Cyrano

“Ummmm….no.” I remember the day all too well. My first rejection by a girl I REALLY liked. I was only 13 and I’d asked her out, hoping she’d have mercy on my fragile ego. Perhaps she’d pretend to be my girlfriend for a little while, or at least stop breaking out in hives when I got near her…no such luck. Heartache sucks! I was a happy cowboy the day I met the girl of my dreams.

So, there I was a few days ago having a vicarious heartache as I listened to our son lament about a girl on whom he had an obvious crush.

“She likes me as a friend Dad, but I think she feels I bother her. I think she wants me to go away some times.” Oooooo, I knew he was hurting. I felt his pain.

But wait! Why should he have to suffer as I did?! After all, I’d been through it all. I could tell him what to say! I could be his Cyrano!

“OK buddy! The next time she’s within earshot, just say, ‘Hey, can someone please help me find my Congressional Medal of Honor?!’ Wait, she might be a little to young for that one. Try one of these…

‘See my friend over there? He wants to know if you think I’m cute.’

Or how about this one?

‘Do I know you? ‘Cause you look like my next girlfriend.’

As you can guess, I didn’t tell him to say any of that. It didn’t work when I was 13 and continued to NOT work fabulously for 20 more years

We commiserated, I told him to respect women and also himself. If a nice young lady showed no interest, he shouldn’t take it personally, just move on. He seemed to understand.

We’ll have many more conversations like this to be sure. My final thought was, “Next time try, ‘Bond…James Bond.’” NAH!

Guest Writer – Michael Malgeri

Editor’s Note: Along with “On Dad’s Watch” Michael writes a series of books he calls “Bedtime Stories about Capitalism,”  which teaches kids about honest profit making. Visit http://www.kids4biz.com. You can write to him at mmalgeri@kids4biz.com