When I was in the sixth grade, the first love of my life surprised me at lunch time. He sat down at the desk across from me, pulled out a CD player (remember those?) and speakers, put in his Tyrese CD, jumped up on my desk and serenaded me with the chorus of "Sweet Lady." This was the highlight of my eleven-year-old life. Until two years later when the same kid turned around at the end of the day and sang "You Are So Beautiful" to me before asking me to see Pearl Harbor with him in front of the entire class.
10 years later, both songs still bring me to another place and time, remembering that sweet, grinning face singing me such romantic lyrics at such a young age. I have to wonder if it was that fleeting romance or the resulting heartbreak that brings a new meaning to both songs now. I was 13 and thrilled that my middle school crush had finally seen the light —- only to be told
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2010.