I call it “returning to the scene of the crime”.
It’s one of the dumbest things that a single male can do. So why do I keep doing it over and over and over? I must be a glutton for punishment.
In January of 2004—after two years of dating—Amy dumped me.
Okay, that was fine. I handled it. I would survive. There was just one problem: I had already financially committed to a package for two to attend the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
So now, what was I to do?
Against all odds, I decided to hang onto the package in the hope that I would meet someone else in the next eight months. Yeah . . . right.
In the mean time, I still maintained a loose contact with Amy—as friends. I occasionally called her to talk. Amy only called me when she couldn’t talk.
Well—no surprise here—I didn’t meet anybody, so I returned to the scene of the crime: I asked Amy to attend the 2004 Summer Olympics.
And she said “yes”.
So now, envision an August night all alone in the Crowne Plaza Hotel of John F. Kennedy International, and a telephone call to Amy arranging where to meet the next day for our flight to Athens.
Picture the awkward first meeting since our January break-up, done with a handshake amongst the airport’s faceless masses.
Imagine spending ten hours on a plane, sitting next to someone that doesn’t like you.
Envision living for seven days in a cramped, one-bedroom, apartment with no air-conditioning, where Amy slept in the bed and I slept on the couch.
Visualize spending ten hours on a return plane, sitting next to someone that doesn’t respect you.
Imagine the icy “good-bye” at a down escalator somewhere in John F. Kennedy.
See another August night all alone in the Crowne Plaza, awaiting a flight home the next day.
What a disaster! If that trip had been a cartoon, then icicles would’ve been hanging from our word balloons. What was I thinking when I asked?
But don’t get me wrong. I loved Athens. We saw the Acropolis, the Agora, the National Garden, the original 1896 Olympic Stadium, The Temple of Zeus, the City Market, and Omani Square.
And I loved the summer games. We saw the Opening Ceremonies, swimming, gymnastics, judo, boxing, and cycling.
Oh well. That left me with four years to find a date for the Olympic Games in Beijing.
J Scanlan
