In October of 2002, I hosted the second annual South Park Hall-o-“Wein” Convention that saw an unbelievable twenty-seven members of my South Park family fly from literally all over the world to my house for a party that beat the attendance record of the second official South Park Convention in Colorado. Among the attendees was a woman named Summer who lived in Georgia and never came to a convention before – until she walked through the front door of my house.

As soon as she made her way up my stairs, I immediately realized how attractive she was. And once she introduced herself to me, I saw that she had a personality to match her beauty. Being her first Convention, she was a little nervous about flying to another state to party with a bunch of people she never met, but once she got there – she very quickly acclimated to the people and the festivities. For the Hallowein party, Summer dressed as a Geisha Girl, which saw her in a very revealing red dress, black wig, and make-up to match. Once she walked down the stairs in her costume, she quickly stole the attention away from every other female at the party – including the belly dancer that my friend Stephanie hired for us. I can still remember how funny it was to watch my friends openly drooling over her in her costume, which she did look amazing in.

Although that convention was the first time I met her in person, I knew her prior to our first meeting. She was an active member of the Digest since I became Moderator in 1999 and someone that I chatted with occasionally via e-mail. She would read my columns and comment on them, write me an e-mail just to say hi – and she sent me many inspiring messages following the September 11th atrocity. In fact, earlier this year, I found the South Park Digests I had printed out from those few days after September 11th and found a post from Summer that was so well written and encouraging – that it still made me cry to this day.

I think Summer’s best quality is her personality. I have known my share of women who are negative and draining, and Summer is the complete opposite. She has a zest for life and enjoys being among friends and having a good time. She is responsible, adventurous and very fun to be around. She is also a strong woman who knows what she wants and doesn’t need a man to get it for her or for that matter, to take care of her. And most importantly – she, like me, has a desire to live life to the fullest and enjoy her ride along the highway of life.

The next time I saw her since Hallowein 2002 was at SPOH 2003 in Ohio. Although it was exactly one year since I last saw her, and despite the fact that we lost contact due to a tough time I was going through, she and I got along great and acted as if we had seen each other just the day before. In fact, she came to my house just two weeks later for the third Hallowein convention – and this time – Summer dressed like her favorite singer, Cristina Aguilera – and turned just as many heads at the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade as her favorite diva would have if she was there.

The next time she came to my house was in November with our friend Julie. During that trip, we realized that our feelings for each other were becoming stronger than friendship, and we decided to see what it would be like to be more than friends, which we both considered a great idea. We saw each other again in December, then on my birthday, in Florida for SPFL, at my house in March, in Chicago in April and then again here in Brooklyn on the July 4th weekend. After each visit and during the time between them, we grew ever closer and wound up with very strong feelings for each other – something we both thought was wonderful.

Since the last time I saw her at my house on July 4th, we have not seen each other until last week when we both went to Ohio once again for the second annual SPOH. It was very nice to see Summer again and spend another weekend with her. When I first met her, I wondered what it would be like to be more than her friend, and I am very happy that I was able to find out. As for what lies ahead, only God knows. Regardless of our feelings, I no longer try and predict the future – which has proven time and time again to be unpredictable. All I know is that whether our future sees us as friends or more than friends – I would be happy to have Summer in my life in any aspect.

Happy Birthday Summer, with all my love.