Barbara Eden

When my daughter was 6 years old, we had the opportunity to see Barbara Eden at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, Fla. It was very intense -- it was her first visit to the area in a long time, during which she visited Cocoa Beach, the site of the legendary "I Dream of Jeannie" show. Hundreds of fans lined up to have their wish granted: an autographed photo of the star dressed as her character of years past. When it was our turn, Barbara said to me, "Oh, your daughter has such beautiful red hair!"

Well, my daughter had heard that statement all of her young life and typically responded by rolling her eyes as if to say "Here we go again, more fluff about my hair." Needless to say, that day was no different. I apologized to Barbara and explained why my daughter reacted the way she did, and she laughed and told me not to worry about it. Before our turn was up, we had a personalized autographed photo for my daughter, and our own photo that I took of the two of them. By the way, Barbara Eden is a beautiful person, inside and out. I was quite impressed with her patience with the crowd, smiling face and youthful looks. My daughter, now 15, always rolls her eyes when I tell this story, but I think she secretly is proud to know she once met a "Jeannie."