Pop Beginnings

The time: late summer, 1986.

My age: 4

The incident: the scary dolphin ride at the Dutchess County Fair.

What happened:  Coerced onto a scary ride (which seems quite tame now) at age four by a friend (where the hell were my parents?)

Pop relevance:  I screamed on that ride.  I have a vivid memory of being terrified that I was going to die.  So, this incident is also relevant in my death-awareness file, but this is not the important pop fact.  What this ride did was awaken my pop.  The only way I made it through was singing along to "I Just Wanna Dance With Somebody (Somebody Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston, my favorite song at the time.  Whitney got me through, kept me alive, and opened me to the power of pop culture.

Sure, I'd liked "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" (Cyndi Lauper,) which was on the first album I had ever gotten.  Yes, I watched all the requisite eighties kiddie shows on TV.  But it was Whitney that opened the door to my fascination with pop.  Whitney showed me singing could get me through anything, and I wanted to be just like her.

This wasn't too likely, considering I was a 4-year-old white girl living in upstate New York.

But I had hope.  I wanted to be famous.  Perhaps this was a lofty aspiration, and one that required a lot of ego and at that point, I don't think my intentions were the most humanistic.  I did want to save the world, but I wanted them to know who I was first.  I wanted to be a pop culture icon.

I think I still do.  Thank you, Whitney, for showing me the way.  Thank you, Punky Brewster and Rainbow Bright.  Thank you ThunderCats, thank you Cosby Show, thank you Belinda Carlisle and Debbie Gibson.  Thank you Joey-Joe McIntyre from New Kids on the Block.

In my life, I have loved you all.