When I was young I wasn't much of a girl-magnet. I was one of those boys who girls seemed to consider unworthy of romantic attention. I was not a sportsman, like my brother. I was skinny and uncool (until the age of 16 I thought ABBA and Dolly Parton were hip). I was nerdy, either reading books or being really active in the flower garden. But, secretly, I yearned for female attention. I wanted to be kissed and be seen with a girlfriend. And so I developed a cunning strategy - I would learn to fly like Superman and swoop down one day and save a girl from some desperate strait and she would fall madly in love with her unlikely hero.

I was Harry Potter, without the preceding fame, the scar, the wand, the broomstick, the gold in the bank, and the nerdy glasses. But I, like he would be, was nothing without these necessary heroic adornments. I was just your average geeky boy and I must have known, although I suppressed the thought, that it would be impossible for me to fly.

Cindy recently asked in a message in the guestbook if I was afflicted with "too much Harry Potter?" The simple answer is yes. But, I have the adult realization and good sense to know that Harry's exploits are impossible. However, I am equally aware that Harry has liberated young nerds worldwide. It is now cool to be nerdy and in a country like Taiwan where nerds abound, where academically inclined young men are far greater attractions to girls' parents, and therefore to the girls themselves, than the bulky sportsmen who are hero worshipped in Western schools, Harry's world is a vindication.

And, as with Harry, there is a happy ending for me as well. I did fly, all the way to Taiwan nogal, and swept a bewitchingly beautiful girl off her feet.

18 August 2003

Dion Marc Delport

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