A Fool for Love . . . And Danger

My friend Sandy was one of the most beautiful girls in high school. I wanted to hate her, but she was smart, funny and nice . . . and she was my friend. All of the cute and popular boys wanted to date her, but she had other ideas. She met a high school drop-out with a job and a motorcycle. He seemed so worldly and cool, and was incredibly good looking, but what Sandy loved most about him was how DANGEROUS he was. Sandy’s father was concerned and threatened to cut off all of Sandy’s privileges AND her allowance. Sandy didn’t care. She was under the spell of Motorcycle Man (we called him M&M, not to be confused with the candy or the rapper).

Sandy snuck out every night and he would be waiting around the corner on his bike. They would drive around town -- a small town in central Florida where there wasn’t much to do. Sometimes they would park right off the edge of the drive-in theater and watch the movie without the sound. Most of the time they weren’t watching the movie anyway.

M&M’s kisses were as hot and passionate as they come, and Sandy was addicted them. We couldn’t wait to hear every detail of every night, and were in awe of Sandy’s bravery. After several months of clandestine kissing orgies and heavy petting, M&M wanted more. When he said he wanted to take the relationship to the next level, Sandy was oh so ready. But what she didn’t expect to hear was his plan for the “next level.” It turns out that he was boosting his livelihood by robbing houses in the area, and M&M thought Sandy would be a perfect partner – straight A student, cheerleader, calendar girl and all-around upstanding citizen. No one would suspect her if she cased the houses of friends and neighbors.

Hurt, shocked and upset that she could have been so wrong about the man she loved, Sandy resolved to dump this bad boy, call the police and turn him in, and start dating some of the nice guys at school.

When I read the stories in When Love Goes Bad, I couldn’t help thinking of Sandy’s M&M and all of the bad boys I found myself drawn to (more about them later). But maybe some of us have to experience the dangerous boys. Their passion and willingness to live on the edge is daring, exciting and ultimately stupid, but they CAN teach us lessons. The thrill and excitement of living a little dangerously can be channeled for good when we are willing to take positive risks for ourselves – daring to write that novel, start that dream business, take that trip around the world. Go for it!