Thursday, March 1, 2012

My Childhood Crush

 Yesterday, I was so sad to learn that Davy Jones had died.

I have a somewhat hazy memory of a childhood conversation I had with my best friend, Heather. We were eight years old, and we were sitting at the top of the stairs at my house.  We were discussing my new crush.  I told her that I no longer liked Ricky Schroeder from the TV show, Silver Spoons.  Instead, I was now in love with Davy Jones of The Monkees.

And, although Heather was hesitant at first, she quickly joined me in my newfound passion.  In the beginning, we watched the tv show regularly.  Heather's parents had a vinyl record of The Monkees, and it became a treasure to us.  And, we had our magazines.  Apparently, we weren't the only ones in love with them because The Monkees graced the covers of all the teen celebrity magazines... 16, Bop, Tiger Beat etc.  In the magazines, we could even find pull out posters to hang on the wall.

I will never forget the day that my dad told me that he was taking me to a Monkees concert. My amazing mom had given me her ticket.  I can still feel the excitement as we headed towards the 1987 Indiana State Fair.  And, I can still remember the shock when I looked at the stage and realized that I had a crush on a forty-year-old.  

When I got home, I rushed to tell Heather, "He doesn't look like he does on TV.  He's old, but he's still cute!"

Our crushes continued through the purchase of many cassette tapes, lots of Tiger Beat magazines, and even an unforgettable Monkees Convention in Chicago.  We had a collection of "Davy stuff." We loved the Davy Brady Bunch episode, and I even had a VHS recording of a My Two Dads episode with a special appearance by Davy Jones.  

It was a crush that endured for years...until The New Kids on the Block began their memorable climb up the charts.  And, it was a crush that helped forge a wonderful friendship that endures to this day.  I will forever be grateful to The Monkees for that. 

Thank you, Davy Jones, for being such a memorable part of my childhood.

p.s.  I am so glad God says no to our prayers sometimes...as much as I asked him to let me marry a certain English pop star.


Linking up with Emily

2 comments:

KristinMiller said...

Ha ha- also love that God didn't let you marry a aging British pop star. Too funny!

Whitney said...

I was a fan of Davy as well (though didn't have a shirt or buttons). I was puzzled as I read your post, thinking you can't be older than me, and laughed quite a bit by how you were surprised by finding a 40+ year old Davy at the concert!
(Whitney from BCC in IL :))

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