When I was 12, I was in love with my brother's friend Gus. My girlfriends and I called him The Blonde Elvis. http://dellazine.com/covergirl/index.html

Who was your biggest childhood crush?

-- sarahjane (sarahjane@dellazine.com), June 01, 2000

Answers

Two things I have to get out before I can respond on topic.

One: Today's my birthday. Two: My one-and-only, my two-year-old is named Gus. (Actually, August, but we call him Gus)

Now: My childhood crush began when I was 14 and I still can't shake the guy either. He's 12 years older than I; I started celebrating his birthdays with an all-day acknowledgement way back in high school. He deigned to flirt back, but not too much. He has four kids and a happy marriage and I would RATHER DIE than type his name here even though I'm thinking it so loud that you can probably hear it anyway. Besides, since he's an internationally friggin known rock star - even though it's very unlikely that you've heard of him - I can't post his name because if it ever got out among people I know, I would be so mortified that I'd probably have to move. And take down my web site. And change my name and Gus' too.

That said, the guy is a charismatic, dimpled twinkly-eyed, curly-haired ... walking embodiment of masculinity. And he's funny, too, but with just enough faults to make him adorable.

I still dream about him.

Oh and that makes 20 years. I'm 34 today.

-- Amy Q (bailiwick@fuse.net), June 01, 2000.

Er ... Leif Garrett. And I hate to say it because I recently saw how gross he has become on an episode of "VH1: Behind the Music." Ew! (He still has pretty eyes, though ... No, wait, he's just stoned.)

-- ceebee (cherylbowles@earthlink.ne), June 01, 2000.

George Michael. My best friend and I would sit and listen to Wham! tapes after school. She was in love with Andrew, and George was mine. We were young; we didn't know any better.

-- cfg (cfgatlin@hotmail.com), June 01, 2000.

Just to make a point that guys are susceptible to the puppy love crush... and no it wasn't my fourth grade teacher. (Mr. Howlett wasn't *that* hot). Girl in 7th grade. More of a pixie really with elven eyes and magically petite mouth. She was prone to say things like "I'm in a fencing tournament this weekend" and "My distant cousin is the porn star John Holmes". Which we all considered downright lies of a desperate young girl wanting to be unique and liked. Funny thing is even before she blundered into fibbing for popularity, I thought she was unique and I did like her. All the way up into high school when we decided to go junior prom together. (Then I stabbed her in the back, but that's another story.. that'd I'd be willing to tell). I called her one back in high school to spend some alone time with her for once. She wasn't home. Her mom said she was at a fencing tournament.

-- jack of spades (jacklewis6@hotmail.com), June 01, 2000.

>>(Then I stabbed her in the back, but that's another story.. that'd I'd be willing to tell)

When Childhood Crushes Go Bad. So let's hear the story.

-- cfg (cfgatlin@hotmail.com), June 01, 2000.

Stabbed her in the back? Not literally, I hope.

-- sarahjane (sarahjane@dellazine.com), June 01, 2000.

How I mortally wounded a pixie-- We (Denise and I) decided to go to Junior Prom together, "as friends". Meanwhile I'm in Honor Choir and guess who I should meet but that cute little thing I met last year. Beautiful voice, she was impressed with mine. And I tell ya, I was smooth. I was witty. I was waiting for her to call me all summer. [I did call her a few times but she was never home]. But here she was again with her brown-eyes, flirting once again. Eventually asking if she could be brutally honest with me and saying, "I don't you think you know the power you have over me." [insert dumbfounded look here]. Long story short... Brown-eyes and I end up hooking up. You have to understand that Denise and I have been "just friends" for over five years. And I'd rather take a romantic interest to prom than "just a friend". So I worked out a scheme that I would be able to duck out of my commitment to Denise and take the other girl instead. Want to hear the rest or is that collective yawn?

-- jack of all trades (jacklewis6@hotmail.com), June 04, 2000.

Jack, your story is heading in a such a bad direction, I gotta know how it ends. Fess up, kid.

-- sarahjane (sarahjane@dellazine.com), June 04, 2000.

When we last left out hero he was about to embark on a journey to the darkside-- I asked my buddy Nick to ask Denise to the Prom. Do you see the genius of this?! If Denise says yes [because of a desire to go with someone who wasn't "just a friend"] then I'm free to take Brown-eyes. Of course if she says no, no harm no foul, I'll take Denise to Prom. So simple in its execution, so painless. However Nick was apparently too honest to take part in my wicked plans and told Denise everything. Unfortunately, Nick was honest enough to let me know he aborted his mission. What's bad is Denise was gracious about the whole mess [Taoists apparently believe jealousy is useless emotion]. What's worse, she was kinda hoping we wouldn't end up being "just friends". [Don't ask me why then and not the last five years]. Epilogue: I go wth Brown-eyes to the Prom. Nick [who was a sophmore and was never even allowed to ask someone to the Junior Prom] took Denise... and Rachel, Denise's friend who had her own childhood crush on Nick. fin

-- jack, jack, jack... head in a sack (jacklewis6@hotmail.com), June 05, 2000.