Crushes of Yesteryear

When I started to fall in love with boys I was very young. When I say in love, I don't mean lust or what a child thinks love is supposed to mean . . . I mean a tender, emotional love. I envisioned these boys holding me and protecting me and being gentle with me. I have always been attracted to a character that's sensitive and courageous. I need to express this to someone right now because I got to thinking about Spot Conlon, a character from the Disney movie "Newsies" that I loved so very much (even though he had a bad boy streak) and this perpetuted a mental list. Here is that list.

1. Jeremy Licht - aka "Mark" from a television series called The Hogan Family (originally called "Valerie" and then "Valerie's Family" before becoming The Hogan Family) which aired from 1986 - 1991. I remember being 3 or 4 and becoming completely infatuated with him. I would sit up close to the tv and imagine him coming to the front door, coming up to the livingroom, and holding my hand.

2. Fred Savage - aka "Kevin Arnold" from the television series The Wonder Years, which aired from 1988 - 1993. Every Sunday night we watched this. Well, at least that's how I remember it. I'd be huddled in front of my mom and dad's bed in my nightgown, hair damp after a bath. The very first episode aired when I was barely 5, but it had me hypnotized, well, I should say that the relationship between Kevin and Winnie Cooper was what had me hypnotized. In the very first episode Kevin and Winnie meet by this tree, it's dusk, he takes off his jacket and places it gently around her, and then they kiss. That was when I first fell in love with love. That's when I first felt the endless need to love and be loved. I wanted Kevin Arnold to kiss me like he kissed Winnie, I wanted him to take care of me when I was cold by placing his jacket on my shoulders.

3. Joey McIntyre - Yes, I loved a member of The New Kids On The Block. My sister Tiffany and her friends were obsessed with them, so I had a lot of access to their records, videos, posters, books, buttons, dolls, sheets, pillows, sleeping bags -- you name it, we had it. I used to watch their live video that Tiffany's friend Marlena taped for Tiffany ('cause Marlena had cable at her house). On that recording he sings a song called "Where Do I Go From Here" that just made me cry my eyes out, and being the youngest of the group he was like the Justin Bieber of the 80's. I couldn't help but fall for those blue eyes and the semi-deep "my balls haven't quite dropped yet" teeny bopper voice.

4. Elijah Wood - I loved the Elijah Wood in the film "Radio Flyer" . . . that's when I fell for him, hard. Radio Flyer came out in 1992, and if you haven't seen it, I suggest you do. It's a beautiful film. I loved his character, Mikey. He was just so captivating. There is a scene when he gets bullied by the mean boys in his new neighborhood, they trick him into thinking that they like him and ask him to play a friendly game of kickball and then they all gang up on him. My heart broke. He was bleeding. I wanted to help him, I wanted to hold him and love him.

5. Gabriel Damon - aka "Spot Conlon" from "Newsies." Also released in 1992. This is a movie based on a true story about the Newsboys in NYC at the turn of the century going on strike against the "giants of the Newspaper world." Spot is the leader of the Newsies in Brooklyn. Manhattan Newsies seek him out for help, so they can rally together thus proving to be a stronger unit. He's a sly little fella, but courageous, and sweet, and good hearted. He has the most amazing eyes. I imagined him kissing me, deeply, in my room. I would cry thinking about him and Elijah Wood because I knew I'd never be able to meet them and I loved them so much.