Thursday, 01 November 2007
User Friendly
By Herchel Newman aka Herm
My eldest son's senior year in high school, he played varsity basketball. He wasn't a star player, but was good enough to have played more than he did. He was a handsome guy and very much a gentleman.
True to tradition, he had a cheerleader girlfriend. She had long flowing shampoo-commercial hair, a bright, white, hi-there smile and brown hypnotic eyes. And - she was pretty too. After the season was over, so was her attraction to him. She defined the phrase; pretty is as pretty does.
I was more upset with the breakup than he seemed to be. "Dad, he insisted, it was never a deep romance anyway." I just didn't like the idea of her using my son as a ticket to the In Crowd venue. Once May rolled around, so did she.
"Son, who've you been talking to so long on the phone?"
"It was Marsha. You remember her, don't you?"
"You mean the user girlfriend you had earlier in the year?"
"That's her. I guess she realized what a big mistake she made." He smiled and stroked his own ego.
I asked, "It's about prom time isn't it?"
"Yes. What are you thinking, Dad?"
"I'm thinking that if you don't have a date yet, Ms. User is kissing up to you so she can perhaps go as your date."
"Well Dad, I'll tell you. You might be right, but the fact is, I am thinking of asking her.” The look on his face let me know he wasn't up to hearing one of my speeches on pride spurting from the male ego.
Sure enough, he asked her. I just shrugged and sighed when he told me. He explained that he didn't have a girlfriend and she was as good a choice as any for an evening of fun. I decided not to give him any grief about it. It was his prom and his choice.
After further thought, I came up with an idea that suited his kindly manner. I suggested that he make an audio tape for her, and give it to her at the end of the evening. I said he should express his feelings of affection for her and how pretty he thought she was from the first time he saw her. Recall the fun times they had. Let her know he felt honored to have her on his arm for the prom. Finally wish her well and tell her how sweet he knew the good night kiss would be.
I told him this was just a template, but if he did something of this nature, it would endear him to her for the rest of her life. He said he'd give it some thought. I told his mother what I'd done. She told me to stay out of his business.
I polished up the Cadillac for him. His mother made sure he had the corsage. He said he'd bring her by before they went. I got the camera ready. When they returned, all the neighbors just happened to be outside. She was kindly embarrassed by all the attention. She certainly was pretty. They made a fine couple. After a dozen one-more-shots and a shower of giggles from the ladies, we let them escape for one of those once in a lifetime evenings of fun.
It must have been about 2AM when he came in. We were up to hear the highlights of the date. We really wanted all the details, but he deserved his privacy. Half an hour into the story, the phone rang. Who could that be? Maybe one of his buddies wanting to swap stories.
He answered, "Hello?" We were at the kitchen table. He walked away so we couldn't hear his words. When he hung up, he turned to meet our questioning eyes. He was a little flushed, but began to beam with a kind of personal satisfaction. "That was Marsha. She was having a hard time talking because she was crying."
"Was something wrong?" we asked.
"No. Something was right. Dad, I made the tape. She just finished listening to it."
Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Email this post
Comments
How wise you were. Your son will be in her mind forever. Pity her husband to have to compete with that for a wonderful memory.
Posted by: Darlene on Nov 1, 2007 8:37:15 AM
What a marvelous evening.....with a perfect ending.
Posted by: Mage on Nov 1, 2007 10:58:23 AM
You are a good dad, Herm. You give terrific advice and are a great storyteller.
I enjoyed reading about your son's prom date and the tape he made for his girl. She will probably keep it forever. One tip: Tell her to make sure she doesn't put the tape player out in the trash. Keep it.
Someone made me a wonderful home movie of my wedding in 1950. I used to look at it all the time. I haven't seen it now in 30 years because the projector that showed that film is gone. Thrown out. Big mistake.
Posted by: Nancy on Nov 1, 2007 2:12:58 PM
Nancy, you can have that tape trasnferred to a DVD or video.
Herm, you did your son a great service with your advice, and you taught that girl a great lesson.
Posted by: kenju on Nov 1, 2007 4:07:47 PM
Thanks, Judy, that's good thinking, but I'm not sure I know where it is . I will look for it now that you have suggested what I can do.
Posted by: Nancy on Nov 1, 2007 8:18:30 PM
I loved your story, Herm. It reminded me of the audio tape I made of my Mother telling me her story ala Barbara Walters interview. It is now a treasure but hard to listen to because she died a few weeks later at age 83 from heart failure. You know its coming but try to pretend it wouldn't...
Posted by: Sheila Halet on Nov 3, 2007 2:02:34 PM
Every son should be so lucky as to have a dad like Herm. Every girl too, come to think of it.
Posted by: ritergal on Nov 4, 2007 10:25:26 AM
