When I turned 13, my two favorite songs were
Paradise by the Dashboard Light by Meatloaf and
Heart of Glass by Blondie. In fact, to this day, I still get pumped by the whole Meatloaf album and listen to the songs every so often while driving. Back then, I had a crush on the lovely Cheryl, and was glad I could sit behind her in class all day long.
Blast kills at least 10
Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded Tuesday in a mostly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, killing at least 10 people.
Later that year, I switched schools and I still remember the first day I saw Wendy. She rocked my world. But at age 13, I lacked the confidence to approach her and say so. Smart, gorgeous and funny - Wendy was the girl of my dreams. Back home, I was doing my weekly chores and behaving as a typical 13-year-old jerk to my parents. One time, I made mom cry for some stupid comment. Dad was not happy, and with a few well thought out words, made me feel like a complete idiot. I apologized to mom, and we patched things up.
The bomb went off in the poor, mostly Shiite area of Habibiyah and damaged several cars and nearby sandwich stands, police said. Chaos ensued as militants from radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia fired weapons in the air to clear the crowds.
Michelle, on the other hand, did not have my shyness problem. She made it quite clear that I was someone she wanted to hang out with. Kissing Michelle was great, but I sure wish it coulda been Wendy.
At least a dozen other Iraqis were killed Tuesday in war-related violence in Baghdad and central Iraq, police said.
School went by quickly, my grades were good, and Michelle and I moved on. To my regret, I never did tell Wendy how I felt.
They included a mother and two of her sons, 9 and 12, who died when a bomb exploded in front of their home in the capital. A third son, age 13, was wounded, along with two brothers from a different family living in the same home, police said.
I still remember 13.