventh graders politely saying Good night and leaving with their parents going Back to the Boring old world. Our son told us it was a Good party. I kind of wished i had been there. A a the Miami Herald the origin cd Gnu two Stiv Quot a of Flat to Bear army not Volsk Page 23 sunday december 19, 1993