When going somewhere meant something

I came across an old picture online of a women dressed in a suit buying a movie ticket at the box office window. It got me to thinking about how times have changed. We no longer see going to the movies or taking the Greyhound or riding on an airplane as something you get dressed up for.

I remember when my mother and I were shopping and packing for me to go off to college. She and I would argue about what was appropriate for me to wear on campus. This even included my PJs. My mother thought that I was supposed to dress more conservatively and wear real nightgowns (the ones that go down to your ankles) at the dorm. I was ok with sleeping night shirt or shorts and T-shirts.

Now before you laugh, you have to realize that my mom went to Grambling University in the 1960s. Women wore dresses and pantyhose. Your clothes were ironed. You came to class looking like you took your education seriously. And that is because you did. You knew that those attending an HBCU at that time were among the privileged few.

I am sure the educators out wish that there students came to class looking like they took their educations seriously and more importantly, that they realized how lucky they are to be getting an education.

By the way, my mom and I came to a compromise. But still, it turned that I was often overdress for The University of Texas at Austin because some of the students looked worse than hobos.