HELP! High school prom info needed

I've never been to a prom and have only the vaguest ideas of what goes on. So I don't know whether the people who go are a cross-section of the student body or just certain groups of students. I don't know whether the atmosphere tends more toward fun, ceremony or 'we're outta here' (or something I haven't even thought of yet). 

A few details I'm needing at the moment are-

• which Sat. in April 1988 the prom would have been held
• the approx. hours (8:00-midnight, etc.)
• about how many people would have attended
• the 'agenda' for the evening
• live music vs. DJ
• anything that made this particular prom stand out from previous ones
• planned or scheduled events before or after the prom that were in any linked to the prom (or attending the prom)

NOTE: My book is purely a work of fiction. I am not researching actual people who attended as a basis for any characters that will appear in the book. Any info you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

If you know someone I should be contacting, I would really appreciate that also. (Please specify if I may or may not tell them you referred me to them.)

Please leave a comment on anything you think would be helpful. Or email me at-

incurableoptimist@chuckpierson.com.  

HELP! Texas Pawn shops in the 1980s

One major setting in my novel is the 'Lucky-R Pawn & Jewelry' in Wichita Falls. 

I once owned a 'buy-sell' store in Portland, Oregon that included jewelry and the occasional gun. But we didn't have a pawn license and we were a much smaller operation than the Lucky-R of my story.

So there's lots I need to know about Texas pawn store law, business operations and day-to-day activities. For example-

• Size (sq. ft.)?
• Space allocation between sales & operations/storage
• Firearms-
• Rifles/shotguns vs handguns
• How secured when store closed (locked 'in place' vs gun safe)
• How old employee must be to show/sell firearms (18?  21?)
• Pawn vs outright purchase
• Percent of overall sales
• Jewelry
• Pawn vs outright purchase
• Percent of overall sales
• Taking inventory
• How often (weekly, monthly, etc.)
• Method used in mid- to late-1980s (pre-bar codes)
• Paper (by hand)?
• Computers by simple spreadsheet?
• Computers with some type of inventory program built-in?
• Other?
• Anything I haven't thought to ask?

Please leave a comment on anything you think would be helpful. Or you can email me at-
incurableoptimist@chuckpierson.com.  

HELP! 80s Music You Listened To

Like anyone over the age of seven, I can go to the Internet and 'google' things like-

• "music of the eighties"
• "love songs of the eighties"
• "eighties top hits"
• "texas music of the 1980s"

What I can't search (with any degree of certainty) is what music you---a teen of the 1980s attending high school in Wichita Falls---were listening to, cared about, danced to. I don't know which music and music groups made a difference to you and in you.

If music meant something special to you...or even just one song or one group...I hope you'll share that with me. Thank you!

Please leave a comment on anything you think would be helpful. Or you can email me at-
incurableoptimist@chuckpierson.com.