Cyndi Lauper

December 1993, I believe it was... I was visiting a college girlfriend who was working as a nanny for a big VP of Nickelodeon. Their family had taken a trip to Palm Desert for an event and I got one day to visit with her. We spent the day moping around taking care of the little ones on what was supposed to be her day off, so when we finally had some free time at the end of the day, we went to the bar at the resort where they were staying. The highlight of my day had been staring at that guy who played Brandon from Beverly Hills 90210, as he'd checked in at the front desk. (He's much shorter than I'd realized.) And so our conversation was centered on celebrities.

We chatted with the bartender as some local band played their hearts out for a total of 4-5 people. They were pretty good. After a couple of beers, my girlfriend and I found ourselves flirting with a couple handsome guys with dreadlocks who were sitting across the bar. In keeping with our celebrity talk, we imagined them to be in some sort of band, and continued our flirting. Minutes later, the lead singer of the local band announced that some of her friends who were in Cyndi Lauper's band where there and they were going to join them for a few songs. Boy did we get excited...our prediction was correct, and the two guys got up and jammed with the band. What a trip! After a couple songs, my friend went to the bathroom and I was standing with my beer on the "dance floor" watching the band and enjoying myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone walk into the door. It was like a scene on the sitcom "Cheers". The other people in the bar and me started clapping as Cyndi Lauper entered and strode up to the bar.

Being that I was pretty much drunk, I started shouting in an exponentially louder voice each time, "Sharon! Sharon!! Sharon!!!" Sharon happened to be my friend in the bathroom and I was afraid she was going to miss one of our favorite rock stars! As she came out of the bathroom, I'd already gathered my courage to approach Cyndi. I stuck out my hand and shook hers and introduced myself, just as I would with someone I was meeting in a business meeting. Of course I did gush a little...explaining that she is one of my all-time favorite celebrities and I had listened to her music since my teens and was always impressed with her ability to really "be" herself - so genuine. Her voice and accent surprised me since it was exactly as I'd heard her speak on TV. I was just enamored with her immediately. We chatted a bit and she said she'd just finished a show and was tired, so she wasn't staying long. I got her autograph, along with the band's as they finished playing and got some take-out food from the bar. As our conversation tapered off, she took my hand and shook it again. She said, "Michelle, it was really nice meeting you too and I hope you have a Merry Christmas." She was so sincere and down-to-earth that it touched my heart.