The Budget of Paradox

Sophia,
When I made the previous post, the Taylor Swift concert idea was just a fleeting thought. But the more I think about it, I get excited and I hope it’s something we can really do. I looked up the 2024 European tour dates. She’s playing Paris on May 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th. By then, your school year will almost be over. If you took off just 2 or 3 days from school, we could make it long weekend in Paris.

Unfortunately, there are no concerts during your Spring Break (April 1 to 5).

If your mom refuses to let you miss any school to meet me, Taylor Swift is playing in France again on June 2 and 3. By then, you’ll be out of school. Plus, it’s well before the Summer Olympics in Paris; they start in late July. I wouldn’t want to be there during the games.

Over the summer, she’s playing in other European cities: Zurich, Milan, Amsterdam, and others. I really like Amsterdam. I’d love to show you around. Plus, it’s one quick train ride to Paris.

You and I have a lot of things to talk about. We need to make up for a lot of lost time together. I promise you’ll have a great time. I hope you give this some thought. Flying off to Europe to meet your dad and going to a Taylor Swift concert probably seems like a big deal. It is a big deal. But not so big that it can’t be done. I’m asking you to trust me. I’ve never hurt you or your sister, despite the fantastic dreams of your mom’s lawyer.

Commit to this. And I’ll commit to you. We can make this happen.

Unless, of course, you’re not a Swiftie. But in that case, we can certainly sort out something else.

I love you so much,
Dad

p.s. If flying alone scares you, bring your Aunt Kimberly. I’ll pay. I suggested this once before to your mom, but she’s not interested in solutions, only problems. You’re old enough to fly alone. If your mom drives you to Washington, DC, you can fly non-stop to any big European city. With a non-stop flight, obviously you can’t get lost or miss a connection. But if you’re willing to make one connection, it’s possible to fly from Lynchburg to Charlotte to a variety of European cities. Connecting in Charlotte is pretty easy. The point is, you’re closer than you think. You can be in Lynchburg for breakfast and be in Europe for dinner. I’ll meet you anywhere.

Sophia,
Are you a Swiftie? I have no idea one way or the other. As you can probably imagine, I am not a big Taylor Swift fan; I’m not really in her target demographic. But I can’t help but notice all the attention and news she’s been generating lately.

I think her Eras Tour is finished in the USA. But I was curious, so I looked. She has an upcoming international tour. In fact, she recently played in CDMX (Mexico City). Reminds me of this post.

She’s playing in Rio de Janeiro soon, but I doubt your mom would let you meet me there. It’s a beautiful city, BTW. I was there last year.

She’s also playing across Europe all next year. A flight to Paris or Vienna wouldn’t be so long. I’d love to have you meet me there if you’re a Swiftie. I’m sure I could find nice VIP tickets so we could have good seats. I’d love to do that with you.

When you were very little, Morey was a Selena Gomez fan, and I bought us special concert tickets so we could meet her backstage. Morey had her photo taken with her. After the concert, we went back to a fancy hotel and ordered room service. That was a nice memory. I’d love to have a similar memory with you, too.

I used to tell Morey: the world is big place. You need to get out of tiny Lynchburg to see it. I promise, you’ll see the world differently after you spend a week with me in Paris, especially if we can get VIP Swiftie tickets.

I love you.

Dad

Sophia,
I just remembered that you’ll turn 18 while you’re a high school senior. Why not consider flying out to see me over your Spring Break in 2027? Or better still, Christmas 2026. Of course, I’d love to see you sooner. But if your mom refuses to get you a passport, we have to figure out something around your 18th birthday.

Her refusal to get you a passport is just cruel and stupid and pointless. Will I kidnap you? Yes, and make you happy.

And then I’ll send you back home at the appointed time.

Her stupid lawyer gave her this idea that I’m a kidnapper. The stupid lawyer is long gone, but somehow still has an influence. I don’t get it. It was never true then, and it’s certainly not true now. I never threatened to kidnap anyone. I never even joked about it. In fact, when I try to take your mom to court to assert my child visitation, she hires expensive lawyers to fight me. Who’s kidnapped who, here?

I don’t know why some people are terrified by the fact that you have a father who loves you.

Morey Percy whatever,
I always have to stop and think about your name. It’s certainly better than having me memorize some kooky pronouns. Anyway, I was thinking about the last time we spoke. You had just gotten a brand new passport in the mail. I’m curious: which name does it contain? If it’s Morey, can you still use it? No one at the airport would know. Certainly, no one in a foreign country would know.

I don’t think I ever asked you why you got it in the first place. Or, if I did, I forgot. Where were you planning to go? I know this was way after the Iceland thing.

A long time ago, you had a brief obsession with Japan, but I think that’s passed.

So, where did you want to go?

Well, if you ever used it, I hope you had a good time.

Sophia: if your mom refuses to get you a passport because she hates me (which is a logical, well-considered reason), I’ll pay for you to get one on your 18th birthday. The world is a big, exciting place. If the UAE is too far, remember that Mexico City is only four hours from Lynchburg. You can come down for a 3-day weekend.

Sophia,

It was my birthday yesterday. I didn’t do much. Maybe one of these years, you might feel ready to say Happy Birthday to me. That would be nice.

I don’t know how much global news you absorb. More importantly, I don’t know if anyone is teaching you the context of the news. What’s happening in Israel right now has a context that is very deep, very serious, and very old… almost going back to the Bible. Jews and Arabs have been fighting since forever.

Anyway, I won’t explain it all here. I can’t, really. But what I hear in the news is that Iran could be responsible for the attack on Israel. Iran, if you look at a map, Iran is just across the waters of the Arabian Gulf from Abu Dhabi. If war begins to destabilize the Gulf region again, especially if Iran is involved, wow, that would be some great job security for me. It would be nice to put my skills to work again and get paid for it.

I hope you’re well.

I think of you, and miss you.

Dad