Retrocrush

I still remember my first date. We had dinner at her apartment, and then a sunset walk along the shores of Lake Washington. We fed the seagulls, enjoyed the night air and then stopped off for a little dessert. She bought me an Almond Joy bar. It was cute. Life seemed pretty good at the time - until she decided to go on a mission. I was crushed. I was also 5 years old.

Fast forward 20 years. Though I am still reeling from that initial rejection, I still get crushes on girls (I should say women, but crushes on women sounds funny), but it's just not the same anymore. So, in an attempt at capturing some of that retrocrush magic, I'm taking a trip down memory lane. As a kid, I can't remember having that many crushes on real girls. Most of the time, I would see girls/women on TV and think they were really pretty or really cool... as you can see, I was a discerning little boy. Anyway, here's a little list just to give you an idea of what was going through that hair-covered, pre-pubescent little head of mine.



First on the list is Wonder Woman. Man, I used to watch that show all the friggin' time. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't the costume that did it for me. Being 6, it was pretty much a non-issue. I liked her because she kicked booty, not because I liked her booty. What kid wouldn't love a girl with power bracelets, a magic lasso and an invisible plane?



Next up on the hit parade is Daisy Duke. My mom really liked watching the Dukes (still does. In fact, she taped the reunion show a few years ago), and naturally, I watched along. It wasn't the Hot Pants. I had no concept of what Hot Pants were, I guess I just thought she was nice. And let's not forget, she had a jeep.



I had a crush twice over for the last lady on my list, first as Col. Wilma Deering on Buck Rogers and later as Kate Summers on Silver Spoons. Yes, I am talking about the one and only Erin Gray. There are many things that I could possibly say about her characters, but I think I can sum it up by saying that even at a tender young age I realized that if a foxy lady such as Kate Summers could marry a dweeb like Edward Stratton III, there was hope. Plus she knew how to fly a spaceship.