A few weeks ago the streets of Paradise Cove filled with kids in formal wear, the boys all 007 in spiffy black tuxes, the girls kind of nervous in tiny, plunging dresses, teetering along on their stripper heels, all of them so young they couldn't help but look beautiful.

They mixed and mingled at the bluff, a surging crowd, laughing and flirting and taking photos, all part of a pre-prom party one of the dads was hosting. Then they swirled their way back up the street, hopped into this souped-up bus and were gone.