The center of a country person’s social life is the grade school multipurpose room. Multipurpose rooms are large, open, indoor-spaces with hard floors and high ceilings. Every country school has one multipurpose room that is used as a cafeteria, auditorium, theater, gymnasium and indoor track, among multiple other uses. Country people do not refer to this room as the multipurpose room but rather as “the cafeteria,” “the auditorium,” “the cafetorium,” or the “auditeria.” If a country person tells you that an event is “at the school” then you can assume that you will find it in the multipurpose room. All fish fries and pancake breakfasts attended by beauty queens take place in the multipurpose room as do the beauty pageants themselves. School fundraisers, white elephant sales, proms, school board meetings and Pinewood Derbies are also held in the multipurpose room.
And don’t forget high school study hall! One day in study hall I was daydreaming about whatever and suddenly out the window I saw dogs getting it on in the schoolyard. I poked Norman Kloker so he could watch, too. Now THAT was a study hall to remember.