The Right Reason to be Star Struck

I was never one to pass up a cute guy, to adore from afar. I had my share of crushes on guys I knew only through the latest sitcom or movie. And this crush thing had been happening since I was eight years old. I no longer remember who that particular hero was, but I knew he was special to me. At least, at that time.

Of course, they don't stay heroes long. They often disappear with the latest scandal of which they are a part. Sometimes they begin to fade when we find men in our real lives who meet or surpass our star-filled expectations. As if that ever happened...

Colleen had a crush on a television star. He appeared as a doctor on a new sitcom. And since she was 'single' again, she could dream about him a little.

Well, wait a minute-she had always had a crush on him, even when she was engaged. It didn't hurt to appreciate a man's good qualities. Her crush was big enough that she wanted to visit him at an appearance in New York City. I thought she was crazy. But, I didn't mind offering myself to ride with her. We were talking about New York City, after all-a city of tragedy ... and survival, all at once.

I never really slept the night before we were to leave for NYC. I knew Colleen was going to pick me up at 2 a.m., and then we would be off for the 6-hour drive. I couldn't believe how ambitious Colleen was for just a simple greeting and possibly an autograph. But I saw the smile on her face, and knew that if it made her smile, it was all worth it.

Colleen was a little bitter about life. During the drive, we talked about her broken engagement. She didn't give me many details, but she shared her 6-yearold niece's words of wisdom. "I was telling her that there are no good men left out there, and she says, 'Where did they go? Who took them?'"

Neither of us had an answer for that. And we don't have an answer to saving the house.

"Did you find anything that makes it extra-special?"

she quizzed me. "There's got to be something to use."

"Well, it's old," I said.

Our high school days seemed just as old. It had been a long time since the worst thing we had to deal with was being caught passing notes in class and having to read them aloud. Colleen said, "Those days were simpler, weren't they?"

"Yeah. I think all we were concerned about was not being caught in the middle of having fun."

Colleen was quick to remember an incident I had forgotten. Caught in an abandoned house -or caught kissing the wrong person.