Go figure

It's plagued me for years. It's caused me a great deal of stress. I've written songs about it. Hungarian teenagers have made fun of me for it. But now, for the first time, things are different... in a way.

A few months ago I met this girl named Nacole. She's nice. On Monday evening I got the idea to ask her out to Friday's school football game. ("What a dumb idea," you say to yourself. Well, as it happens, that was my parents' first date and obviously things turned out well for them.)

Tuesday morning, first thing, I approached her as she was at the water fountain. I felt weak as I spoke, but I didn't falter. And she said yes. My first date! (Yeah, remember the excitement you felt when you were 13... but I'm 16.) However, I wasn't off the hook yet. She said her father would have to approve.

Today I was on pins and needles as I asked her "Are we still on for Friday?" (as I've always wanted to say). She said that her dad was still considering it. So I would have to wait until tomorrow. Well, I was going to have to wait, but all of a sudden this Tropical Storm Katrina has come out of nowhere heading straight toward us, canceling school tomorrow and the game on Friday (we have no school on Fridays anyway).

So, I guess I'll have to think of something else... like maybe a real date or something. We'll have to see how things turn out.

Also, I hope this tropical storm passes with little damage. A repeat of last year's hurricanes would be devastating. Even though this storm is weaker than last year's Frances and Jeanne, we're probably going to receive a direct hit (unlike those storms). Again, we'll have to see how things turn out.

Romance, hurricanes... both natural forces that are almost always destructive but mystifyingly beautiful.