DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a date with a guy I met three years ago. We have communicated on and off, and now he is coming to town and has asked me out. The date is on his birthday, and I don't know if I should do something for him!
GENTLE READER: Asking someone for a first -- or first-in-a-while -- date on one's birthday is like bringing along your parents: It skips necessary steps on the way to developing a relationship.
For that reason, Miss Manners would have changed the day, had she known. Since it is too late for that, you should bring a token gift -- inexpensive and lighthearted -- while he should insist that he has never attached much importance to the day -- which is not really plausible, as he must have been the one who told you.