Sarah's phone calls were filled with laughter and we decided to meet Monday. We started at Starbuck's for coffee, then had dinner at her house. She seemed excited at the thought that I'd taken a few weeks before agreeing to meet, that most guys she meets online (apparantly several) ask right away to get together. Since I had taken the time to get to know her via email and phone, conversation was easy between the two of us... not filled with introductory crap.

Supper was interrupted by two phone calls from other guys she's seeing, but she said she liked me very much and that the phone calls were a signal from God that she's spreading herself a little too thin. The after-supper apology eventually led to a quiet sit on the porch, during which Sarah said how incredibly handsome I was and how she'd talked about me to her mom and sisters. Despite the slight discomfort on my part with the situation, it ended up being a very nice evening. When she dropped me off at home yesterday morning the possibility loomed large that she might pick me as the best of the bunch. (Readers of my complete journal will know what I mean when I say I won, 4-0.)

This possibility was disspelled a couple hours ago with a phone call. My financial instability keeps me out of the running for boyfriend material. She did say she'd still like to hang out with me, but I don't know if she's looking for a friend or a friend-with-benefits. Either way, I don't think I'd be willing to do the benefits thing if there's no future... well, no more than once if I choose to defend a 23-year streak.

Yesterday, though, was an interesting day. After my first tutoring session of the summer, I went over to Fox Cities Stadium to catch the end of the first quarterfinal state baseball tournament game, featuring the boys from Holmen playing Appleton West. The game was already won by the time I got there... West was ahead 7-0 en route to a 9-1 victory. I got there at the end of the fourth inning and found a place where I normally used to sit for Holmen games... behind the student section. During the fifth and sixth innings the only student to make eye-contact with me was Jana. She smiled brightly when she saw me and waved... I tipped my cap to her and asked, "How are you doing?" She said, "Good," in a manner that really conveyed she was doing fantastic, which was happy for me to see because she was such a good student and a hard-working girl. Unfortunately, the other students who'd glanced back in the stands didn't make eye-contact with me and I thought I'd have to wait until the end of the game before saying hello to anyone.

That was until, for the first time in nearly fifty baseball games I've seen in my life, I caught a foul ball. As all eyes nearby followed the path of the ball into my hands, the students saw who'd caught it and a booming "JONES!" resonated in the crowd in front of me. It was so very cool.