Wow. Where do I begin? Well, my first memory of seeing them is the "Please Don't Go Girl" video while vacationing in Los Angeles at age 12. That summer, I was watching it at my parents' friends' house and I blurted out "He looks like Paul Newman!!" when I saw Joe. An instant connection, apparently. I, too, have an old soul - loving classic movies, songs, television shows, etc. Hey - so does Joey! So speed forward to a few months down the line. The song is climbing the charts and I'm happily living my tween years in the 80s... One cold day (lord help my memory cuz I can't remember what month!!) my cousins and I are hitting our favorite pizzeria in the Lower East Side of Manhattan... This hole in the wall place was pretty packed for our tastes, so we were a bit annoyed. I walked towards the back to sneak a peek at the commotion and - lo and behold! - I see the boys! Immediately, I rushed back, told my girls and we played it cool...true New Yorker style...lol... A few minutes waiting for our food, and we were approached by a man who said to us "Do you ladies know who New Kids on the Block are?" Again, NYer style, we shrugged and said "Sure" as nonchalant as a tween can. He then asked "Would you like to be in their new video?" *CHING* Smiles all around! It was a chorus of "Yeah!" and we were told to come to the Williamsburg Bridge in a half hour. So we ran to buy disposable cameras and pens and paper. The next thing I remember was getting direction - "Just act like you're bumping into them on the bridge and ask for autographs, take pictures, and just talk to them" Eager nods and "yes"es all around, we obliged. They were sooooo nice. Each one with their personality - Donnie was hyper, Joe was sarcastic, Jordan and Jonathan were pretty quiet but very polite, and Danny was all smiles. We were then told to go to Xavier High School either the next day or later on that day (oooh I'm old) - but I couldn't go because I had to be back in Staten Island. So few months later, "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" shows up all over the television and I'm home bouncing up and down and yelling over the phone with my cousins over how excited and exciting it all was...lol... It snowballed from there!! It was all concerts, videos, tapes, cd's, posters, calendars, buttons, etc. from that moment on. The time was innocent, the days were endless,the hormones were raging, and the New Kids on the Block were everywhere. They helped give me an outlet at a time in my life when I didn't think I had one. Singing their songs at the top of my lungs drowned out the sorrows around me and within me. Seeing their faces happy, laughing, and silly helped bring smiles to my face whenever I felt I couldn't do so myself. My childhood was great - but I had rough times that I never should have experienced - and diving head first into the sugary pop innocence of their music brought sunshine to cloudy days. For that, I am grateful.
So, here, I am - 20 years later and still loving my Beantown boys. I got to meet them again at the Best Buy meet & greet on Tuesday in NYC and the first thing I blurted out (dammit I can't control my mouth when I'm around them - wtf) was "I was in I'll Be Loving You Forever when I was 12 years old on the Williamsburg Bridge" as soon as I got up to the table. Donnie smiled, popped up and gave me a hug, asked me how I've been and I think I turned beet red (most likely because that's the only shade I seem to turn) and told him fine, thanks, and they rushed me down the line to the rest. It was all such a blur - I have a funny picture of Jordan looking at my cleavage (boys will be boys) and saying something to me that I can not remember for the life of me. LOL... So my 32 year old college-educated cum laude brain was then reduced to a bouncy, nervous, trying to play it cool bucket of mush!
Even growing up in New York City - where, if you're from the "ghetto" then you *must* listen to hip hop (which I do and love) or you are ridiculed relentlessly - I still played their music whenever I felt compelled. And I still loved it. When I heard about their reunion, I smiled brightly and played a medley of their songs off of my iPod playlist all day long. Without a care in the world, I reminisced about the times that were...and dreamed of times to come. I am not embarrassed at all to tell all my friends about my adventures and stories about them. I am proud. And when they laugh? I smile. These are my memories, my moments, my experiences being a New Kids on the Block fan. And I wouldn't change it for the world...
Thank you to Joe, Jordan, Jonathan, Donnie, and Danny for coming back - for allowing us all to relive our youth, relive the happy memories, the innocent times, and the fun of it all.
I *heart* NKOTB
No comments:
Post a Comment