City-sponsored sock hop fails to get feet off ground
A city-sponsored sock hop Wednesday lacked both socks and hops.
City employees say they are trying to figure out what went wrong with the sock hop scheduled at a senior citizens center. The event was to feature Buddy Holly music. But, apparently, few people showed up, and nobody brought music.
”It wasn’t the day the music died,” said Sandy Glass, a city spokeswoman. ”It was the day the music didn’t show up.”
Glass said the sock hop Ð scheduled for 1-3 p.m. at the Lubbock Senior Center Ð fell pray to ”miscommunication” among herself and the center’s director and staff. She said she didn’t discover the problem until she called the center that afternoon, more than an hour after the sock hop was scheduled to start.
”I didn’t know about it until too late,” Glass said. ”If that’s the worst thing that happens to us before the Buddy Holly Center opens, we’ll be fine.”
Angie Hobbs, the indoor supervisor with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said dances at the center usually draw good crowds. It’s unclear what went wrong with Wednes-day’s sock hop, she added.
”At this point,” Hobbs said, ”I’m still trying to figure out how the ball got dropped.”
Hobbs said that perhaps sock hops don’t interest the center’s clients, who are usually in their 70s or 80s. But whatever the reason, few people showed up.
Nevertheless, Hobbs said the center’s staff members did their part, providing the space and the CD player for the sock hop. People were encouraged to bring their own music, she added.
”We don’t know what happened,” Hobbs said. ”I’m at a big loss.”
The city planned the sock hop in anticipation of the opening of the Buddy Holly Center on Sept. 3.
A city news release touted the planned sock hop as a chance to ”find out what Buddy’s music meant to a generation that grew up with Buddy.”
”Many seniors at the dance are contemporaries of Buddy Holly,” the release said, ”and his music defined their youth.”
By DAN McKAY
Avalanche-Journal
