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So, March 31st was a special evening. About 10 years or so ago, I was watching some talk show. You ever notice how every few years or so, there's a whole bunch of the same stuff on TV? I remember growing up, there was about 2 or 3 hours of game shows on before the ''good'' cartoons came on. The Price is Right (still my favorite), Win, lose or draw, Beat the Clock, Break the Bank, Card Sharks, Concentration, Classic Concentration, Password Password Plus, Super Password, Pyramid, Scrabble, Tic Tac Dough and Press Your Luck. Oh! Press your luck was my favorite! ''No whammies, no whammies, No whammies.....STOP!'' Then a whammie would hit and this retarded little cartoon gremlin would dance across the screen. Ha! That shit was crazy! Man, I haven't thought about Whammies in years! Anyways, today, we see tons of ''reality shows''. Hogan knows best, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, I Love New York (the spin off to Flavor of Love), shit, even the Dice-man has his own show! Well, about 10 years ago, the big thing was talk shows. Oprah & Donahue had been around for while, but then a whole bunch of others started popping up. I think I was watching Montel or Geraldo. When I heard a man from the audience make a comment that really stuck with me. They were talking about teenage girls & the issue of self confidence or something. This guy raises his hand to and whoever the host was goes over with the mic. The man said that when his daughter was 12, he took her out on her first date. He felt that it was important to be the one to take her out because it was a great way to show a young lady how a woman should be treated. Not only that, but to show her how she should carry herself in a dating situation. Ashley was about 3 or 4 at the time. She was playing on the floor in front of me & I asked her, ''Hey mija, what do you think about that?'' ''About wha' Daddy?'' ''About going out on a date with me when you get older?'' She shrugged her shoulders as she brushed her Barbie's hair and said, ''Yeah...that would be o'tay. When? This week'en?'' ''No. Just when your older.'' ''Like next week'en?'' ''No, a little older then that.'' ''How old?'' ''I don't know. I guess I'll tell you when you're ready.'' ''O'tay...'' never looking up, just being busy with 3 year old type stuff. But it was something that never left my mind. I just wasn't sure when the right time was. She's going into high school next year. A couple of months ago, she called me all excited about the classes she'd registered for. Then, about 2 weeks later, the son of a friend of Laura's called me and asked if he could take Ashley to the ROTC Banquet. He's a good kid in the 9th grade and is only a year older then her. I know his step-dad and Mom & they are good people. I asked him if he'd already ask Ashley & he said he'd mentioned it, but wanted to make sure it was okay with me before asking her. Damn him! Well played young man. Well played. The thing was, I hadn't taken Ashley out on her ''first date'' yet! So whether I was ready or not. The time was here. She'd asked a few times over the years when we'd go on her date? If we were still doing it, did I forget? I never forgot. And the time was here. So I set a date. March 17th would be the day. That was the day for a few weeks until we realized she'd be at her Mom's for spring break. So we changed it to March 31st. Laura took her shopping to get some nice clothes & get her nails done. She looked so nice. We went to Magic Island. It's a nice restaurant on the southwest side of Houston. They do a 45 minute magic stage show, then afterwards they have magicians doing close up slight of hand shows in small rooms. They also have a nice dance area with a DJ and drinks. We talked during dinner. Nothing in particular, just stuff about people at school and HER life in general. And it amazed me. Here she was, no longer the little 3 year old playing with Barbies on the living room floor, but a young lady with her own thoughts, ideas and opinions. All I could do was listen and laugh. After dinner when saw the shows and laughed some more. She put her hand in my arm as we left the theater and walked around looking at pictures and posters. From there we went to the dance area and listened to music while watching others make fools of themselves on the dance floor. Not to be out done, I drug her to the dance floor to make a fool of my own self, thoroughly embarrassing the crap out of her. It truly was a special evening. I hope it meant as much to her as it meant to me, as I'm sure it will. It's a night I will always cherish. The great thing is, I GET TO GO ON TWO MORE ''FIRST DATES''!  More pics posted at: http://fcarrera3.buzznet.com/user/photos/recent/
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