The Budget of Paradox

SoBe,
Your birthday is in a month. I wish I could get you something you wanted. But I don’t know what you like. Did I ever tell you that I once went to Amazon, looking for gift ideas for a teenage girl? Everything was pink and FABULOUS and gaudy. Half of the ideas were sparkly pink cell phone chargers. I don’t know your tastes, but I can’t imagine that you would want anything like that. Maybe, some day, what you’ll really want is to sit down and talk to me over a cup of coffee somewhere. I’d love that. I’ll listen to whatever you want to say, even the truth.
Dad

Sophia,
The flagship airline of the UAE – Etihad Airlines – will be flying non-stop between Abu Dhabi and Charlotte starting in May 2026. You can already fly to Charlotte non-stop from Lynchburg. This means that soon, you can fly from Lynchburg to Abu Dhabi with just one short layover in Charlotte. By then, you’ll be 17 and a half. Certainly by then, your mother will have let go of the retarded idea that I’m going to kidnap you. There’s no reason you can’t get a passport and meet me there.

I invited you to Abu Dhabi a few years ago. I assume you’ve seen the website: http://sobe.black.blue

You’ve been in a bubble your whole life. You need to see the world. Lynchburg isn’t the world.

For my daughters: a new e-mail address if they want to write to me.

“once we said goodbye
no one else will know these dreams”
source: 23
memories

Sophia,
Last year, I found some of your classmates on Instagram. I found them by searching for EC Glass and Class of 27. Of the people I found, I have no idea if they were your friends or not. But I looked at their photos anyway hoping to see you somewhere in there. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a photo of you. On Instagram, I followed some of the students and kept hoping to see you, but I suppose it’s pointless now. I guess I’ll just unfollow them. I knew my idea was unlikely to work, but it was worth a shot.

Anyway, I noticed in the past few days that those EC Glass students are posting prom pictures. I strongly suspect that you’re skipping the tradition entirely, as well as many other high school traditions. I wish I could sit down with you and listen to you explain it all.

I’m sorry you’re missing so much. The prom isn’t the most important thing in the world. But it’s a part of life when you’re a teenage girl. In my (useless) opinion, you’re entitled to enjoy a few things in life like the prom, if you wanted it. As your dad, I’d love to see you in a formal dress with some nervous boyfriend; a real American tradition.

I went to the prom in 10th, 11th and 12th grades. I remember my junior prom because I was dating a senior and all she could talk about was how excited she was to go off to college the following year. At our prom, she met someone who was attending her future university, and ignored me so she could talk to him. We later argued on the dance floor. That was pretty much the end of that relationship. Looking back, it was funny because it was so absurd.

Mary Lynn and me at my Junior Prom in 1986

Anyway, it would have been nice to see you go off with your friends to enjoy your prom.

Whatever you’re doing now, I hope you’re happy. You deserve so much more.

Dad

EDIT (added later): Sophia, on July 9, 2025, you will be exactly as old as I am in that photo.