“What’re You Looking At, Dork?”

There’s some talk about the Santa Fe shooter becoming angry because he was spurned by a girl that he had a crush on.

Evidently, he asked the girl out and was rejected. He didn’t take ‘No’ for an answer, and continued to stalk her. She finally embarrassed him in front of others and it led to his rage.

There is no excuse, of course, but there isn’t a man alive who hasn’t been shut down a time or two. We’ve all had our hearts broken.

I was a geeky looking kid.

Tall and skinny with a big mop of hair that I had no idea to handle (guess I prayed about that too much because God yanked most of it).

I was also a romantic at heart and I certainly enjoyed looking at pretty girls.

I do recall the 7th grade and looking at one of the prettiest girls in our class. It was a quiet study hall, and I didn’t have anything going on so every couple of minutes I glanced over. Finally she yelled out:

“What are you looking at, dork?”

Everyone turned to look at both of us. It is 41 years later and I can distinctly recall how that made me feel.

I was embarrassed, disgusted, mad and sad.

Really sad.

She destroyed my daydream.

(Funny, but a few years later, we became very close friends. I used to walk her home from school, and I actually reminded her of it happening).

“You were creeping me out,” she said.

(And here I thought I was dashing).

I’ve raised three boys.

I have tried to steer clear of their potential romances, but I’ve known that each had a crush that didn’t work out for them.

“Be respectful,” has been the only advice that I’ve had for them.

Yet, there’s definitely a worse feeling that you aren’t worthy, and that’s knowing that you will never see a loved one again.

The Santa Fe shooter’s father said an absolutely mind-numbing thing on Tuesday. He said that his child was not a criminal, but rather, a victim.

That certainly angers me.

This is a man who’s guns were used in the crime.

He’s blaming the girl who decided not to date his child?

And there certainly is a parenting fail there.

Children will be disappointed by life. It’s a Mom’s and Dad’s job to prepare them for heartbreak. It ain’t easy. No one wants to see their child suffer, and Kathy has been more hands-on than me when it comes to making a child feel secure.

I can recall being disappointed late in my high school love life.

“I barely remember my prom date,” my Dad said. “You’ll fall in and out of love about ten more times.”

I didn’t want to talk to my Dad about that, but I remembered that, and it made me feel a little better.

“What are you looking at, Dork?” Wasn’t a very easy thing to swallow, but I got by.

It’s hard to be sympathetic, of course. Nine people died.

The kid’s emotional growth was stunted.

Horrible.

Just horrible.



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