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2003-05-08 - 8:58 p.m. Having grown up with two brothers in the eighties and having been a Cyndi Lauper fan, I am no stranger to the world of professional wrestling. One of my earliest crushes was one Rowdy Roddy Piper (god only knows why). So it came as quite a shock when I heard recently that Miss Elizabeth died. For about two minutes and then I moved on to thinking about what I was going to make for dinner (ravioli in case you were wondering). I rooted for the Macho Man in his prime (i.e., before he "snapped into a slim jim") even when he was the bad guy brutalizing Ricky "the Steamboat" -can you pick a wussier name- Dragon. And so of course, I watched Miss Elizabeth perform her "mangerial" duties with the style and grace of a game show hostess. The Vanna White of WWF was one of my first girly crushes. She was the kind of girl I wanted to be but wasn't, (frilly, silly, pretty, and adored). I wrestled with my brothers wearing their cast-off clothes and wished for curls like hers. In fact, I took her picture to the salon when I got my first perm in the fifth grade. And now she's dead, and it feels sort of strange. I mean she was never a three dimensional fully realized person to me so its more of a "Huh...that's weird" kind of thing. Like when you hear that your third grade teacher died, or your neighbors dog. Which makes me wonder, when I die, how many people will say, "Huh, Ethel's dead? That's weird. What's for dinner?" As opposed to how many people will genuinely feel my loss from their lives. On the one hand, you don't want people to suffer but on the other...damn it, I want to be missed, to have mattered, to be more than just a footnote in someone's day. Which is why I've decided to become a mentor. Sort of like the Big Brothers, Big Sisters group, I will be acting as a friend/guide/role model to a teenage girl in the foster care system. I start my training next week and I have to admit, I'm a bit daunted. I have no children, no nieces or nephews. I am so un-hip its un-funny. I haven't even figured out what I want to do with my life and now I'm trying to advise someone else. A teenage someone else at that! But then again maybe I'm putting too much stock into this role model thing. Its not about the advice I give, its about the time I spend, right? The act of showing a total stranger that people care...about her, about each other, about the world, about making a difference in our lives. In any case, even if I do nothing for her as a role model, I'm sure knowing her will do something for me. I must admit, I'm so excited about getting in the loop of the teen world again (yeah who am I kidding? I was n't in the loop before) And now I have an excuse for going to all those bad Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mandy Moore movies. And I can discuss who's going to die on Dawson's creek (confidentially, I think its Joey). Yeah, that's right. I admit it. I watch Dawson's creek. The most horrible, unrealistic writing on TV. Somebody smack me! Thank god its almost over and I can be freed from that bond. I can't help it, I started watching that lame ass show from the beginning and although I've missed an episode here or there I feel like I have to watch it till the bitter end. It may just be the longest, most unneccessary and unfulfilling relationship I've had (with a TV show that is, I've had plenty of long unfulfilling relationships in real life as well). Drink of the Day: Shirley Temples � 
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